# Fruit beetles and grubs



## Moosmoo (Jul 21, 2008)

Ive tried once with this but it all went wrong. I was wondering what advice you lot could give?

I kept them in damp soil, fed fruit every few days but it got taken over with mites and they all died while pupating.

But I want to try again!

Anyone keep colonies of these?


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

I have various colonies of fruit beetles. They mustn't get to wet or else that can cause probles with larvea not pubating. Which could be your problem. 

Also if you want to stop the mites, instead of feeding the beetles on fruit, you can feed them on a product called beetle jelly. When i find the link for the site i use i'll post it here,. its a brillant food sources, it doesnt go off, and can be left for weeks in the tank, and best of all no fly's.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Also what substraite are you using as that willaffect their ability to pubate as well??


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## Moosmoo (Jul 21, 2008)

I was using eco-earth with some dead leaves

Ive found on thespidershop they seem to have got a lot of beetle stuff there lately, beetle substrate etc


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## Willyleigh (May 25, 2008)

For our beetles we use rotten wood which we collect and crush into fibres, also oak leaves, it is a very coarse substrate but after a few weeks the grubs have turned it into very fine 'soil'. The grubs eat the wood and I think that it is important for their development.

Try adding rotten wood to the substrate and you will probably have more success.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Moosmoo said:


> I was using eco-earth with some dead leaves
> 
> Ive found on thespidershop they seem to have got a lot of beetle stuff there lately, beetle substrate etc


what larvea ado you have??? im assuming its panchoda?? if so try and brake up some rotten wood in the mixture and maybe add some dry dog biscuits amd see what happens. As the larvea will live off the rotten wood and food scraps.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Willyleigh said:


> For our beetles we use rotten wood which we collect and crush into fibres, also oak leaves, it is a very coarse substrate but after a few weeks the grubs have turned it into very fine 'soil'. The grubs eat the wood and I think that it is important for their development.
> 
> Try adding rotten wood to the substrate and you will probably have more success.


rotten wood and dry dog food will do the trick.


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## ashrob (Jul 27, 2007)

beetle jelly - bristol inverts website


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## RonW (Jul 18, 2008)

SO, coco peat + rottenwood + dry dogfood would do be OK. Any specific kind of dogfood? I'm guessing grain based? And how often would you have to add fruit? I'm thinking of starting a colony of these.


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Can't even get mine to lay eggs at least you got past stage one


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Slinkies mum said:


> Can't even get mine to lay eggs at least you got past stage one


How many have you got?? so long as there uis a mix of sex's i bet you have eggs


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

RonW said:


> SO, coco peat + rottenwood + dry dogfood would do be OK. Any specific kind of dogfood? I'm guessing grain based? And how often would you have to add fruit? I'm thinking of starting a colony of these.


Mine get whatever dry biscuits i can swipe from the dog owners i know, so nothing special. I dont feed any of my adult beetle fruit they all get beettle jelly which is amazing stuff. Im never going to feed fruit again since finding it as fruit attrack fly's and bugs and drives you insane.


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Spikebrit said:


> How many have you got?? so long as there uis a mix of sex's i bet you have eggs


5 plus four cocoons which I bought. Havn't got the nerve to pick them up and check for the groove on the underside. Peterer (ebay) said were mixed. 
Will try the food sugestions on here as well and perhaps a bigger tank in a 14"x8"x6"h at the mo, I have the sub full to the top at one end tapering off to about 1" at the other. Org compost and orchid bark. Feed them owt thats going.
How long do the cocoons take to hatch.
Hope I do have eggs but when I plucked up the courage to poke about in the sub couldn't see any. Got some chum complete so will throw a bit in.


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## Pono (Jan 21, 2008)

Dog food, if not eaten can cause mite infestations, so remove any uneaten food every 4-5 days.

Ed


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

Willyleigh said:


> For our beetles we use rotten wood which we collect and crush into fibres, also oak leaves, it is a very coarse substrate but after a few weeks the grubs have turned it into very fine 'soil'. The grubs eat the wood and I think that it is important for their development.
> 
> Try adding rotten wood to the substrate and you will probably have more success.


are you using them for feeder food cos I was told oak is toxic to reps


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## Willyleigh (May 25, 2008)

Slinkies mum said:


> are you using them for feeder food cos I was told oak is toxic to reps


No, they are just pets. 
I think oak leaves contain a lot of Tannins which are acids so it is unhealthy for a reptile to eat food high in tannins.


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## beetlelady (Dec 20, 2008)

I've got a very err...active pair of rhinoceros beetles and they don't seem to be laying either.


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## TheSpiderShop (Apr 5, 2006)

Fruit Beetle substrate: 70% decayed leaf, 30% crushed rotten wood
Rhino Beetle substrate: 20% decayed leaf, 80% crushed rotten wood

Oak and Beech are best to use. NO ORCHID BARK OR COCO FIBRE

Supplement with protein based dog biscuits, do not add to many remove after a few days before they go mouldy. The best to use a the "Moist Meaty Chunks" where are found in bakers complete. 

Your substrate should be damp enough that if you squeeze it breifly binds together before crumbling. If a drop of water comes out when you squeeze it, its to wet. 

The pachoda grubs that are sold as livefood are best avoided as they the grubs are sold in coco fibre which is insuitable, the adult beetles tend to be weak if thy hatch at all. They do this so dont start breeding your own.

Hope this helps.


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## geckoz (Aug 13, 2009)

*beetle jelly*

hey guys try ricks livefood for beetle jelly its like £2.4o for 10 or so:2thumb:


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## bug_babe (Jan 13, 2011)

where can you buy the grubs/beetles i used to have some years ago and want to start a colony again


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## ElfDa (Apr 26, 2011)

*sickly baby?*

we got a fat little white grub, about a week ago, and she seemed to be okay.
last night I gave her some aspen wood chunks and dead leaves.
the wood was a little damp, but nuking it in the microwave for a while seemed to help dry it out (and kill anything that would trouble her).

...today, she looks like.. 







]

is Fatty gonna die?


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

I would say that looks like tis already dead. What species is it?

I dont know how you were keeping it, but they need a deap substrate with lots of rotting white wood. 

Jay


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## ElfDa (Apr 26, 2011)

Fatty was pronounced dead a few hours after posting. 
Poor thing.

we couldn't find any rotting oak around, but there was an old aspen log.
we gathered leaves and wood, nuked 'em in the microwave to kill unwanted "buggies" until piping hot, tore up the leaves and wood chunks and, once cooled to around room temp, put them in a 9 US-gallon plastic container with lots of air holes in the lid.

we kept a hand towel draped over the box for extra darkness and to discourage feline interest. a small heating pad was placed on the side of the container to keep the grub warm. 

maybe our substrate was too damp? or maybe aspen is not an acceptable nom..? i made sure to avoid many, many evergreen plants and trees that grow around here. 

i guess, next time (if i can bring myself to try again), I'll hunt down lots of oak and beech and stockpile it for a few months before acquiring another grub. 

...poor Fatty. :'c


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## ElfDa (Apr 26, 2011)

oh, and she was a megasoma elephas.


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## ElfDa (Apr 26, 2011)

This is what Fatty looks like, now.


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