my carbids are becoming furry?

Hisserdude

Hisserdude

Dynastes
so i have a problem. all of my harpalus species are becoming furry. once smooth beetles are now covered in a dirty, hairy, fungus? i do not know if it is fungal but it looks bad. it has not stopped my harpalus penslvanicus from laying lots of eggs, so is it serious? and if it is, can it be cured? also, some of my other ground beetles have these scale like growths covering their undersides, and faces, they are always cleaning themselves, trying to get it off. is there a cure for this? does anybody know what these are?

in need of help, hisserdude.

 
are they kept very moist by chance? ive had this problem in the past with my pasimachus sp. all i did was dry them out,i put them on dryer substrate and it worked,also good ventilation is very important,now these days i keep all of my predatory beetles on slightly moist substrate,good ventilation and i have no problems anymore.they still burrow,eat,etc,only once aweek a light spray,tiny waterdish. hope this helps,it's good to experiment to see. good luck:)

 
Yes they are kept very moist. Will try this, tank you so much! Will update in a few days to see if there is any progress. Again thanks!

 
So far there has been no difference, it is getting worse. Are anti fungal powders toxic to insects? If not what is a good brand, how would I give it to them? Thanks in advance!

 
Hisserdude said:
So far there has been no difference, it is getting worse. Are anti fungal powders toxic to insects? If not what is a good brand, how would I give it to them? Thanks in advance!
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Have you tried keeping the fungus under control by using a small paintbrush to brush the fungus off of the beetles, then placing them in a new, dryer container? I'm asking because I'd really hesitate to push you towards the antifungal foot powder route if the fungus can be eliminated via simple cleaning.

The active ingredient in the foot powder I found in my medicine cabinet is about a 1 percent dose of tolnaftate. The inactive ingredients are corn starch and talcum powder.

I've looked around on Arachnoboards and it seems that some folks have successfully used Tinactin on their tarantulas when confronted with a fungal infection. They seem to use several methods: 1) Powder form: A small paintbrush is used to lightly apply the powder to the infected area. 2) Spray form: A bit of Tinactin spray is sprayed into a very small cup. Then, a Q-tip is dipped into the liquid pool in the cup and dabbed onto the infected area of the spider. The spider is then kept for an hour or two in an open environment until the fumes have dissipated and the Tinactin has dried sufficiently. Then, the spider can go back into its enclosed living quarters.

I don't know if it will work with beetles, but if you have tried everything else and are willing to take a chance and experiment on a couple of your ground beetles, I'd love to hear the results!

Cheers

 
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I tried the paintbrush, it did nothing. they have started dying, so I am just going to let them go. Thanks for all the help!

 
Hisserdude said:
I tried the paintbrush, it did nothing. they have started dying, so I am just going to let them go. Thanks for all the help!
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Sorry to hear that.
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