However, it is advisable to provide a light cycle of 12h:12h, so a regular light bulb above the enclosure or in the room is recommended. This is very likely to shorten the beetles lifespan, so it is probably better to let your beetle sleep. All your visitors will be entertained by their lively antics! Hence I have created this blog to share my experience and knowledge in insects keeping so that it can help insects lovers who want to start keeping insects as pets. Prosopocoilus inclinatus, the Japanese stag beetle or Kawagatamushi is a beetle of the Family Lucanidae found in Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Sado Island, Tsushima, Yaku Island, and the Korean peninsula. Always ask for a care sheet from the seller on how to take care of the beetles. Some beetle keepers breed beetles in the winter, disrupting the beetles hibernation. Butavoid water-heavy fruits, such as watermelon, as it will hurt the beetles stomach. Like all beetles, they have that typical build of the head, thorax and abdomen. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Stop changing substrate once the grub builds a pupation chamber. },
May you and your Kuwagata have many many more happy months together , Your email address will not be published. While I am trying more variety of insects I notice the information or guides in the internet are quite scattered. Fill up a 1 pt (~500 mL) container with flake soil as substrates. Their legs are fragile and have spines that might hurt you! animals Thank you for this article! seven
Glad someone posted about their care Didnt know they had such long lifespans. I am Haomaru. The food dishes keep the beetle jelly from spilling onto the bedding. They can survive in higher and lower temperatures for a short time. Pretty cool article!, very attractive and informative. Tomislav, I am so happy to get this info in English. Unfortunately, since I dont have the background in insects, I am unable to answer your question. Place the adult beetles in ventilated containers, and feed them with beetle jelly. The stag beetle is one of more than 1,200 distinct species of beetle native to Europe. A giant stag beetle is an awesome beetle to keep as a pet due to its cool pincers and large body size. You can coax it forward by softly nudging it from behind. This will attract any insects to fly towards the light. Copyright 2023 Keeping Bugs. Importing, keeping and/or breeding of rainbow stag beetles may require permit from your local authority. Larvae live completely in the substrate and will feed on decaying wood. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. A good alternative product to use as a substrate is called flake soil, a product that is made out of decayed hardwood leaves, mostly from old oak trees. You can also drill tiny ventilation holes that are way too small for them to climb out. Some beetle jellies even boast various fitness benefits such as improved longevity, stronger beetles, and larger offspring. You may wish to ask at a pet store nearby, especially ones that sell insects or exotic animals. When it is time to pupate, the grub will move to the bottom of the container to build a pupation chamber, within which it pupates. Its kind of expensive to keep my heater on during the winter here, so Id like to reduce that cost, if possible, but the health of my beetle is more important. Tree barks should also be removed so that the beetles can easily chew through the wood for oviposition. =
If you find my articles useful and would like to support me to maintain this site, you can make purchases through my affiliate links in the articles at no extra cost to you. I started to develop interest in arthropods since 2007, and have been keeping them for a few years. You can let your beetles mate after they have exited the dormant period. Continue reading to learn more.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'xtraordinarypets_com-box-3','ezslot_10',168,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-xtraordinarypets_com-box-3-0'); Lucanus elaphus, also known as the giant stag beetle, can be found in the southeastern United States. Feed the giant stag beetle with cut fruits such as a slice of banana, orange, apples, or pineapple a quarter of their body size. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), A Guide to Keeping Eastern Hercules Beetle, 3 Simple Artificial Pupation Chamber to Save Beetle Pupae. In Japanese, bug bedding is called konchuu matto (). We will discuss in detail how to house, feed and care for them. I didnt expect her to live long so I made a small bug hospice with soil and leaves for her to spend her last few days If possible, bake your substrate to kill any pathogen before using it. Interesting! To keep the bug bedding moist, you can use a store-bought spray beetle-specific spray (mentioned above) to keep the bug bedding moist. If it is not in the mood, then let him or her do its thing and try it a little later. The stag beetle, known askuwagata mushiin Japanese, is verypopular as a pet in Japan, much likerhinoceros beetles (kabuto mushi). To find out how to identify larva in this PDF guide by the PTES. Categories Animals & Pets in Abuja (FCT) State You could add plants and moss to the enclosure. For typical Japanese summer holiday fun, boys go into the bush to catch crickets and beetles to bring them home as pets. Farmers may use pesticides or other chemicals for their crops which in turn in toxic for your animals. There is a challenge though. I personally keep three species of mushis one of which is a Kuwagata (Dorcus Taurus), pretty cute little guys, which i just got on 9th of february which is yesterday. Make a few ventilation holes on the container. If you cant purchase a beetle in the near future, consider these substitutes! Stag beetles will often fall over on their back.
