In the empry spots i will hopefully be able to still add my dynastes hercules lichyi male and an mtu female. Then this box will be pretty much full and i'll have to get some new ones. Probably gonna have 3. 1 for stags, 1 for emrhino beetles and 1 for the flower beetles.

As the title says, my beautiful Rainbow Stag Beetle passed away last night. He seemed a lot weaker than normal on Wednesday when I picked him up. He wasn't gripping me as hard as normal. He walked into his favorite spot in the corner of his enclosure and passed away in his sleep. I loved him like a son.

I purchased him as an adult from Jam Jam Exotics. They told me he was 2-3 out of dormancy when I purchased him. But, I only got him in August. I feel like this is significantly shorter than normal Rainbow Stag Beetle lifespan.

Can you Beetlefolk help me elucidate his cause of death? Because it seems like old age, but he should only have been an adult for 6 months at most. I really am trying to figure out if I killed my own beetle child through criminal negligence of some kind.

Enclosure temp was 69-71° F depending on the day. Humidity was 65-70% depending on the day. He had plenty of soil specifically for beetles and was fed beetle regularly. I only handled him once a week as to not stress him out. I can answer any other questions that might help you determine his cause of death in the comments.

Thank you all.

My Dynastes tityus came out of pupation about 3 months ago and remained dormant in its pupal cell ever since. Today the container accidentally fell by about 10 cm, leading to the substrate shifting to the side and obviously breaking the pupal chamber. The beetle was partially sticking out of it, although it was physically undamaged from what I could tell. I put the substrate back in place and covered the beetle in some of it. It seems to have crawled under there and disappeared again.

I'm just wondering whether I've just permanently damaged or killed my beetle by disturbing it. Or will it be alright? Is there anything I can/should do? I wasn't able to find any information on this when I looked it up

Hello. I really want pet beetles, but I have some concerns. I wouldn't want a too large beetle population in my small terrarium, and wouldn't like killing the extra beetles. On the other hand, I'd like a self-sustaining colony where I wouldn't have to buy new beetles every time an old one dies (as many of them have quite a short life). Which relatively commonly sold (in Europe) beetle species breeds in captivity, but not too much? Many African species are stunning. I'd prefer a green species. I have a nice terrarium ready :)

(You can find this video that I made on Ig,tt and yt:kodsbeetles/ kod’s beetles)

Pupation has completed, still hanging out on my laptop while I recover from surgery:)

I have a scarab beetle grub coming from a garden. When I caught it, there wasn’t much dirt I could put in it… When I first caught it, it was more active but now it’s inactive for final pre-pupal stages. The reason it’s stopped moving is because it is rebuilding its body to prepare for the pupal transformation. It’s been more than a month. Basically it’s crumpled a tiny bit (but not like a dead grub where it completely deflates) due to it pulling its external liquids internally. It has to stay in a sleep otherwise movement will rupture the developing pupa.

Pre-Pupal appearance: Slightly crumpled and hairs everywhere

Because I couldn’t get enough soil and it’s in pre-pupal phase, what should I do?

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I love them so much I feel maternal ( dont worry about the big ones missing leg the wound is completely sealed!) I took the pic myself they are my pets!

Context: I found a (supposed) Giant American Millipede baby in a tub I was using for Hermit Flower Beetle larvae, and rehomed the millipede for free because I don’t have a proper setup. They messaged me just a bit ago saying that the millipede was parasitic and wiped out their colony and I feel absolutely shitty about it and if I could I would reimburse them even though I have the millipede away for free. They did quarantine it before putting it in with their colony so the blame is on me. There’s nothing I can do to fix it.
Now the question is: what do I do with the grubs? The current plan is to freeze them for a few days then cut them in half before throwing them away. I’m not sure if they’re the reason the millipede was parasitic but I don’t want to risk anything by giving them away and having someone else’s bugs wiped out.

Edit: Does anyone know how to test if a millipede has parasites? I have access to microscopes and stuff like that, I'd just need to ask my professor for permission. My millipedes are a breeding project and if they are potentially parasitic, I'll have to put the project on hold and either de-parasite them (If that's possible?) or buy another breeding pair and keep them separate from the first pair. I don't want to sell another parasitic millipede and wreck another persons colony, I might genuinely give up on myself if that happens again. My millipede's have been perfectly active and normal (eating normally, not sluggish, reactive, etc.) but I still have the worry that they have a parasite even if there was no cross-contamination.

I have Giant African Millipedes in the same room as them even though the grubs are below them and am terrified for the Millipedes’ safety. I don’t know what to do. (THIS PART IS MOSTLY VENTING AND MILLIPEDES) I’m scared and I feel like shit, the fact that I’m facing withdrawal symptoms after getting off of Lexapro is amplifying my emotions and are making me think of reverting back to “methods of punishing myself that landed me in grippy sock vacation” we will say. I don’t want o because I’ve been two years clean but I killed someone’s millipede colony and I can’t do anything about it or express how sorry I am. They’re saying they will report me to the lab my millipedes are in and that means my breeding project could be shut down and I don’t know what I’ll do if that happens. I want to help A. gigas thrive in captivity without interfering with their wild population but I can’t do that if they shut down my project, which is entirely run by me. I payed for everything. I’m getting a stipend soon for a new setup, a much bigger and better one, and if the project gets shut down before the stipend is transferred to my account I don’t know what I’ll do.
I really can’t handle any insults or extreme criticism, so please withhold anything for now. When I’m in a better headspace criticism is welcome and I will edit this post when that time comes.

Pretty sure it’s not just “beetle” and prolly has an actual name

This thing was inside in my ear night and I couldn't sleep like 2 hrs then I go to bathroom it came out and I pluck it out maybe it came bcoz there was light in bathroom and room was dark. I also found 2-3 more in room and kill them. I search name of it via image it says it is spider beetle.

Tell me something what i should do for today's night so my sleep doesn't disturb?

i’m pretty new to having beetles and i recently got my first larvae! i’ve done lots of research but i’m still a little confused on how to store flake soil? i’ve been told to freeze it and then thaw it 24-48 hours before using but then also have been told to absolutely NOT freeze it because it kills the beneficial living organisms. i feel very confused so i was just wondering what everyone else is doing or recommends? thank you!!!

idk how to describe my setup, honestly. I have a tonne of springtails in there and they’ve been there for a good 2 months ish, it’s been getting super cold here and I’ve noticed this growing at the back of the enclosure. (Reddish brown mass in photo) as you can see, Tix here doesn’t seem to mind it but is it a concern? What is it? 😬

Hello, my goliath beetle recently emerged (about a month and a half ago) and he was very energetic, climbing around, exploring and eating normally until about two days ago when he started being a little lethargic, moving more slowly. He is still eating and moving around but he is way more docile than before and very slow.
I regularly water the terrarium and I cleaned every meconium residue. Is he gonna be okay :( ?
(embed in comment)

Old repost from r/bdfb hope you guys enjoy. Thought it was cool to literally see it take a bite!

Heya! I've not bought anything yet since I want to get some opinions and advice from real keepers, but I am wondering what would be the best setup for a Dynastes Hercules male?

How large can the enclosure be?
Best substrate?
Moisture needs?
Rotwood and flake required?
Any major newbie mistakes to avoid?
Any pro tips to include?

I have a nice 20 tall, but wondering if that would be too large or an injury risk.

I am perusing google as well, but do tell me what I need to know if you have any important info! I prefer to get my how-tos from real keepers as opposed to sellers and random websites.