Stag beatles ?

[DratzKennedy]

Is there anyone on the forumn who keeps stag beatles? I find them fascinating but have never seen one being sold anywhere locally even at exotic pet shows. Truthfully i dont know all that much about them but plan to do more reading. I would love though, to own one (or more) and learn more about them.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Yes, have kept them for a while now. I have a male Lucanus elaphus in my collection as of now. Really simple pet to own. I set all of my stag/rhino beetles in moist sphagnum moss filled enclosures with 2 beetle jellies on top. Once they are ready to mate with the females, I supervise the mating session to make sure the male doesn't toss around the female. Once they mated a few times, I throw them in an enclosure filled with 70% rotting wood and 30% organic potting soil mix.

Before you do this you should add a breeding log. A small, white rotted beech one will work. In foreign countries they make white rotting oak logs that work way better but are illegal to import. You will get your breeding container, fill the bottom with substrate and compact it up to 2 inches. Then, add the breeding log.

Fill the substrate all around the log and make sure its compressed but not too tight. Fill it up to 7-9 inches and lay some oak leaves on the top of the container. You can add beetle jellies on top, but make sure it's the brown sugar kind. From my experience, stags aren't crazy about banana jellies. If you want an easy species to keep that isn't a stag beetle I'd go with Dynastes tityus. To breed them would be the same concept except they will lay eggs in 100% organic potting soil and do not require breeding logs. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[DratzKennedy]

Yes, have kept them for a while now. I have a male Lucanus elaphus in my collection as of now. Really simple pet to own. I set all of my stag/rhino beetles in moist sphagnum moss filled enclosures with 2 beetle jellies on top. Once they are ready to mate with the females, I supervise the mating session to make sure the male doesn't toss around the female. Once they mated a few times, I throw them in an enclosure filled with 70% rotting wood and 30% organic potting soil mix.

Before you do this you should add a breeding log. A small, white rotted beech one will work. In foreign countries they make white rotting oak logs that work way better but are illegal to import. You will get your breeding container, fill the bottom with substrate and compact it up to 2 inches. Then, add the breeding log.

Fill the substrate all around the log and make sure its compressed but not too tight. Fill it up to 7-9 inches and lay some oak leaves on the top of the container. You can add beetle jellies on top, but make sure it's the brown sugar kind. From my experience, stags aren't crazy about banana jellies. If you want an easy species to keep that isn't a stag beetle I'd go with Dynastes tityus. To breed them would be the same concept except they will lay eggs in 100% organic potting soil and do not require breeding logs. Good luck with whatever you choose!

Amazing! Thank you, i will definitely be utilizing this information. I only have a few questions/concerns.
1. Are you located in the u.s.
2. Where can i purchase either the beatles or the grub/larva. And what are they like for cost....pricey??
3. Where do i find the beatle jellies.

Like i said, i am not all too familiar with the rhino beatles and have never seen or heard of them being sold here where i live so i assume its all online shipping and whatnot??

Thank you for being so informational, im joping i can get my hands on some.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Yes I am in the US. There are sites that sell adults sometimes, check out www.bugsincyberspace.com. I have so many jellies I sell for 50 cents each. I actually think a guy on Instagram is selling Dynastes tityus pairs and his name is wwbeetlefarm, check him out!

 

[DratzKennedy]

Yes I am in the US. There are sites that sell adults sometimes, check out www.bugsincyberspace.com. I have so many jellies I sell for 50 cents each. I actually think a guy on Instagram is selling Dynastes tityus pairs and his name is wwbeetlefarm, check him out!

Awsome! Well you already have the jellies, you might as well just do some breading also, then we can buy from you haha. Just playing. (Not really) but i do have another question if you arent annoyed yet.

So, do you purchase them in their larval stage and put them on a special mix of substrate and they emerge as beetles? If so, how long do they go through metamorphosis, and what special needs are there for caring for them as larva?

Thanks for all the info.

 

[pannaking22]

The larval stage is cheaper because they aren't adults yet, but it involves a bit of work on your part to get them to adulthood (though not all that much). They also spend quite a bit more time in the larval stage, so there's a better chance you'll get them like that anyway. Substrate is key for the larvae. If you have a good mixture, they'll pretty much be on autopilot until adulthood, with you just having to occasionally add a bit more substrate for them to eat.

The length of time to adulthood varies. Stags seem to take longer to reach adulthood than most US scarabs (exotics are across the board with regards to time to adulthood). Gymnetis caseyi is a native scarab that can reach adulthood in ~7 months with a good substrate, but even with ok-to-good substrate it'll still be less than a year.