Stubborn D. tityus

PowerHobo

PowerHobo

Chalcosoma
Ok... so... stupid question(s) time.

  1. What's the best way to remove a stubborn D. tityus from your skin without hurting them?
  2. Do adult D. tityus tend to burrow or hide for a good while after shipping (similar to how tarantulas will)?
  3. About how long do D. tityus attempt to overwinter if kept in a room temp environment?

As I've mentioned elsewhere, this is my first time with any sort of rhino beetle, and since they burrowed the second they touched the substrate, haven't touched their jelly, and we haven't seen them in a week now, the wife wanted proof that they were still alive, and seeing as she lets me get away with a lot in terms of hobbies, I felt compelled to oblige. I feel pretty bad, because I'm pretty sure I scared the absolute crap out of the female I found while gently digging through the substrate, as she latched onto my hand immediately, and wasn't budging even when presented with an easy path back to the substrate. Giving her gentle prods from any given angle just made her double down on her grip. I finally just literally settled down with a book, with the hand with the beetle in the tank, and she finally decided to let go and burrow.

tl;dr: I accidentally scared one of my D. tityus, and spent the next hour as a beetle perch.

 
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Not so sure if this works for your beetles, but prod the beetle on its behind gently. At first it will strengthen the grip, but later on with patience and a lot of prodding, the beetle will eventually give in and walk forward. Also for beetles, if you kinda scare them and the substrate is deep enough, the beetle will bury downwards, whether or not they have shipshock. Not so sure about question #3, sorry!

 
I usually just try to lift their claws gently away from my skin. You could also give them a paper towel or other object to grasp onto...hope this helps...I have tried this with Lucanus capreolus females that are about to bite me, but they are quite a bit smaller...

 
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Lift claws and blow on them, try and finesse the beetle off. If you allow the beetle to burrow, it will.

 
Ratmosphere said:
Lift claws and blow on them, try and finesse the beetle off. If you allow the beetle to burrow, it will.
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Dictionary









fi·nesse

fəˈnes/
noun


  1. 1.
    intricate and refined delicacy.
    "orchestral playing of great finesse"
    synonyms: skill, skillfulness, expertise, subtlety, flair, panache, elan, polish, artistry, virtuosity, mastery "masterly finesse"




  2. 2.
    (in bridge and whist) an attempt to win a trick with a card that is not a certain winner.
    synonyms: winning move, trick, stratagem, ruse, maneuver, artifice, machination "a clever finesse"

verb


  1. 1.
    do (something) in a subtle and delicate manner.
    "his third shot, which he attempted to finesse, failed by a fraction"




  2. 2.
    (in bridge and whist) play (a card that is not a certain winner) in the hope of winning a trick with it.
    "the declarer finesses ♦J"


 
If your tityus are freshly emerged adults they may stay buried for weeks even at room temperature. I overwinter my fresh adults from November until early April. They are kept at 45F - 50F. for the duration of that time. In April they are placed in their breeding enclosures and it takes them at least another month before they begin to surface and feed. Knowing where your stock came from will help you figure out what they'll do. I'm assuming yours are fresh adults as I have lots emerging now too. It is that time of year when the wild ones would be emerging and preparing to hibernate. My stock comes from the northern part of their range so they would be dormant inside a tree cavity from now until next Spring. You can't rush them. They will surface and feed when they're ready.

 
Thank you for the info and tips! I did try to lift her claws with the aid of a toothpick, which worked, but like I said it just made her double down with that deathgrip. I'll try a combination of that and the paper towel trick recommended by Stag Beetles next time there's a need.

Thank you, especially, Nathan. That's very helpful info. I had scoured Orin's Rhino Beetle Care Guide for info on emergence and overwintering, but it's surprisingly light on information regarding durations. Mine are from up north and are indeed fresh, only about a month or two since emerging, so I have to assume this is their plan. I just wasn't sure if they hid from shipshock, as Dragozap mentioned, or if they would still attempt to overwinter even without the cooler temperatures.

So should I just periodically leave a jelly in their tank from here until then, or will it be evident (understanding that they're nocturnal) when they're ready to start feeding?

 
I just smooth over the surface of the substrate and watch for disturbance from them. I don't put their furnishings in until they've begun to feed.

When I see that they've been crawling around I start putting in food for them. It still might take them a week or so until they start feeding. I usually dig them up at that point and put their heads in the food.

 
Nathan said:
I just smooth over the surface of the substrate and watch for disturbance from them.
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That's exceedingly simply and effective... I'm kind of upset I didn't think of it on my own.
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Thank you very much for the tip!

 
Went to Mexico once.

Met a Megasoma the size of my fist.

Got itchy marks from its sharp superglue claws.

I don't know how sticky Dynastes is, but I got the Megasoma off me by intensively poking its rear end.

Also, I peel Cotinis mutabilis and Zophobas morio adults off my arm by grabbing their sides and pulling. Cotinis has flexible legs, so you should quickly drop it before it gets a hold of your arm again.

Welcome to beetleforum! It's sad that we only have a handful or two of active members at any given time.

 
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Excessive booty-bumping was employed here as well, she was just having none of it. My male who finally surfaced last night was very cooperative, though, so as I said before, I'm pretty sure I just really frightened her.

C. mutabilis is very pretty; thank you for introducing me to it. I love finding about about new species of native US beetles. I'm pretty new to this, so it happens a lot
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Thanks for the welcome! I've definitely noticed that the forum is pretty low on activity, but the activity that does occur is so high-quality that I can usually find my answers with the search instead of even needing to post, and if I do have to post, I know the answers are usually worth a couple days' wait.

 
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