Dear forum members!
I have a problem with my Therea olegrandjeani. Some days ago one nymph died supposedly by not finishing its molt. This is my second nymph that has died that way. You can see a crack in their dorsal exoskeleton, where they normally exit through while molting (see photo). Unfortunately it seems they needed too much time, so their new skin became unflexible too soon. So they where literally trapped in their own skin.
I don't know, if I am in any way responsible for that phenomenon, but my colony is quite small (now 8 nymphs), so every loss is one loss too much. I keep them in dry coconut humus with broken dry leaves on top and very very rarely spray some water on top. Their moist food is either apple or banana, sometimes they eat a bit Gammarus.
Can I do anything to avoid molting problems in the future? Maybe change the substrate, increase humidity (although the breeder I got them from told me to keep them very dry)?
I'd appreciate any recommendations!
Greetings from Germany, Daniel
I have a problem with my Therea olegrandjeani. Some days ago one nymph died supposedly by not finishing its molt. This is my second nymph that has died that way. You can see a crack in their dorsal exoskeleton, where they normally exit through while molting (see photo). Unfortunately it seems they needed too much time, so their new skin became unflexible too soon. So they where literally trapped in their own skin.
I don't know, if I am in any way responsible for that phenomenon, but my colony is quite small (now 8 nymphs), so every loss is one loss too much. I keep them in dry coconut humus with broken dry leaves on top and very very rarely spray some water on top. Their moist food is either apple or banana, sometimes they eat a bit Gammarus.
Can I do anything to avoid molting problems in the future? Maybe change the substrate, increase humidity (although the breeder I got them from told me to keep them very dry)?
I'd appreciate any recommendations!
Greetings from Germany, Daniel
