First larvae Death

S

Scarlett

L1
Hi folks!

Hope everyone is well, and hope everyone enjoys their upcoming holidays. 

As some of you might know, I'm very new to rearing beetles. I have a pair of L2 male dorcus bucephalus, but sadly one parished today. 

Last night I had tilled its substrate a bit to add some water and make sure any dry dirt was moistened, pulled the little buggers out, as to not russel them up too much. They were perfectly fine and moving a ton. 

When I came home today, my brother wanted to take a peak and see if they've grown at all, and as soon as I opened the box, one was dead on the surface. Completely blackened and mushy. I'm very sad and have no idea what I've done wrong.

I've moved the other to clean soil and tossed the current soil. I'm not sure if maybe the box got too hot, or if something in the water killed it. 

I keep the box on a plastic heating sheet, between a cloth, keeping the inside at a consistent 68-75F. The box air holes are covered with mesh tape to keep out mites. But the box gets noticeably humid, and forms condensation on the walls and lid. 

So I'm wondering if this death is a mix of things. Maybe I need more air holes to vent out moisture to prevent suffocating? Maybe the heat needs to be distributed better? Maybe the poor thing was over hydrated and very hot? 

I whole heartedly appreciate anyone's help here. 

 
Was the substrate filled all the way up to the top? I think the mesh tape might have led to little ventilation inside the container. Little ventilation combined with heat pad would quickly create unfavorable conditions for the larva. How cold does your house get? 

 
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Oak said:
Was the substrate filled all the way up to the top? I think the mesh tape might have led to little ventilation inside the container. Little ventilation combined with heat pad would quickly create unfavorable conditions for the larva. How cold does your house get? 
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I had only filled it a bit less then half way with substrate, about 2 inches or so. But I see what you're saying. I thought I had enough ventilation, but I will ensure I put more air holes ASAP. It doesnt get too cold, but it was about 58 in the room, so I kept the heat pad on low to maintain heat while I was gone today. Ive usually been turning it off during the day since the room is warmer then at night. But today I thought it'd be good to leave it on. Now I know I should monitor it better and vent the box more if this is the case.

Thank you for the feedback. I was hoping that it wasn't a bacteria from the water situation, so I'm glad its possibly not that. Thats a bit more reauring. I'll fix my housing ASAP and hopefully things go well. 

 
Scarlett said:
I had only filled it a bit less then half way with substrate, about 2 inches or so. But I see what you're saying. I thought I had enough ventilation, but I will ensure I put more air holes ASAP. It doesnt get too cold, but it was about 58 in the room, so I kept the heat pad on low to maintain heat while I was gone today. Ive usually been turning it off during the day since the room is warmer then at night. But today I thought it'd be good to leave it on. Now I know I should monitor it better and vent the box more if this is the case.

Thank you for the feedback. I was hoping that it wasn't a bacteria from the water situation, so I'm glad its possibly not that. Thats a bit more reauring. I'll fix my housing ASAP and hopefully things go well. 
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What kind of water did you use? 

 
Ok just making sure. Any water as long as it's not tap water should be ok.

 
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