shellbaby_sd Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Hey y'all from the bluegrass of Kentucky! I am a new beetle mom as of a couple days ago. My hubby found a beautiful male Hercules beetle at work and rescued it. I set him up in a tank with moist Eco Earth, a cork piece to climb and a piece of overripe banana. A friend called yesterday and had found a female Hercules in her chimney. I picked her up and set her up similarly in a separate tank. Lol Now what? I would love to breed these beauties, and I am so excited to find this site! Any advice is welcome as I learn about these incredible beetles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmosphere Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 You can start off by putting the male and female in a container with damp sphagnum moss and beetle jellies. Once you witness mating you can put the female in the egg laying container. Since they are wild caught there is a chance the female mated already but if you want to increase the chance of getting eggs, this is the way to go. You would need a tub for the female to lay eggs in. You can a cheap container at Walmart. Drill around 5 small air holes on two sides of the container and some on the lid. About 7-10 inches of rotten wood substrate or organic potting soil with no perlite (which many on here don't agree with; I used it for years with no issues for egg laying.) You will need to pack the substrate down, not super hard but firm. Put some dead leaves and sticks on top of the substrate. This is because the female can flip over and not be able to get up leading to death. With something to grab on to she increases her survival rate. Don't forget to leave the female some jellies on top. 1-3 months later you can dump the substrate out and check for eggs. If the substrate was packed enough you will see large chunks of the substrate formed. You can break these apart and hope they will have eggs in them. From here the eggs should be put in their proper container with the right substrate. If you're having trouble finding substrate you can make your own. I have a link to my video below on how to make it. Some people get mold in the substrate so I recommend tumbling the sacs every day to keep the fermenting going. The summer heat is the perfect time for this. Make sure the mixture does not dry out. Anyway I hope this helped. This is the way I've been doing it for years. Many others can chime in with suggestions I've missed. I hope this helped and welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellbaby_sd Posted July 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Thank you for your suggestions! Where do you get beetle jellies? Are there pre-made mixes for housing that you can buy or do you have to make your own? Is the Eco-Earth/sphagnum moss mix ok for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmosphere Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 You can get beetle jellies online pretty sure bugsincyberspace has em. I also have a few I can let go too but they aren't the high protein type. Eco earth/sphagnum moss is ok to keep them housed in. The female won't produce eggs in that however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darktheumbreon Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 No need for beetle jellies. Beetle jellies are just for convenience. You can just use apples or bananas. However, you will have to change them every day or so, or else it will start rotting, smelling, and attracting flies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunkaiWangisme Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 I use apples for them and they do well with that. Apples last 2/3 days without rotting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reyes Posted October 9, 2020 Report Share Posted October 9, 2020 Learn how to care for one before getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevink Posted October 10, 2020 Report Share Posted October 10, 2020 On 7/16/2020 at 6:21 AM, Ratmosphere said: You can start off by putting the male and female in a container with damp sphagnum moss and beetle jellies. Once you witness mating you can put the female in the egg laying container. Since they are wild caught there is a chance the female mated already but if you want to increase the chance of getting eggs, this is the way to go. You would need a tub for the female to lay eggs in. You can a cheap container at Walmart. Drill around 5 small air holes on two sides of the container and some on the lid. About 7-10 inches of rotten wood substrate or organic potting soil with no perlite (which many on here don't agree with; I used it for years with no issues for egg laying.) You will need to pack the substrate down, not super hard but firm. Put some dead leaves and sticks on top of the substrate. This is because the female can flip over and not be able to get up leading to death. With something to grab on to she increases her survival rate. Don't forget to leave the female some jellies on top. 1-3 months later you can dump the substrate out and check for eggs. If the substrate was packed enough you will see large chunks of the substrate formed. You can break these apart and hope they will have eggs in them. From here the eggs should be put in their proper container with the right substrate. If you're having trouble finding substrate you can make your own. I have a link to my video below on how to make it. Some people get mold in the substrate so I recommend tumbling the sacs every day to keep the fermenting going. The summer heat is the perfect time for this. Make sure the mixture does not dry out. Anyway I hope this helped. This is the way I've been doing it for years. Many others can chime in with suggestions I've missed. I hope this helped and welcome to the forum. So, that's how it's done. I'll use this information. Now it looks like I need to buy something... What about the use of oak chunks? I've read that can produce larger beetles without the risk associated with supplemental feeding with dog food or similar foods that can mold quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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