Chalcosoma atlas larva feeding

Hypsibius

Hypsibius

L3
A Chalcosoma atlas larva had come into my care today. I've been reading up on care sheets and the like and apparently they fare well with substrate of mostly wood. I'd just like to ask, would it be suitable to use hardwood sawdust for feeding them? If not, what would be good? The substrate I'm using has small bits of fermented rotten wood in it and I've added some broken up twigs I found (which I did decontaminate). I'll get around to posting pictures of my set up when I get the chance.

 
Make sure everything is rotten and doesn't smell, other than that of a forest or mushrooms.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ah, ok then. I'm planning to stockpile rotten wood to use for the substrate as I'm going away in about a week's time and want to make sure that it has enough food. I'm also going to go by what the care sheets have mentioned and possibly include some dried cat food pellets as a source of protein. Does that sound fine? I'm also still contemplating sawdust.

 
Sawdust is totally unsuitable. It will kill your larvae.

Get rotten oak, it needs to be soft enough to break with your hands, also rotten oak leaves are good to mix in as well. Sterilize it before using it.

Since you are going away I don't recommend leaving cat food, it will grow mold/fungus fast.

 
Right, I see. I intend to go down to the woods at some point then to collect some rotten oak bits. I understand that wood is indicative of being rotten if it's soft. How would I tell if the oak leaves are rotten? Also, on another note, the shop I bought the larva from said they kept the larva in ProRep Spider Life substrate with some wood and occasionally put bits of washed salad into the mix. Is that advisable? I'm a little cynical, but i'm wondering if that actually works. I'm presuming it probably does if they've been keeping the larvae in that, but I'd like to clarify that this is ok, in case I choose to do this.

Sorry for all my stupid questions, I probably sound like a huge moron to you guys.

 
Hypsibius, I would argue that if you are trying to learn about something, regardless of what it is, your questions are not stupid. If you do not ask, how will you learn? I tend to obsess about every detail of things and so I ask a lot of questions myself. While mistakes teach us a lot, I prefer to avoid mistakes already learned by others. If that means a wall of questions, it is best to ask. Another thing I have learned is that the things that someone with experience might consider obvious, or rather, take for granted are not considered/known/apparent to someone with no experience.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
i misread sawdust as in rotten wood lol. sorry bout that. and yes, feel free to ask any questions, thats what the forum is for.

 
Thank you guys. I just worry about how I come across to others sometimes when it concerns my interests, heh. I'm asking a lot of questions as I worry about this larva dying on me. I had to learn the hard way about not disturbing them, unfortunately I lost one of my A.dichotoma beetles because of that. Back to the matter at hand-would the ProRep Spider Life substrate and possibly the use of salad be suitable for the larva? Unfortunately the packaging doesn't seem to state the ingredients of the substrate, but I'm guessing it's cocoa fibre and some bark.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Don't use ProRep Spider Life Substrate. The people who sold it to you didn't know what they were doing.

You need the rotten oak wood, don't add lettuce it won't help just hurt.

To tell if the oak leaves are rotten make sure they are under the top dead leaves, they will be matted together and go down to the dirt, there could be roots growing through tot as well, they should not be full leaves, and any pieces of leaves should crumble easy.

Don't ever worry about asking questions, that's how smart people get smarter
default_wink.png


 
Thank you. I was cynical as I said about using that substrate combination, so I think I'll avoid it and stick with the other stuff I've been buying as well as make my own substrate. In order to decontaminate the wood, would submerging it in boiling water work? I've also heard freezing it works too; if I were to do that, how long would I need to keep it frozen for?

 
The best way in most peoples opinion is to get the substrate wet, spread on baking pans, then bake at 250F for two hours.

After that let it cool down and humidify it to the desired moisture level gradually.

Submerging it in boiling water isn't good, it will leach the nutrients out of the wood. Plus it will be too wet afterwards and will need to be baked anyway.

I can't help you on freezing, It isn't as good as baking.

 
Very well then. When I go for a walk in the woods next, I'll make sure to pick up some wood and leaf litter and bake it (hopefully my family won't mind me using the oven for that...). I've also ordered more beetle substrate online, so hopefully my little larva should do fine for food. All I have to do now is resist the temptation to keep checking on it...any advice on that?

Thank you all for your input, you've been very helpful.

 
My stepfather managed to find me some very nice rotten wood. It fit the criteria that's been discussed, it was very soft and easy to break apart in my hands. I probably will bake it in my oven, but I read on another site that apparently microwaving it can work. Would you guys recommend this? I'm guessing it's probably better to bake it, but I thought I'd ask.

 
Ok. I'll make sure to use the oven. I'll do that tomorrow if I get the chance. I'll also get a photo of my set-up, just so you guys can help clarify it's suitable.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top