Change the flake soil every 3-4 months. I take care, breed and work with many different bug species, like mantises, phasmids, beetles, arachnids, ants, and cockroaches. A commercial product that is accepted very well is beetle jelly. Any and all answers are appreciated. Keep the substrates moist (but not wet) through misting using a bottle sprayer from time to time. Kabutomushi can lay more eggs and can lay them in more places than Kuwagatamushi. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 'Stag Beetle' Bottle Opener Fridge Magnet (BO00030186) at the best online prices at eBay! The benefit of keeping plants is that it also stimulates a higher humidity. A male giant stag beetle can grow up to 2 in length. It is more convenient to use in terms of preparation and storage. How do you know which grub is male and which is female? Youve come across the magnificent stag beetles and you found that you can keep them as pets and yes they make good pets indeed. A blog on extraordinary, non-conventional pets. Czesznak Zsolt/Shutterstock.com. Female beetles, on the other hand, are smaller in size. They have shared a home for the last year and the female just emerged from sleeping. Hence, make sure the depth of the substrates is at least 2 times the thickness of your beetle. The dimension of your housing for a beetle should be at least 3 times the length of your beetle in length, 2 times in width and 2 times in height. The horn may break, so Ive always picked up the kabuto mushi from the back. Please enjoy! These jaws can sometimes be as big as the beetle's body (as in the case of giant stag beetles ). Stag beetles have a shiny black head and thorax (middle section), and chestnut-brown wing cases. Males have large antler-like jaws, female jaws are much smaller. of the rotten wood should be buried in the flake soil. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. However, you should change the dirt directly before winter starts and be sure to put a log/some wood in the case. You can use a bend tree piece, coconut husk or some cork bark pieces. Im going to try if they have a beetle jelly in the closest 100 yen store tomorrow. Female beetles are smaller in size and have much smaller pincers. Some people pick up kabuto mushi by the horn, but Ive never done this. theme cafes And as with all insects, they have 6 legs. Caring for giant stag beetle grub is very easy. To overcome this, dig a hole out of the kinshi, put in some old flake soil in the hole and place the grub on the flake soil. This ensures this nocturnal beetle has fresh food as he is waking up. Despite the fact that the stag beetle is the largest insect species found in the UK, it has become an increasingly endangered species in most of the country and is now protected in most of its range. You can either buy flake soil or make your own flake soil following my recipe here. They fight each other using their pincers for the right to mate.
Moss, on the other hand, works better. Im so glad it helped! This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Male has a larger head capsule than a female grub. Make sure that it will keep the air inside reasonably humid. They have a relatively short life cycle and adults are very difficult to find. This case is just a normal animal aquarium, as used for hermit crabs. Giant stag beetles can cost up to $4.50 in Japan, where they are known as "black diamonds." It is usually plastic and cube-shaped.
Given that rainbow stag beetles are found only in Australia and New Guinea, it can be very difficult to get them unless beetle keeping is popular in where you stay. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. owl cafes beer Feed her with beetle jelly. The rainbow stag beetle is a popular pet both in their native, Australia and overseas especially in . These insects are a joy to watch and are low-maintenance. They prefer20 to 25 degrees Celsius(68 degrees to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). Important note: Never house more than one male in the same enclosure. Also, I was told (but may not be true, if not, please tell me) that the kabuto should be picked up by the horn because the rest of the body is prickly and will hurt to touch. When having a couple, they will lay the eggs into the substrate. Heres my recommended supplies that you can consider getting for your giant stag beetle. Stag beetle larvae are large white grubs with an orange head, usually found underground in rotting tree stumps and roots. Hence I have created this blog to share my experience and knowledge to help beginners who want to start keeping exotic pets. They use their mandibles to fight for resources and the right to mate.Female beetles do not possess large mandibles, and have a prominent longitudal markings on her thorax. museums Do not disturb the grubs once it starts building the pupation chamber. They feed on dead wood for several years before they are ready to pupate and develop into an adult beetle. Beetles also like fruits, such as bananas and apples. You can feed them on a little dish plate, but the beetles probably push the fruit eventually into the substrate anyway (and that does not matter because they still eat it anyway and cant do any harm). A good product for the substrate is coconut fibre or topsoil. It is packed with all the information, tips and tricks to know about substrate for beetles. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. and for my experience, ive never had a flying problem with any of my MALE beetles, its usually/almost the females. Caught my little guy in late August along with two Kabutomushi and it has outlived them both. Quick question! To sex the grubs, look at the dorsal part of their abdomen. Although stag beetles are tough and strong, you still need to be delicate when handling your beetles. (function( timeout ) {
These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. All You Need To Know About Feeder Insects, What Bugs Make Great Pets For Kids: The 7 Coolest Pets, Substrate For Millipedes: What You Should Know, Jungle Nymph Stick Insect: A Practical Care Guide. Keep the flake soil moist but not wet. This helps me to maintain the site without incurring additional costs to you. Also, try to be careful that the fruits dont have pesticides on them, since stag beetles are, well, bugs. Free delivery for many products! Temperatures should be kept within the range of 20-25 C for most species. Cover the chamber with a lid and make it ventilated. Unfortunately, I am not sure of any mail order beetle shops. Be careful what and where you collect material from outside for your animals. Heres my recommended supplies that you can consider getting for your rainbow stag beetles (I may earn some commission if you buy from the link): Remember to check out our recommended books to learn more about keeping rainbow stag beetle. However, there are multiple colour variations of the rainbow stag beetle, as well as other stag beetle species.