Kinshi Jar Questions

[Lil_Bits]

Hello ya'll! I decided to post here because I could not find any answers to these questions for the life of me.

I'm new to the hobby and I just moved to Japan. I came into the possession of a rainbow stag grub through happenstance last December. I've managed to keep him alive! Hooray! He his my precious boi. I check on him every day. Anyways.

1) How can you tell that a kinshi jar is fresh? I know how to tell when they are underripe, but some jars look better than others. Some seem to have extra moisture and a slightly yellow discoloration (see attatched). My boi started out in a jar like this and it went moldy, but I couldn't tell if that was because he was put too close to my heat mat or not. Some jars look smooth and nice. Those ones have given me no problems, but seem to form moisture over time as well.

2) How long do kinshi jars last unused? I have an extra kinshi jar that's ready to use now, however I do not need it. I have no one to give it to and I'm not about to throw it out! Should I put a grub in it? Unfortunately it's 2300cc though.

3) Should I turn my jar upside-down after awhile? I read in this article that you should flip them, but I don't know why. It seems to make no difference. https://abrowntks.weebly.com/rainbow-stag-beetles.html

4) Some of my colleagues recommend me a tall kinshi jar as opposed to the short, fat ones that I've been seeing. They told me that if the jar isn't tall, my beetle might become deformed. Is this true? I would think so for something like a giraffe stag or a Hercules beetle, but I have a rainbow stag. So maybe it's okay.

 

[Lil_Bits]

I asked these questions to the seller that I bought one of my jars from in Japan and this is what they said:

 

About the question you asked(1) Since the hyphae are sent in a ready-to-use state, it is better not to leave them for a long time, but it is about 1 to 2 months at room temperature of 25 degrees. About 3 months in the refrigerator at 5 degrees.(2) If you do not use the product for a long period of time, be sure to open the lid and check for green mold and black mold.* Please note that it cannot be used if mold grows.

I assume that if you have unripe jars that don't resemble a grainy, white texture, you can keep them for longer. Today I checked on the jar that I got from a different seller and it's looking worse for wear.

For context, I've been keeping my boi in my umeshu cellar below my floor. The average temperature is around 25C. I received two kinshi jars yesterday from two different sellers. One was moist and turning yellow (pictured here and in my original post) one looked lovely and pristine. If this jar continues to deteriorate and form mold, I'll be getting my money back and moving Sosig into the better jar.