Atlas beetle query

[Serpyderpy]

I bought an Atlas beetle, named Valentine, a while back when I went to a reptile convention. I saw him and noticed that he wasn't looking too good, the hooks that are present on his legs were missing and some were merely stumps. My heart kind of leapt out of my chest, as Atlas beetles are my favourite beetles, and sunk too, to see the state he was in, so I bought him and took him home. I should note all the other beetles looked fine! Not dragging the breeder or anything, he just looked worse for wear.

I used eco earth and baked leaf litter and put him in his new home. He gets a wide range of fruit that is cleaned every two days and one side of the cage is misted. A cotton wool ball is used so he can drink from it without drowning in a bowl. After a while, though, I started noticing fruit flies, and little white dots crawling on his food. It does not help my familiars insist on buying close-to-moldy fruit for super cheap, and they are everywhere in the kitchen. When he eats, a white substance would sometimes accumulate around his mouth parts, which I am sincerely hoping is just dried mushed up fruit, as it goes away sometimes and comes back in tune with his feedings, and I can wipe it off. I do not know if they're fruit fly larvae or mites but I want them gone. I noticed when I bought him that some white dots were present in his box, but I didn't add any of that substrate into his new enclosure. They may have hitched a ride on him.

As I need to go into my local town to visit my therapist tomorrow, I also plan on going to my local exotic pet shop and buying a) a bigger enclosure, b) some new substrate and c) some type of bowl to keep the fruit in, as the white things seem to come from the substrate.

Should I move him into a dry box and hope that any mites on him die in the meantime whilst I buy him new things? Are there any creatures that eat mites that would help? I saw pillbugs and predatory mites but I'm not sure. He's my prince and I would hate to see him get any worse due to these little buggers annoying him. I'm also considering a diet of beetle jelly now due to the flies increasingly persistant and obnoxious presence. However, too much sugar can cause deficiencies in insects and a shorter lifespan. Beetle jelly iirc is just the same as that gecko jelly stuff, but I'm not sure what's actually in it beyond glycerol and flavourings. Do you think that would be alright on it's own or is fresh fruit better for him?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

The fruit is not better, use the beetle jelly.

 

[Serpyderpy]

The fruit is not better, use the beetle jelly.

Another thing added to my shopping list. I heard a lot of conflicting info about the jelly which is why I was a little hesitant, but I'll order them in bulk. Thank you!

 

[Ranitomeya]

Fruit causes mite outbreaks because they have starches and other nutrients that the mites thrive on. Beetle jellies are a good option if you want to avoid mites because they are essentially just sugar water thickened with gelatin--they do not hold the same nutritional load for optimal mite reproduction and because they tend to be more liquid than solid, mites drown if they attempt to feed on it.

Keep in mind that missing tarsi on beetles are usually a sign of old age and not often a sign of poor care unless they were housed in something they could get their claws stuck in, so he might not live for much longer--especially if he's going to spend all his time and energy struggling to grip onto things.

 

[Serpyderpy]

Fruit causes mite outbreaks because they have starches and other nutrients that the mites thrive on. Beetle jellies are a good option if you want to avoid mites because they are essentially just sugar water thickened with gelatin--they do not hold the same nutritional load for optimal mite reproduction and because they tend to be more liquid than solid, mites drown if they attempt to feed on it.

Keep in mind that missing tarsi on beetles are usually a sign of old age and not often a sign of poor care unless they were housed in something they could get their claws stuck in, so he might not live for much longer--especially if he's going to spend all his time and energy struggling to grip onto things.

Ah, that may be it. I have no idea how old his is but he is a big bugger. I have seen him try to climb the cage with his tarsi (thank you for the proper name) and I'm also not sure if he got them caught on the slits for ventilation, but even if he is old and won't live too long, I'd still like to give him a better enclosure, especially later on down the line if I get any more, as it saves me messing around with his old one.

Never knew about the starch things, but beetle care guides are few and far between and seem to have conflicting information. I'll use jelly from now on for Valentine and my grubs when they grow up.