# Blue death feigning beetle feeding questions.



## Anonymity82

I've asked this using the scientific name in the title but since I didn't receive a reply I'll try again using the common name. 

I have a decent understanding on what to feed these guys, it seems fish food is their favorite but they need vegetation as well. I've tried fruit and veggies and they don't seem to care much for either. 

I'm open to any other feeding options someone may have experience with. 

My main question has to do with how often they need water and food. I know they come from very dry regions but I'll spray once a week or two anyway. Not much. I'm not sure how often to give them food though. Do I give them food everyday? ONce a week? any help would be appreciated. thanks!


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## guywithaspider

njnolan1 said:


> I've asked this using the scientific name in the title but since I didn't receive a reply I'll try again using the common name.
> 
> I have a decent understanding on what to feed these guys, it seems fish food is their favorite but they need vegetation as well. I've tried fruit and veggies and they don't seem to care much for either.
> 
> I'm open to any other feeding options someone may have experience with.
> 
> My main question has to do with how often they need water and food. I know they come from very dry regions but I'll spray once a week or two anyway. Not much. I'm not sure how often to give them food though. Do I give them food everyday? ONce a week? any help would be appreciated. thanks!


I'm no beetle expert, but they should just eat until they're full so you can feed them as often as you'd like. They are desert beetles and don't really need moisture from misting, but you could leave a bottle cap of water for them to drink from, if they get thirsty. They like to eat cereals, and dead crickets, and other dead insects, as they are scavengers.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Anonymity82

Thanks! 

I've read they eat vegetation as well but they haven't really eaten anything except maybe a nibble of some apple once. I don't want to leave it in for too long so I don't break out with mites again BUT from what I've read they eat rotting vegetation. So I'm unsure on how to do this without attracting undesirable infestations.


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## Senses-Tingling

I have blue death-feigning beetles. I keep them on a bed of bran, which gives them a constant food source and is a dry substrate, similar to sand. My beetles get their moisture from the other foods that I give them - pieces of fruit (apple, orange, cantaloup rind, watermelon rind), and dry dog food that has been soaked in water. Give them something to climb on like wood pieces, bark or branches, as they are very active on my wood pieces.


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## Smokehound714

in the wild, most of their diet is fungi and molds that grow under pieces of rotting wood.


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## Anonymity82

Sweet, thanks guys! They love the fish food but I rarely see them touch anything else. I'll look into the bran as well. Thanks again!


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## Trailblazr80

njnolan1 said:


> Sweet, thanks guys! They love the fish food but I rarely see them touch anything else. I'll look into the bran as well. Thanks again!


Try banana. I just started giving them some and they seem to like it. Also cucumber.


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## pannaking22

Here's the link for the other thread, just so we (and the future readers) have it for reference: 

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?257115-Asbolus-verrucosus-feeding-question

I've been contemplating moving mine onto detritus (rotting leaves and wood specifically) to see how they would react. That could then give them access to some fungi as everything continues to decay. Hopefully it would induce egg laying and maybe even be suitable for the larvae. Granted, there still wouldn't be much protein in there, so supplementing it with the occasional dead cricket/roach will be necessary.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Trailblazr80

pannaking22 said:


> Here's the link for the other thread, just so we (and the future readers) have it for reference:
> 
> http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?257115-Asbolus-verrucosus-feeding-question
> 
> I've been contemplating moving mine onto detritus (rotting leaves and wood specifically) to see how they would react. That could then give them access to some fungi as everything continues to decay. Hopefully it would induce egg laying and maybe even be suitable for the larvae. Granted, there still wouldn't be much protein in there, so supplementing it with the occasional dead cricket/roach will be necessary.




Keep us updated. I'd love to try to breed mine.


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## Anonymity82

Good idea. I might give that a shot too and since you'd want to keep it mostly dry the pests should be kept down to a minimum.


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## pannaking22

Alright, that settles it then! I'll see what I can do. I'm going to keep one corner fairly moist, but the rest of the enclosure will stay dry (and perhaps more sand/detritus mixed for a gradient of sorts).


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## Trailblazr80

pannaking22 said:


> Alright, that settles it then! I'll see what I can do. I'm going to keep one corner fairly moist, but the rest of the enclosure will stay dry (and perhaps more sand/detritus mixed for a gradient of sorts).


I've been keeping one moist corner of coconut fiber only with a small pile of oak leaves. I mist both the leaves and the fiber, and just planted a small succulent next to that corner. I want to see if the live plant might encourage them.


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## pannaking22

trailblazr80 said:


> I've been keeping one moist corner of coconut fiber only with a small pile of oak leaves. I mist both the leaves and the fiber, and just planted a small succulent next to that corner. I want to see if the live plant might encourage them.


What kind of succulent is it?


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## Trailblazr80

pannaking22 said:


> What kind of succulent is it?


Eh, I'm not entirely sure. It's small. It looks like this-

Reactions: Like 1


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## Anonymity82

Trailblazr80 said:


> Try banana. I just started giving them some and they seem to like it. Also cucumber.


