Dermestid beetles

[Bigboy]

I only have 5 larvae

I started with fifty a year ago, they breed pretty fast.

 

[bhoeschcod]

How fast?plus i found out i have two species black carpet beetle and larder beetle btw i now have 4 larvae and two beetles [black carpet beetles]

 

[Bigboy]

Holy hell, I came back home after being away a week and they've demolished all that beef heart. I must have given them 3/4lb!

How fast?plus i found out i have two species black carpet beetle and larder beetle btw i now have 4 larvae and two beetles [black carpet beetles]

I keep Dermestes maculatus. They reproduce very quickly but I would strongly recommend you try and start with around 50 minimum just to help you add a bit more genetic diversity to your colony. I supplemented mine a few months back with 300 from an unrelated colony for that reason alone. The more inbred you allow them to be, the slower the colony will turn over. When your colony is hot the biggest problem isn't them breeding fast enough, its you finding them enough to eat.

 

[Matt K]

I give mine fish food and dead roaches and they seem just fine. Though yesterday I did put a dead lizard in there....

 

[Bigboy]

The only problem I have with using dog food or other dry foods is that when I put actual meat in there they forget all about the dry stuff. Then it starts to get moldy and fouls up the tank. I hardly have any problems with a "smell" since I stopped using anything but dried meat or skulls/skeletons to be prepped in the tank 10months ago.

 

[calum]

yes, these little ****ers breed like wildfire.

if your gunna feed them something like a lizard, you should dry it out first to prevent it stinking. I made the mistake of feeding my first colony wet/moist prey, and oh jesus, they stank like.. I dunno what else smells that bad.