Substrate for death feigning beetles: sand type?

ibrakeforbugs

ibrakeforbugs

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I'm brand new here (hello!) and have a substrate question... I'm setting up an enclosure for death feigning beetles (I don't have any yet), and it sounds like an EcoEarth sand mix would make a good substrate. But what kind(s) of sand would be best for that? I already have play sand (sterilized beach sand I think?) that I use for my hermit crabs, but I'm having trouble finding anything that indicates whether or not it would be ok for desert-type beetles. Does anyone know if this would work?

I don't think I can collect any local organic matter (legal issues and/or possible pesticide contamination) except for anything that's in my back yard. So I'm pretty much limited to stuff I could buy, like play sand from the hardware store and pet store sand marketed for reptiles.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 
How long have you had yours, hardshell? I didn't know there was sand for aquariums, I only remember seeing gravel in the fish section at my local pet store. I'll look next time I'm there!

 
ya i got the sand from petsmart... not sure if petco has some... i had it for few months now... theese guys dont like to eat
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they only eat a little

 
hmm i cant find it anymore.... i bought it long time ago so maybe they removed it
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but there is desert sand for reptiles

 
Yeah, I could definitely get the stuff for reptiles, I just don't know whether or not it would be better than play sand. Hermit crab people tend to say play sand is better than reptile sand, at least for crabs, but I have no idea if that would be true for beetles too. I couldn't find any information either way in terms of beetles...

 
I modified my search keywords and found a bit more information. Nothing on beetles specifically, but it sounds like a lot of people use play sand mixes for other desert dwelling invertebrates, like some types of tarantulas and scorpions. Based on that I think it should be fine to use play sand and EcoEarth for death feigning beetles. But if anyone knows more and/or has experience, I'd love to hear it!

Thank you!

 
well im just afraid that salt in 'hermit crab sand' will affect the beetles... also they live in dersert area so desert sand might work the best.... here is something really interesting... mine has been chewing on a piece of wood i had it in....
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If you're going to use sand, do not buy the stuff from pet shops. You'll save a ton of money just buying play sand or quikrete all purpose sand from the home depot.

You could just mix the sand and coco fiber, or use one or the other. Depends on what you're attempting to achieve(breeding, just pets, etc). I've seen them all work just fine.

 
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Or just use coconut coir by itself and let it dry out
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That's what I am doing with my Eleodes right now.

On Arachnoboards I was warned that sometimes sand can harm invertebrates while they molt. Like when the larva molt and dig.

 
This is all good to know, thank you guys!

This is going to sound weird, but after hardshell brought up concern about salt in my play sand (it's not marketed for hermit crabs, that's just how I use it), I was curious. So I tasted it. It didn't taste at all salty, so I looked around online and it sounds like play sand is usually crushed rock, not beach sand. I suppose I could have looked online for that information first instead of ingesting some, but that didn't occur to me at the time.

I didn't know you could use coco fiber by itself for these guys, maybe I'll just do that. Especially if it could harm molting larvae. My main purpose in getting these beetles is for pets, but I'd be thrilled if I could also get them to reproduce. I couldn't find mention of anyone who got them to go successfully from larva to pupa in captivity, so I'm assuming my chances of that would be pretty slim, but if anyone has ideas about potentially ideal conditions for breeding/rearing those would be useful to hear!

 
I am wondering if anyone has succeeded in rearing any of these for a whole life cycle?

If not, then I will be changing my conditions. I didn't really make an effort. but it has to be possible.

I have only seen larvae from mine.

 
I have four of these guys that I've been keep on ground walnut substrate for over a year now. I know walnut isn't a good substrate for reptiles that can potentially ingest it, but it works wonderfully for these guys. They seem very happy and healthy. I have no idea if walnut is suitable for breeding though.

@hardshell I put a skull and turtle shell in their habitat for decoration, and I just noticed they have eatten away the edges of the turtle shell. They will quickly devour a dead cricket here and there too, but I had no idea they would eat the decor!

 
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