Can Blue Death Feigners be over handled?

[Praxibetelix]

Hello, my family is new to the hobby. We started out with a Wheel Bug caught in the backyard. He was discovered by my then four year old daughter. After he died, of natural causes, most likely old age, we stumbled upon Bugsincyberspace.com.

Now, we are the proud owners of 4 blue death feigning beetles. Our daughter who is now 5, wants to hold them as much as she can. Is there a concern for over handling? I am keeping it to a minimum, the insects are brand new to us. We had delivery on 3/23/16, yes yesterday!

Any advice would be great! They seem happy in their enclosure, has a hide, a food dish, and desert substrate from Peter's shop.

I saw a post regarding them piling up on each other, ours are definitely huddling. Could this also be due to temperatures? Would anyone recommend an under tank heater or a heat lamp for these guys?

Thank you! Sorry for the wall of text!

 

[Tenevanica]

First, I'd like to tell you you've made a great choice! I love Asbolus verrucosus, they are my all time favorite beetle! To answer your question, you should avoid over-handling any animal, as they can all experience stress that can be harmful to them. I regularly handle my death feigners, and I've never had any problems. They are pretty active little beetles, so I'm sure you'll be fine handling them. As long as you don't have them out for an hour every day it should be OK, though I'm sure many will disagree. (A lot of people on here have a strict no handling policy, but that's really a personal choice.) I'm sure these beetles will give you years of entertainment, and they are SUPER easy to care for. Good luck!

(P.S These do fine for me at room temperature. The huddling may actually be an attempt to decrease each-others temperature by shielding one another from the sun. Again, these are so hardy they can be kept at almost any temperature without any problems, but room temperature is easy and recommended.)

 

[Sarkhan42]

These guys are pretty darn tough. As long as you're gentle with the legs its probably fine to handle them a decent amount, they're commonly used for classrooms for a reason, though I wouldn't do it constantly as it doesn't give the insects anything but some stress, granted its not anywhere near as dangerous as with tarantulas, these are very difficult to crush from a predators point of view, let alone be damaged but a mild fall. The one thing you might observe is that they'll stop playing dead when picked up if they get used to being handled, as a lot of school collections have this happen. As to the temperatures, a bulb would make them more active but they really don't need one, and you should see them move around more in the evening either way.

 

[Praxibetelix]

Thank you Tenevanica.

I did a quick forum search first and saw you reply a lot regarding these little guys! Was hoping you would see my post

We chose them for their ease, longevity, and cuteness!

 

[Praxibetelix]

If I can figure out the technology, I will put up a picture of them. They are very blue in my photos.

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah, you should be OK with handling them fairly often, darkling beetles are pretty tough. I handle my darklings pretty regularly, and they haven't shown any signs of stress. They truly are one of the best insect pets out there, they are so easy to care for and can be quite long lived!

 

[Tenevanica]

If I can figure out the technology, I will put up a picture of them. They are very blue in my photos.

Pictures would be great! These guys vary in color dramatically. From powder blue, to royal blue, to jet black, the color range is very interesting, and it's thought to have something to do with humidity. The easiest way to insert pictures IMO is to click the "upload a file" button next to the "post reply" button. Add the picture anywhere in the post, and it will be saved to your gallery so it can be uploaded to other posts.

 

[Praxibetelix]

Pictures would be great! These guys vary in color dramatically. From powder blue, to royal blue, to jet black, the color range is very interesting, and it's thought to have something to do with humidity. The easiest way to insert pictures IMO is to click the "upload a file" button next to the "post reply" button. Add the picture anywhere in the post, and it will be saved to your gallery so it can be uploaded to other posts.

The pics are on my phone! Do you know how to move them from that? Can I post from my phone?
Emailed them to myself, looks like it worked!

 

[Praxibetelix]

 

[Hisserdude]

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Nice setup! I love how these guys look, I should really get some one day.

 

[Tenevanica]

Those are very blue! Nice setup. What's the hide made out of?

 

[Tenevanica]

Nice setup! I love how these guys look, I should really get some one day.

You really should

 

[Praxibetelix]

Those are very blue! Nice setup. What's the hide made out of?

