questions on D tityus diapause

danket

danket

Egg
Hello, I just got a pair of D. tityus adults that are in their dormant period.

Right now they seem to love burrowing in some cool moist coco coir in a plastic box by a cold window. I live in NY.

They act normally when handled, and are very tolerant of handling.

Since I got them a few days ago, I have been digging them out of the coir and playing with them for around 10 minutes, one to two times a day.

Does excessive handling disrupt their dormancy?

Is keeping them near a cool window sufficient to keep them from breaking dormancy?

Do they need to burrow or can I keep them in shallow substrate for viewing?

Should I start trying to feed them around April?

Thanks for any help / suggestions!

 
I think you should Have a substrate oh at least 4 inches and moist, and keep them in the warm area but not to hot- more like 75-84 with beetle jelly or oranges. And more handing while in their dormant state will shorten the life span and its best to leave them alone at this state and try handling them in summer when their active.

Greetings!
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danket,

If you are trying to keep them dormant - it depends on how cold the area near the window is. Your room might be a bit warm - unless you normally keep your room very cold. You might pick up a thermometer so you know exactly how cold they are. Think "vegetable crisper" cold, or around there. I have a small refrigerator that I use just for beetles.

You might just put a piece of fruit in with them every once in a while, especially if you see them at the surface a lot. If you will be keeping them indoors you could just let them become active now, unless you are trying to keep them longer by keeping them dormant.

Steven

 
Thanks very much for the advice everyone,

It sounds like my setup is sufficient for keeping dormant. The coir is deep and moist. It's around 50-55 degrees where their enclosure is. I'll find some way of keeping it that temp.

I plan on keeping them dormant and letting the male but esp the female chill out for a few months till the summer time, since she's my only female and I want her to lay a lot of eggs.

I think I was just super excited to finally have a pair of beetles, so I handled them quite a bit at first. I'll probably get used to leaving them alone until the late spring. I'll just forget I have them.

Also, any suggestions for names?

 
Update on the pair,

Went out and collected some rotting oak wood and oak leaves, heat treated in the oven and ground it up in my food processor. I ended up with a ratio of probably around 2:1 wood to leaves (the leaves ground up to such a small volume!)

I hydrated the mix with some cold water until a little under field capacity, and packed it 4.5 inches deep.

It seems very compressible, even the smallest handful compacts into to a nice clump.

I have a piece of oak bark on the surface of the sub for self-righting. I'm keeping them in a plastic lock top box with plastic wrap covering 90% of the lid.

I'll go out and get a thermometer this weekend, and do my best to let them be until late spring.

any other hints / suggestions are more than welcome

Thanks

 
that is a good set up, if you want to keep a track on humidity bye a hydrometer also (if you want)that will give you a good idea of the humidity level inside the tank so they will have a better chance of survival.

 
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