Roachsmith Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 My ornate velvets keep dying. About one every few weeks. I'm keeping them on about 3" of peat moss substrate at room temp (60-75 degrees). Give them a light spray of water every few weeks and am feeding them a mixture of dry food and veggies/fruits. If someone could post care info for these guys I would appreciate it, I seem to have trouble keeping them alive for long. Might be the temp or humidity. I don't know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickytoe Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hi there, it sounds like they are too dry and too cold. I've been keeping my colony at 85 hot side of tank, 72 cold side of tank. They are on a mixture of coconut bedding and peat. One side I keep pretty moist the other fairly dry. (usually spray twice a week). There is also egg crate in the cage for them to hide in. I haven't had any fatalities so far (3 + months) and they are producing egg cases like crazy! Hope that helps. Nicole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roachsmith Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 They seemed to die after I sprayed the tank so I thought they didn't like the humidity but it's probably the temperature. I'll pick up a heat mat for them today and see if that works. Thanks for your help! p.s. I don't really want to stick the heat mat to my tank. Would it be possible to maybe cover it with tinfoil and tape it on? Has anyone ever done that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I don't know what the problem is but that species reproduces at a good clip at 72 degrees Fahrenheit. You don't keep a sponge water dish in the cage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roachsmith Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hmm. No I don't have a sponge in there. Maybe a dish of water crystals would be good for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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