Got a free beetle, Zophobas morio, from petco

[mmfh]

i saw it in the corn snake enclosure and ask if I could have it. It is very cool looking and my very first pet beetle. I don't think I. Keeping it right, I put it on damp coco coir and gave it a water dish and a dish with some oatmeal and dog food. It imediately started eating the oatmeal. I could not find much on the care of the beetles themselves so I have a few questions. Should the coir be dry? Would it do better in millipede substrate (I have some)? If pede substrate, should it too be dry? I found one site that said to feed it kale, would Swiss chard be ok (I have a bunch in my garden)? That's all the questions I have for now. Thank you.

 

[Hisserdude]

Really any substrate is fine, regular coconut fiber should be good. The adults don't live long, only a few months, and tolerate both moist and dry substrate, so keep one side moist and one side dry.

 

[Tenevanica]

Any substrate works. If you want to be easy on yourself dry substrate can be used, but it will tolerate moisture. A water dish is unnecessary so long as you feed it fresh vegetables. If the dish is too deep it could very easily drown.