It is a wicker ball-toy for rabbits!! It had two small wooden balls in it that I removed. I just worked the wicker to make an entry and exit hole at either end. $3.99 at one of the pet shops. I chose the natural one, as the stained one made me nervous.

 

[Hisserdude]

You really should

Yeah, I just have a hard time justifying the purchase of a beetle that I may not be able to breed, and for $9 each?!

I'm better off breeding my native species, for instance I am trying to breed some Eusattus muricatus, a species that does not seem to have much documentation of it's immature stages. It seems that I am succeeding, I found an egg at the bottom of the enclosure, it's huge in comparison to other darkling beetle eggs! Hopefully it hatches and I can get some pictures of the larva!

I also have some Coelus ciliatus coming in the mail tomorrow, seems like I'm jumping back into the darkling beetle hobby!

 

[Praxibetelix]

Yeah, I just have a hard time justifying the purchase of a beetle that I may not be able to breed, and for $9 each?!

I'm better off breeding my native species, for instance I am trying to breed some Eusattus muricatus, a species that does not seem to have much documentation of it's immature stages. It seems that I am succeeding, I found an egg at the bottom of the enclosure, it's huge in comparison to other darkling beetle eggs! Hopefully it hatches and I can get some pictures of the larva!

I also have some Coelus ciliatus coming in the mail tomorrow, seems like I'm jumping back into the darkling beetle hobby!

Add it to your shopping cart when you place another order! They live a long time, we decided the longevity outweighed the cost of the animal.

 

[pannaking22]

Handling every few days shouldn't be a problem for these guys. The only issues with frequent handling is that they'll stop playing dead and you can wear off the fatty layer that makes them blue, giving them the black coloration. It takes some energy and resources to replenish the fatty layer, but if you just keep them dry and at room temp with fresh food every few days they'll recreate it easily. They're a fun and easy species to keep for hobbyists of all ages and experience levels. They were actually the first thing I got when I started officially keeping inverts. If you want to breed them it'll take a more serious setup and probably no handling, but if you're just keeping them for fun you should have them for a couple years at least. Enjoy them!

 

[Hisserdude]

Add it to your shopping cart when you place another order! They live a long time, we decided the longevity outweighed the cost of the animal.

Still, to me one of the most interesting aspects of keeping beetles is getting them to reproduce and rear the larva. Sure it is possible to successfully breed this species, but it is much more complicated than rearing other darklings. Sure they could live up to 10 years, but I still really like seeing the larva.

Plus, this species has apparently been caught in southern Idaho, so I may be able to catch some for free!

 

[Tenevanica]

Handling every few days shouldn't be a problem for these guys. The only issues with frequent handling is that they'll stop playing dead and you can wear off the fatty layer that makes them blue, giving them the black coloration. It takes some energy and resources to replenish the fatty layer, but if you just keep them dry and at room temp with fresh food every few days they'll recreate it easily. They're a fun and easy species to keep for hobbyists of all ages and experience levels. They were actually the first thing I got when I started officially keeping inverts. If you want to breed them it'll take a more serious setup and probably no handling, but if you're just keeping them for fun you should have them for a couple years at least. Enjoy them!

Fatty layer? I thought the blue color came from a powdery substance that acts as a kind of sunscreen. When they get wet they turn a black color. That's what makes me think it's a secreted substance.

 

[Tenevanica]

Still, to me one of the most interesting aspects of keeping beetles is getting them to reproduce and rear the larva. Sure it is possible to successfully breed this species, but it is much more complicated than rearing other darklings. Sure they could live up to 10 years, but I still really like seeing the larva.

Plus, this species has apparently been caught in southern Idaho, so I may be able to catch some for free!

Southern Idaho? That's an extreme northward range. I rarely ever find any farther North than Phoenix or Las Vegas. Do you have an scientific data that backs up your claim of the Northern edge of their range?

 

[Hisserdude]

Southern Idaho? That's an extreme northward range. I rarely ever find any farther North than Phoenix or Las Vegas. Do you have an scientific data that backs up your claim of the Northern edge of their range?

Well there was a website from a college in Idaho that had a list of all the darkling beetles in their collection, as well as the locations they were collected from. Many of them obviously were caught in Idaho, including an Asbolus verrucosus, if the the website was to be believed. However it seems that the site has been taken down, I have it bookmarked but it keeps saying the site can not be found.