How to Care for Death Feigning Beetles?

[alvap]

Hello,

Can you help me understand exactly what care Blue Death Feigning Beetles need?
Here are some questions:

• What kind of habitat should we get? (plastic, glass, what size, heating pad?)
• What type of substrate is needed? where can I buy it?
• What temperature the environment needs to be? Is it OK to leave them in the garage overnight every now and then? (about 40-50 degrees F)
• Most importantly... WHAT DO THEY EAT? Please be as detailed as possible. Tell me what they eat exactly and where to buy it. Can they survive on fruit and vegetables alone? does produce need to be organic? can the die from pesticides used in fruit?
• I heard they eat "dog kibble". Moist? How?
• What shouldn't I feed them? Are there any items (vegetables/fruit/etc) that are poisonous to them?

Thank you so much~!

 

[davehuth]

Habitat: Just about anything. They're wonderful to look at and interact with, so something with clear sides you can see into will help you enjoy them more. They like to climb over and under sticks and chunks of wood. They can't climb glass or plastic. I use Kritter Keepers because I'm on a budget, but the plexi can get scuffed/cloudy over time.

Substrate:Just about anything. Many people use sand. I use sand/cocofiber mix with some bits of wood and leaves mixed in, because I'm super fancy. You can buy a 1 billion pound bag of children's Play Sand at a hardware store for like a US dollar

Temperature: They tolerate a wide range. They tend to be a bit more active when it's warmer. Around 65-68F degrees they tend to find the warmest spot in the enclosure and sort of clump up together, which is boring. I wouldn't keep them at 40-50, though one or two nights might not kill them (I've never lost one in shipping, even when delayed in the winter). Room temps over 70F are fine for them. I've heated them to mid-80sF without any negative effects. Give them something to hide under especially if sunlight falls on the tank (which I'd avoid).

Food: Just about anything. Mine always have dry dog or cat kibble lying around for them to nibble on. Every other day they get bits of carrot. Once a week they get little bits of apple. Twice a month I throw in dead dried mealworms that people feed their chickens. It's always a good idea to avoid pesticides. At one time or another I've given them every fruit/vegetable I cut up in the kitchen for my own dinner except for onions/garlic.

They live for years and can tolerate a little neglect. I keep a small tank of them right out in my living room where everyone (including the cat) enjoys watching their antics. More interesting to me (and WAY easier to keep) than a bowl of goldfish. Good luck!

 

[alvap]

Thanks for your reply. I really like the set-up you have for your beetles.
I have one other question. We have 3 beetles now. One seems to want to kill/eat another one. I caught him twice today biting the other beetle's leg. It was hard to separate them. Is he trying to kill it? Eat it? are they territorial? Beetle # 3 seems to mind its own business, but #1 and #2 do not get along. And they're not mating. I've seen other two do that several times. The were clearly fighting or something. Is that normal?

 

[davehuth]

I've heard of this a couple times, but I've never once seen any of my beetles show aggression toward each other or another species ever. Not even once in 18 months that I can recall, and I keep them all together in close quarters. i do provide them lots of places to climb and hide, so maybe that diffuses some tensions? When I've occasionally heard about something like this in other forum posts, the suggestions always are to keep them provided with lots of protein foods – the implication being they'll be less inclined to eat each other. But I'm not sure it's ever been established that protein deficiency is the reason for the behavior?

I would separate an aggressive beetle if it didn't settle down. These are powerfully built animals that I'd imagine would be capable of maiming or killing another beetle. Good luck

 

[Centaaronpede]

Hello,

Can you help me understand exactly what care Blue Death Feigning Beetles need?
Here are some questions:

• What kind of habitat should we get? (plastic, glass, what size, heating pad?)
• What type of substrate is needed? where can I buy it?
• What temperature the environment needs to be? Is it OK to leave them in the garage overnight every now and then? (about 40-50 degrees F)
• Most importantly... WHAT DO THEY EAT? Please be as detailed as possible. Tell me what they eat exactly and where to buy it. Can they survive on fruit and vegetables alone? does produce need to be organic? can the die from pesticides used in fruit?
• I heard they eat "dog kibble". Moist? How?
• What shouldn't I feed them? Are there any items (vegetables/fruit/etc) that are poisonous to them?

Thank you so much~!

Hi! My girlfriend has Blue Death Feigning Beetles and has kept them alive and happy for some time. There’s not really a “minimum” size home as they’re quite small. We have them in a plexiglass box with sand substrate. It has to be very arid so keep the humidity quite low. We just throw scraps of fruits and vegetables in there for them to munch on. Banana’s, potato’s, apples, etc. they do fine at room temperature and don’t require any lighting. I’m not sure if they would do well at 40-50F, but around 70 works!

 

[mantisfan101]

Dead crickets and baby carrots seem to be of particular interest to them in my experience.

 

[BepopCola]

Mine enjoy tropical fish flakes and the occasional tiny dried shrimp(?) (beta food)

 

[AceXprt]

Very easy to keep! Everything above is what I would recommend. I would also recommend misting a corner wall of the tank for them to drink from and also misting the substrate below it if you want to attempt breeding.

 

[KevinsWither]

I'd say easy to keep too.

 

[dragonfire1577]

They don't seem to last as long without protein in their diet too, so offer plenty of things like dead bugs and dog food.