Do you notice a difference with organic or not?


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## Tenevanica

I feed mine carrots and dried dog food. Simple as that. They won't eat themselves to death like tarantulas so food can be left in the cage at all times. A water dish is more trouble than it's worth. They get the water they need from their food so a water dish is just a drowning hazard. These are my all time favorite beetles! My avatar is a nice low quality picture that I took of one of mine  Here's a picture of my blue and black death feigners eating out of the food bowl. :biggrin:


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## Anonymity82

very nice! I love the blues and blacks. I have a robo hamster in a 20 gallon long who doesn't look well so I think I'm going to move the leopard gecko in the ten gallon to the 20 and then put the beetles in the ten. I only have 4 blues and 2 blacks but Peter has them pretty cheap. I may pick up a few more blues when I'm able to add to the ten gallon when I make the switch. 
As for the food. I've had a lot of luck giving them cricket chow, a mixture of a few different kinds of fish foods, and crushed up dried inverts (the mixture of river shrimp, crickets and mealworms). Since the summer they've been in that dish a lot. I also have been putting water crystals in the corner I keep damp (only a couple of inches of space). The blacks often are into that. I tried veggies fresh and dry. They don't seem interested in them at all. I'm not sure why they ignore any moist veggie or fruit. I have seen one nibbling on an apple piece once. Either this thread or another one similar someone mentioned that after a dissection they found 80% dried insect matter (as in dried prior to eating). They seem to be doing pretty well but after I move them to the ten I may incorporate more veggies again. I also have them on eco earth which they do fine on but I'd like to give them sand.
Either way, I think even just the 6 in the ten gallon would be enough. The blues are all over the place. The blacks don't come out much.


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## Tenevanica

That's very interesting, Anonymity82! I see my blacks a lot more than I see my blues. I often see my blacks out during the day! At night the tank just comes alive with death feigners. I've always been pleased with their activity level. I have 3 blacks and 3 blues, along with several other darkling beetle species in a large kritter keeper. I keep them on the desert blend substrate from bugsincyberspace. I do occasionally lightly mist the tank, and I agree that the blacks are much more drawn to water than the blues. Have fun with your beetles!


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## Anonymity82

Thanks! 

I need to get some sand soon for them. But the eco earth doesn't stick to them. The only thing I've seen were the blacks getting stuck on their backs but I've added more stuff so they can grab onto it and turn themselves back. I had other darklings but they died off. Love bugsincyberspace btw!


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## pannaking22

I have a mix of both blue and black death feigners, along with a bunch of _P. diabolicus_. They all definitely enjoy dried dog food, but the _diabolicus_ prefer mushrooms (which makes sense for them) and they like to hide out under a piece of bark that I mist every week or so, which the blues tend to avoid.


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## Anonymity82

I never mist but I do pour some water in one corner and usually have some water crystals that I've seen the blacks nibbling on sometimes. My remaining robo is really starting to act like an old lady so I may have to make this move soon for them. The beetles will get the ten gallon but I need to get a sand mixture going. I'll likely buy  more beetles too since 6 beetles in a ten gallon is a bit empty.


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## Smokehound714

Unlike asbolus verrucosus, Cryptoglossa variolosa (the 'blacks') are easy to rear to adulthood.



   ...That is if you can tolerate waiting 3-4 years for their larvae to mature.   Asbolus probably take even longer.


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## Anonymity82

Smokehound714 said:


> Unlike asbolus verrucosus, Cryptoglossa variolosa (the 'blacks') are easy to rear to adulthood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...That is if you can tolerate waiting 3-4 years for their larvae to mature.   Asbolus probably take even longer.


e
Which is something I cannot do lol. Maybe once I put them in the ten gallon and pick up a few more of each. I'm not even sure if the two blacks I have are opposite sex. I know there's at least one male for the blues.


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## Tenevanica

Smokehound714 said:


> Unlike asbolus verrucosus, Cryptoglossa variolosa (the 'blacks') are easy to rear to adulthood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...That is if you can tolerate waiting 3-4 years for their larvae to mature.   Asbolus probably take even longer.


Has anyone ever gotten C. variolosa to adulthood? I know that the blue death feigners have never been brought to adulthood. I have gotten the occasional larva and see the beetles breeding all the time, but I have never gotten the larva to survive. No one has.


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## Moonsister

Senses-Tingling said:


> I have blue death-feigning beetles. I keep them on a bed of bran, which gives them a constant food source and is a dry substrate, similar to sand. My beetles get their moisture from the other foods that I give them - pieces of fruit (apple, orange, cantaloup rind, watermelon rind), and dry dog food that has been soaked in water. Give them something to climb on like wood pieces, bark or branches, as they are very active on my wood pieces.


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## Moonsister

Could I ask what kind of bran you keep them on?


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## SlothGuy29

I use dog food, oranges, spinach and banana


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