Triceratops Beetle

[pancakesfordinner]

This beetle crawled in front of the receptionist's desk at my workplace last week so I scooped it up and think I have IDed it as a triceratops beetle. I gave it a blob of apple pulp mixed with fish food flakes and it ate on it for awhile, then I put it in a solo container of rotting hardwood soil and it burrowed out of sight. I checked on it on Friday and got to hear its stridulations. The receptionist said it sounded like beetle purring.

There seems to be pretty limited info on keeping them as pets. I saw a youtube video of someone feeding them cut up hot dogs, is cooked meat really an okay option for a carnivorous beetle? Do they bite or not? Any idea how to sex it? My guess is female because the bumps on her head are very small.

 

[MTA]

You can feed them slow moving insects like waxworms and mealworms.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

This beetle crawled in front of the receptionist's desk at my workplace last week so I scooped it up and think I have IDed it as a triceratops beetle. I gave it a blob of apple pulp mixed with fish food flakes and it ate on it for awhile, then I put it in a solo container of rotting hardwood soil and it burrowed out of sight. I checked on it on Friday and got to hear its stridulations. The receptionist said it sounded like beetle purring.

There seems to be pretty limited info on keeping them as pets. I saw a youtube video of someone feeding them cut up hot dogs, is cooked meat really an okay option for a carnivorous beetle? Do they bite or not? Any idea how to sex it? My guess is female because the bumps on her head are very small.

I would not recommend the mealworms or waxworms long term. These beetles live in the holes left behind by a decaying tree stump, and in that habitat, the adults probably eat worms and very soft insects. My local Petsmart sells red wiggler worms by the dozen for a few dollars, and that will be more than enough to last one beetle a few weeks.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I would not recommend the mealworms or waxworms long term. These beetles live in the holes left behind by a decaying tree stump, and in that habitat, the adults probably eat worms and very soft insects. My local Petsmart sells red wiggler worms by the dozen for a few dollars, and that will be more than enough to last one beetle a few weeks.

Waxworms and mealworms are both very similar to the type of insect larvae the beetles would encounter in a rotting log. In fact, darkling beetle larvae that are practically identical to mealworms are common, along with click beetle larvae that have the same shape and texture.

Earthworms tend to be less common in logs and they're probably too slippery for triceratops beetles to catch. And red wigglers have fetid secretions that many predators find distasteful.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

Waxworms and mealworms are both very similar to the type of insect larvae the beetles would encounter in a rotting log. In fact, darkling beetle larvae that are practically identical to mealworms are common, along with click beetle larvae that have the same shape and texture.

Earthworms tend to be less common in logs and they're probably too slippery for triceratops beetles to catch. And red wigglers have fetid secretions that many predators find distasteful.

Mine seem to be enjoying the wigglers as they have been living on them for months.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Mine seem to be enjoying the wigglers as they have been living on them for months.

Interesting that they can in fact catch earthworms despite the slime, but have you tried feeding them anything else?

They're widely reported to feed on insects, and even prey on adults of other hard- shelled scarabeied beetles:
https://www.gbif.org/pt/species/1074390

Clearly they don't have any sort of requirement for soft prey.

 

[pancakesfordinner]

Just a correction, I was mistaken in my ID and this is a similar species of rhino beetle but not a triceratops beetle. I've since caught a male a few days ago. He was stuck on his back on my patio and I thought he was dead. I had nothing better right then so I fed him some grape jelly and he pulled through.

When I had just the female, I put a live superworm in with her, and a few days later it was gone without a trace. Now she and the newly-caught male are together. I mixed fish flakes into the soil and put some vegetables on top. The male came up to eat some of the veggies. I put another superworm in with them but they haven't eaten it yet. I may try to feed some dead crickets or superworms if they haven't eaten it. If an insect is freshly dead, is texture/softness less of an issue?

 

[MTA]

They should be able to eat the crickets without any problems, but you shouldn't mix in fish flakes since that could cause mites to show up in their cage.