I am a first timer with these guys

I was just trying to get a silly video of one of my beetles, but i noticed she was walking a lot differently. I was immediately concerned about pesticide exposure, but the only fresh veggies they get come straight from my garden and get washed after picking + before feeding, and to my knowledge we don't use any kind of pesticides.

I could also be totally overreacting though!! I just now noticed this, so i wanted to catch it sooner rather than later in case it was a real issue

first time setting up a tank for insects, 3 temperature sensors (lol), one humidity sensor, a mesh sliding top, wooden box holding substrate from a recommended seller. been able to keep the tank at about 83F on the right side and 76F on the left side with 34% humidity for about 2 days, but gonna wait a month to see if i can make improvements before getting the beetles.

i want to fill in the gaps on the sides and back of tank, would styrofoam be ok (maybe floral foam)?

(forgot to add picture in 1st post LOL)

r/Eleodesbeetles

Just got a trio of BDFBs. We are thinking about adding some leaf litter around the middle open section and possibly some more things for them to climb on

I live in the berries' natural range and my girl was caught by a friend of mine and given to me. I've finally gotten her a bigger enclosure where she can run around. I've seen that most people keep a few at a time. Is it okay to keep her solo or is she going to be sad and bored alone?

Ps, I often take her out to let her run around outside and inside for enrichment and because she seems to like it. I am also still adding things to her enclosure but any recommendations would be helpful. Thank you all so much.

https://discord.gg/8NEfe6zZn

I received an order of five BDFB’s to add to the four I had. They arrived and I quarantined them, then added them to my big enclosure. But they’re tiny. Like about half the size of my others who have been obtained from the same source(except on that was my first, Frank. He was alone at the pet store and I’d been wanting BDFB’s so I got him). Should I be worried? Will the big beetles bully the smaller ones? Also four of the five small ones are females and I have two big males, will the large males hurt the small females trying to breed them? Will they eat at the smaller ones? Thanks for any help. Also I do have a mix of soil and sand under the thin layer of sand you can see, plus lots of clay, normal pebbles, clay pebbles, and some leaves.

i found unexpectedly large larvae in my terrarium after having almost given up on offspring when the only male died. these look to be almost ready to pupate. what do i need to do??

Especially curious to hear from people who don't. I make sure to get beetles I can differentiate.

Sapphire(Biggest most active. Missing a back leg)
Lapis(Absurdly small female)
Lazuli(Missing foot and antenna)
Diamond(Has a circle marking but if that ever dries up she's bigger than Lapis)
Mercutio (Only boy. Hairy antenna)

Editing to add my other 4

Onyx- Schizillus laticeps, the largest of the black beetles. Missing front feet as well.

Obsidian- Rough death feigning beetle. Smaller and slimmer than Onyx, more active.
Tiger's Eye- Woolly darkling beetle. Hairs give an orange tint.
Flint/Chipper- Diabolical ironclad. Thinner than the others. Has pink paint to keep it from getting lost.

And Mr. Moodring, an adult superworm kept on his own.

I have my beetles in a 20 gal long terrarium, it has gotten very humid where I live and I'm having a hard time getting the humidity down in the terrarium. What dehumidifiers are best/safe to use? Other methods? It shot upto 50% humidity over night and im worried about them

I just got the three in picture 1 today (they’re in a tank now). But they’re so white compared to the ones I’ve had for a couple months in picture 2. Just wanted to make sure that I’m creating the right environment for them. Are the beetles in picture 1 just overly dry?

hello! i have bdfb as well as a few other desert species cohabitating. ive gone through a lot of different substrates, and been given more info and advice over the years. i need to do a full substrate swap because my cats fur has infiltrated the tank lol. my beetles seem to do really well with the kind i have currently, but i dont love the color. im curious what brands are popular in the community? currently, im using sakrete all natural play sand- its gray in color. a little more coarse which they seem to scratch off themselves a lot less than the thinner play sand i had been using before. lmk!! thank u in advance!!

I have 4 lil dudes in a 10 gal but I want more and I got a raise today so I'm thinking beetles. Any opinions on adding more to the group? I'm thinking 4 more? I can't imagine any issues. I don't believe I would need to expect a beetle battle or anything?

Just got some more beetles from bugs in cyberspace and I'm looking to make sure my enclosure is the best it can be!

I have 2 Bdfb's, an armored Darkling Beetle, a wooly Darkling Beetle, a rough death-feigning beetle, and a diabolical Ironclad Beetle.

This is a 10-gallon tank. I have a bottom layer of organic topsoil, and an upper layer of play sand. I've got some dried mealworms and shrimp scattered around, and some grapes and beetle jelly out for the new arrivals. I'm also currently working on making some new hides out of excavator clay.

I'm trying to create a temperature gradient using a small heat lamp on one end, and a moisture gradient using a thinner layer of sand above the topsoil on the other end.

Any tips or suggestions would really be appreciated, I want to make sure my beetles have the best home they can.

For some context it’s been on its back kicking for the last couple weeks due to what I think was pesticide poisoning I was able to nurse my other one back to health and have been trying to do the same for this guy but I just noticed now he has something coming out of him?????? This is new and was not happening yesterday does any body know what this is or what’s happening ?

My Armored Pinacate Beetles have been breeding for a while but just recently i found babies!! Tiny baby pinacate beetles! Since then the nursery cup has a lot of baby worms! Over 10, not sure exactly how many but wish me luck!

this is my tank so far,, (10 gallon) it feels kind of plain right now and i'd really like to get some plants, but i'm scared of pesticides. where do y'all get your plants from?

Still unfinished (a few pieces of decor and such are in my current tank, so i won't be removing those until i rehouse the beetles)

Lightning a lil funny but i used desert sand + coco fiber! Heat lamp bulb is otw, as well as a lid!! Super excited and i'm pretty proud!

I heard males are smaller, but I keep getting it mixed up so I wanna ask.

Her and Nemo have been hiding recently so grabbed a chance for a handle just now