Adult dorcus titanus palawanicus housing

[ElvenAnnie]

Hi, I'm still pretty new to keeping bugs but I was looking into the dorcus types, specifically the palawanicus but I can't find exacts on how big the container should be with how much substrate/what kind of substrate I would need for breeding them if I did everything right and ended up with larvae I was going to get substrate for those guys from bugsincyberspace. If anyone has any links or helpful information please let me know!

 

[Bugboy3092]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you find what you need here

though I don’t have any experience with them myself, I’ve heard that it’s a fairly easy species to keep. I’d recommend a ten gallon aquarium (can be bought at any pet store, Petco sells them for around $10-$13 if you buy them as aquariums (buying them as terrariums is much more expensive, yet it’s a very similar product) and buy a lid from the terrariums section (a wide ten gallon terrarium lid will also fit on a ten gallon aquarium) which will run you around $7-$8 (much better than paying $50 for a 10 gallon terrarium with a bunch of junk you won’t need). A 5 gallon (bought the same way) would probably also work, but it’s around the same price and the ten gallon can fit much more breeding material than the 5 gallon. 

For breeding material, you’ll need decaying hardwood (oak or beech are the best options) logs that are fairly hard. I’d recommend logs that are at least 4 inches in diameter and around 12 inches long, as the female will lay eggs in the log. Substrate should be crushed rotting wood, which can be bought or made by hand, and the logs should be buried a good few inches deep, with substrate beneath them as well.

Daniel Ambuehl (on YouTube) has great in depth videos on breeding and rearing exotic beetles, and I believe he does cover this species in a few videos.

hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[ElvenAnnie]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you find what you need here

though I don’t have any experience with them myself, I’ve heard that it’s a fairly easy species to keep. I’d recommend a ten gallon aquarium (can be bought at any pet store, Petco sells them for around $10-$13 if you buy them as aquariums (buying them as terrariums is much more expensive, yet it’s a very similar product) and buy a lid from the terrariums section (a wide ten gallon terrarium lid will also fit on a ten gallon aquarium) which will run you around $7-$8 (much better than paying $50 for a 10 gallon terrarium with a bunch of junk you won’t need). A 5 gallon (bought the same way) would probably also work, but it’s around the same price and the ten gallon can fit much more breeding material than the 5 gallon. 

For breeding material, you’ll need decaying hardwood (oak or beech are the best options) logs that are fairly hard. I’d recommend logs that are at least 4 inches in diameter and around 12 inches long, as the female will lay eggs in the log. Substrate should be crushed rotting wood, which can be bought or made by hand, and the logs should be buried a good few inches deep, with substrate beneath them as well.

Daniel Ambuehl (on YouTube) has great in depth videos on breeding and rearing exotic beetles, and I believe he does cover this species in a few videos.

hope this helps, and good luck!

Thank you for the response! I already have a five gallon that I was going to keep the female in, and the male in a separate one for a bit because I've heard that the males will sometimes attack the females. I have some substrate but I was planning on getting just wood mulch from home depot, but chose not to since it was specific colors and I wasn't sure if it would be safe for them. So I went out and got some rotting wood(stuff that broke apart pretty easily in my hands) but I'm not entirely sure what to do next with it to turn it into safe substrate. I've heard of freezing it, submerging it in water for a long time, and also baking it to get rid of any pests in it.

I went to look for Daniel Ambuehl and either youtube is down or his videos are all down unfortunately. If I'm not confident in my substrate I'll buy some, but it can add up fairly quickly.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Agent8]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you find what you need here

though I don’t have any experience with them myself, I’ve heard that it’s a fairly easy species to keep. I’d recommend a ten gallon aquarium (can be bought at any pet store, Petco sells them for around $10-$13 if you buy them as aquariums (buying them as terrariums is much more expensive, yet it’s a very similar product) and buy a lid from the terrariums section (a wide ten gallon terrarium lid will also fit on a ten gallon aquarium) which will run you around $7-$8 (much better than paying $50 for a 10 gallon terrarium with a bunch of junk you won’t need). A 5 gallon (bought the same way) would probably also work, but it’s around the same price and the ten gallon can fit much more breeding material than the 5 gallon. 

For breeding material, you’ll need decaying hardwood (oak or beech are the best options) logs that are fairly hard. I’d recommend logs that are at least 4 inches in diameter and around 12 inches long, as the female will lay eggs in the log. Substrate should be crushed rotting wood, which can be bought or made by hand, and the logs should be buried a good few inches deep, with substrate beneath them as well.

Daniel Ambuehl (on YouTube) has great in depth videos on breeding and rearing exotic beetles, and I believe he does cover this species in a few videos.

hope this helps, and good luck!

Would a 10 gallon aqueon rimless tank work with the 10 gallon terrarium lid?

 

[Ratmosphere]

After keeping this species for a while, I can say to definitely separate the female. The male WILL try and kill her. 

For housing, I use Sterilite containers with air holes drilled on the top and sides. For sub, use damp sphagnum moss. I have 3 containers for mine, one big one for the male, one smaller one for the female, and one DEEP container with a breeding log and proper substrate. I don't have dimensions but something linked below will work. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/15442432?athbdg=L1102&from=/search for the male

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-20-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/8282895?athbdg=L1103&from=/search for the breeding container

For the female, try and find one half the size of the males container. Walmart has a lot of in store options. 

 

[Agent8]

After keeping this species for a while, I can say to definitely separate the female. The male WILL try and kill her. 

For housing, I use Sterilite containers with air holes drilled on the top and sides. For sub, use damp sphagnum moss. I have 3 containers for mine, one big one for the male, one smaller one for the female, and one DEEP container with a breeding log and proper substrate. I don't have dimensions but something linked below will work. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/15442432?athbdg=L1102&from=/search for the male

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-20-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/8282895?athbdg=L1103&from=/search for the breeding container

For the female, try and find one half the size of the males container. Walmart has a lot of in store options. 

Would Micro-pore tape be good with a steel mesh Terrarium lid, like this one Amazon.com : Zilla Reptile Terrarium Covers Fresh Air Screen, 20x10-inch : Pet Habitat Screen Covers : Pet Supplies?

 

[Ratmosphere]

I'm sure that will work, just put something heavy on top. I also line the inside with plastic wrap to keep humidity in, otherwise it will dry out fairly quickly. 

 

[Eduardo]

After keeping this species for a while, I can say to definitely separate the female. The male WILL try and kill her. 

For housing, I use Sterilite containers with air holes drilled on the top and sides. For sub, use damp sphagnum moss. I have 3 containers for mine, one big one for the male, one smaller one for the female, and one DEEP container with a breeding log and proper substrate. I don't have dimensions but something linked below will work. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-6-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/15442432?athbdg=L1102&from=/search for the male

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-20-Qt-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Box-with-White-Lid/8282895?athbdg=L1103&from=/search for the breeding container

For the female, try and find one half the size of the males container. Walmart has a lot of in store options. 

I bought a beautiful Palawanicus pair and the male killed the female. I would reccomend temporarily tying his mandibles with a metal or aluminum string, for the male will break free of any yarn string.