You can buy a glass terrarium or plastic critter keeper from a pet store, but a plastic storage bin also works. Beetles can’t climb glass or plastic walls, so you don’t need a lid for the habitat. If you prefer to have a lid, be sure it’s ventilated so air can flow in and out of the cage.
Do not use a dirt-based substrate. It can accumulate on the beetles’ feet and become hazardous to their health.
Blue death feigning beetles are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day and sleep at night. They like to be safely hidden away at night. Remember that the more beetles you have, the more hiding spots you will have to provide.
It is important to keep the food you feed your beetles off of the substrate to prevent mold growth. You can buy a food dish from a pet store or use a small overturned lid as a food dish.
Blue death feigning beetles come from a desert environment, so they are quite used to not having access to large amounts of drinking water.
If you use live plants, there is a good chance that your beetles will slowly eat them. If you’d rather keep plants as decoration and not beetle food, try adding fake plants instead. Be careful to not make the habitat too crowded with decorations. Make sure your beetles still have space to walk around freely.
Beetles can bask in the heat of the bulb if they want, or hide under the branches and leaves you provide to stay cool. If you have an extra-large habitat, you can also find heat mats at your local pet store that can be put under the tank to help keep the beetles comfortable.
The color of the beetles is based on the relative humidity. Beetles living in a habitat with higher humidity will turn a blackish color, while beetles that are kept in low humidity, are bright blue. Lower humidity means more colorful beetles. If you live in an area of high humidity, you may want to invest in a hygrometer to measure the level of humidity in the terrarium. If you notice it is getting too high, mist the habitat once every other week. You can also increase the ventilation in the habitat by removing the lid of the habitat, if you have one.
Try to give one type of fruit at a time until you find out what they like. Notice if there are any fruits they eat faster than others. Once you figure out their favorites, rotate between them. If you have a lot of beetles, and they are eating all the fruit you give them within 2 days, give them a couple of extra pieces. After some time, you’ll have a good idea of how much fruit they can eat within 48 hours.
If you have more than 5 beetles, give them 3-4 pieces at a time. While fruits will provide vital nutrients and water, it’s nice to vary the food you give the beetles so they don’t get bored.
Try adding these extra treats a couple times per week.
If you have several beetles, be sure to break the bark into a few pieces and scatter them around their habitat so everyone can have a chance at finding some. To keep the lichen fresh and tasty, mist it with some water 3 times per week.
Even if you choose to fulfill your beetles’ nutritional requirements with commercial beetle food, you should still give fruits, vegetables, bark, and other treats to the beetles once or twice per week to give them some variety in their diet.
