New wild caught stag not eating

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Buggi82

L1
I'm new to the hobby, and I found a wild reddish brown stag stuck in a toy plastic pool at a friend's house. (Not in the water, but couldn't grip the plastic to get to a spot to take off.) Took him home, as I already had a suitable bug habitat ready. I've had him about 2 days, so I have been giving him space, but I read that beetles are supposed to be eating daily. When should I be concerned? I have left him a beetle jelly in his tank. He is alone in the enclosure, I don't have any other bugs right now, and this is my first bug, I happened to find him right when I was about to buy some grubs.
 
Any beetles found in yard (away from their natural habitat) probably has started to feed already. What beetle jelly are you feeding? The beetle may have been feeding on the jelly, it's just a very small amount you may not have noticed.
 
The one I have is just some artificial pet store stuff. No clue what brand. I have a recipe to make my own, you think he might eat more of that? He has been exploring, I find him poking around in the hiding spots I made for him. He can't drink from the feeder because of his big pinchers in the way, but I have some cotton sticks I pour water in for him. I'll post pictures in a second.
 
Buggi82 said:
The one I have is just some artificial pet store stuff. No clue what brand. I have a recipe to make my own, you think he might eat more of that? He has been exploring, I find him poking around in the hiding spots I made for him. He can't drink from the feeder because of his big pinchers in the way, but I have some cotton sticks I pour water in for him. I'll post pictures in a second.
Click to expand...
Nevermind, I can't seem to get any pictures with a small enough file size.
 
I shouldn't try too much meddling I don't think, he is running laps. I just misted his enclosure, and I've never seen him just kinda run around the edge of the habitat like this. Think I stressed him out.
 
He may not have eaten, the jelly may have deteriorated on its own. He keeps getting himself stuck upside down now. Twice today. And I had to help him up on my finger. I just found him upside down unmoving, legs curled. I flipped him over, and he got back up and responded when I misted his enclosure as he normally does, but he isn't moving now. I think he is dying. Could it be because he rejected the jelly and I didn't notice? Or could he have just been half dead when I found him? I think he'll be gone in a few minutes. He isn't unfreezing.
 
He's wiggling again, but got himself stuck upside down yet again. I have righted him back on his feet as I type this. He has good substrate, a good 73 degrees in the tank, and good moisture. As I type, he's managed to flip himself yet again.
 
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What should I do with him? Do I give up and let him stay on his back like that? He's been exploring and doing laps around his cage all week now, I've never seen him flip over or act so lethargic. I've had him only since Sunday night. His behavior was odd today. He started climbing the walls hours ago. Thought he maybe was stressed, so I let him be. Did I do something wrong? Or was there nothing I could have done? I kept my hands off all week, never once interacted with him until the flipping started, since I couldn't get back up. He won't unstuck one of his legs, and it keeps making him flip. He doesn't grab anything I give to him. Won't even bite anymore. He lets me flip him, but I've stopped trying to.
 
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He's trying without my help. He can get up, but only for a few seconds before he falls again. I've tried turning the heating off to try and see if he needs cooler temps. I live in a cold state, and he was wild, so the temps may be too high for him in his enclosure, despite following the guides I looked up. I don't know what else to do.
 
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