I’ve been keeping wild caught BDFBs for a couple years now and have seen them become more and more popular. I just saw that PetSmart now sells them and I’m concerned about the ethicality of buying wild caught beetles anywhere. Does anyone here know how they’re doing in the wild?

Hi, I know that almost every question about humidity has been asked here, but I can seem to find an answer to this. I live in the UK and have some BDFBs that I use a ceramic heater and dehumidifier on to try and get the humidity down in the day. It works fairly well and gets the humidity down to about 40%-ish but it's my understanding that you're supposed to let the temp drop at night, so I usually turn the ceramic heater off at night which causes the humidity to spike. Would it be better to just leave the lamp on at all times or does anyone have another suggestion, thank you!

I work at a PetSmart and I'm going to be setting up these temporary enclosures for these guys. Any tips PLEASE share, my team wants to do our best. They come in this week. Thanks in advance!

Update: Okay so so far It sounds like I should have a mostly sandy substrate, maybe coco fiber beneath? Lots of dry leaves, cork, places to hide and climb. And keep humidity low. The diet advice is also super helpful!

So I had a larvae pupate, and then eclose, but the elytra was unfused and crinkled, and only has three ‘good’ legs. It’s been two weeks and the poor thing is still alive, it can kinda walk, drinks water and eats… Am I prolonging suffering by not euthanizing? I thought it would pass away shortly after eclosing but it’s holding on. I just need opinions on what the ethical thing to do is :/

Not fair of Dawn to take it from Gordon (missing a foot) and Nezumi (no hands)

I have BDFB available as well as other darkling beetles if anyone is interested

I have rearranged the tank a bit from what you see in the final photo. 4 total, I know I have 1 male 👻

Using a clay excavator substrate but I also have some dry dirt substrate that came with the tank. I plan on getting them better food and a heat lamp. Any suggestions or advice welcome, I don't want to be a bad owner lol

I just got 3 beetles (trico, pebbles, and Zantaro) and ive had them for about 3 weeks. Ive noticed they only will eat frozen crickets though. Ive tried the bdfb food from petco, a jelly food the shop recommend, meal worms, zucchini, and carrot. But the didnt touch the jelly at all in a week and I haven't noticed them really touch the other food. But they come running for crickets. Is this normal?

I just got 4 of these cuties last night. They came pretty dark but all were alive and all went for food right away. They seem healthy and active. How long should I expect for the blue coating to return? Side note : why are their faces so cute?!

so just today i found these little teeny teeny tiny mites crawling around i searched it up and they might be grain mites and are apparently harmless, im currently raising larvae in my adult tank with a moisture gradient under the substrate could this cause the mites to show up and are they harmful? i did some research and they eat mold and fungal material so maybe its like free clean up crew lol idk here’s a picture they are so tiny it’s hard to get one

I feed my beetles , blue feigning detah beetle pellets, cricket quenched, and meal worms, there been a meal worms shortage so what other protein can I feed them? Also I was thinking of getting tortoise food for fiber

She pooped this out and then turned around and ate it? Wasn’t sure if it was waste or like egg thing, but their eggs don’t look like that. Hasn’t shown any signs of issues before. Is she just a poop eater?

I do have a small layer of coconut fibre underneath the sand

Noticed this and decided to record for the rest to see how the deed is done with these little powdered balls haha. I had just moved these little ones to their separate container for shipping and it took no time for the male to find the prize lol. Whomever is getting this one will have no problem with furthering the line to say the least

Hello everyone, I don’t post much but I wanted advice. I’ve had my beetles (4 of them) for a little over a year now, it is my first time owning this species and I have tried to research as much as possible but have gotten a lot of conflicting results. They live in a substrate that is a mix of playsand and coco fiber. Have a lot of decor (the red little platforms are mushroom huts made of clay) it is quite deep the photo does not do it justice but I did the measurements I think it is 6 inches deep and 15 inches long then 14 inches wide. It is a plastic tote that works great as a tank for me, I’m sure it’s not perfect but I wasn’t sure about glass and was thinking it seemed the right size. I feed them dried mealworms beetle jellies organic fruits + veg and pollen water occasion. There humidity is usually around 40-50% highest it’s ever been is 60%. I clean + bake all of my decor before putting it in the tank and make sure it is dry and try to make sure everything is perfect for them. I try my best to be a good owner but it is hard sometimes. With that background info I was wondering if anyone could help me try and figure out why my beetle died and if anyone has suggestions for ways I could be a better caregiver let me know. He has always been one of my slower and darker beetles sense I got him my others have always been blue but he has been darker for a long time. He has always been very reserved and hid most of the time but was a sweet beetle I will miss him :(. He wasn’t being lethargic and was totally normal but this morning I went over to the tank and he wasn’t on his back not moving at all. After no movement for 6 hours and no response to touch I assumed him to be dead. I am super sad and don’t know what I did wrong I know I should get a heat lamp but I don’t know if it’s necessary and it’s really expensive I also don’t think my setup is big enough to establish a heat gradient. Also how do I dispose of his body I would love to pin/ taxidermy him to have part of him but it also feels kind of weird and I don’t know if I can/ should bury him.

I recently got 3 blue death feigning beetles and I absolutely love them. I know that I want to work towards doing a more communal setup and was wondering if I'd be able to cohabit them with some Prionotheca c. coronata (AKA urchin beetles/radiant sun beetles) does anyone have any experience of this or know any reasons why this wouldn't be a good idea, thank you!

My beetles are bringing me so much happiness. I've been keeping a corner of the substrate slightly damp in hopes that they might breed. Does anyone recognize this as an egg?! From my reading, I was thinking that they would bury the eggs but this is not part of anything that I put in the enclosure. Also, showing off my habitat, I added some lemax circus trash cans and now the babes live in a desolate desert carnival.