I'm buying a Goliathus or a Dynastes Hercules beetle soon,

>>2173633

Don't even bother with buying a single beetle; you should definitely get a pair. They don't live very long (2-5 months) and you never know how old they are when you buy adult beetles.
Dynastes and Goliathus both need at least 6 inches of substrate if not more in order to hide and lay eggs.
Goliath beetles are active during the day so a light source might be a good idea while Hercules beetles and other Dynastinae are mostly active in the late afternoon and at night.
Give them some thick branches/sticks to climb on and put some moss and dry leaves on the surface of the substrate; otherwise don't even try to decorate the terrarium - they might turn everything upside down while digging and crawling around.
Feed them mango and banana; Beetle Jelly is also fine but the beetles I've kept so far ignored the jelly and went straight for the fruits.
If you plan to breed them (pretty much the only reason to even bother with short-lived beetles) expect to take care of the larvae for 2-3 years depending on circumstances such as temperature, quality of substrate, humidity and larvae density in a single box until the beetles hatch.

Just be warned, beetles have a pretty short lifespan.

If you're wanting something with more longevity, I'd recommend a cockroach or a spider.

>>2173633
Breeding Goliathus is pretty involved.

>>2173814
What this guy didn't tell you is that Goliathus larvae actually feed on well-rotted wood infested with algae, which can be difficult to replicate in reliable quantities.

Also check laws where you live. You'll need a permit to keep a lot of these types of beetles.

>>2173633
If you were, you'd know how utterly retarded and wasteful the notion of buying a single beetle would be, and that Dynastes and Goliathus are entirely different creatures in terms of raising them. You'd also fundamentally know that beetles simply aren't terrarium pets, they're "warm box of wood mulch that needs routine upkeep and cycling" pets, even as adult beetles (assuming you're going to skip all the hard work and pay loads for 4-month lifespan adults). If you're enamoured by their imago appearance after playing Animal Crossing or whatever and don't know their basic lifestyle, please skip them as an idea altogether.
>>2174027
For Goliathus I highly recommend soft dog food biscuits. I also had success with giving waxworm/mealworm pupae as supplements during L3.

>>2174055
Tell us something we don't know

>>2174052
>For Goliathus I highly recommend soft dog food biscuits
Do you mean the larvae? Can they survive on that?

>>2174061
As an addition to leaf/wood mix of course, but as was being experimented with at the time, apparently Goliathus need extra protein to do well. Spongey dog food cubes seemed to tick all the boxes, as long as they were removed if uneaten (they turn into nasty mite factories after a couple of days)

>>2174069
>As an addition to leaf/wood mix of course
Ah I see. Now that you mention it, I do remember reading about the additional protein requirements. It's been a long time since I read up on it though.

I caught one of those in animal crossing.

If you like the adults you are way better off shelling out for dead ones for a collection.
I love beetles. Theyre awesome but I can't imagine what type of person someone is to go through the care of them just to get an adult for a few months unless they are specifically doing it to sell dead adults.

This shit won't work, even worse idea than Dynastes beetles. If Goliath is anything like its smaller north american flower beetle relative the green fig beetle, it will try to fly ALL DAY and being in a cramped enclosure does not work, it will fly into shit all the time, then get stuck on its back on a flat area and die.

>>2174226

Beetles in captivity have access to food and mating partners 24/7 which gives them very little reason to spread their wings.
I'm personally not a big fan of cramped plastic boxes, but it's been proven to be the best way of keeping & breeding beetles.

>>2174074
If I recall correctly, it was after someone pointed out that Goliathus larvae have uniquely sharp, clawed forearms, suggesting they hunt other bugs in the wild. Been a while for me too, I haven't owned a live beetle in about a decade.

>>2174268
my beetles always flew, the flower beetles (including goliathus) flew a loz in their terrarium, and as soon as I took them out to collect the eggs/ l1 larvae

even most Dynastinae flew
ever seen a D. neptunus fly? Or Megasoma actaeon? That shit is really loud

I allways had the adults in relatively big terrariums, thr substrate was about 30-40cm high and there was about 90cm "air" left, with branches and food holders and shit, the terrariums were 1m long 60cm wide if I remember right

For dynastinae I had 1 male and 4 females in each, for the flower beetles several pairs, depending on the size of the beetles

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>>2174272

I only got a Xylotrupes Beckeri male to fly when I took it outside of the terrarium at night.
Strategus Oblongus and Cyphonistes Vallatus spent most of their time at the feeding place or underground.
I haven't kept many Dynastinae so far and I doubt I'll ever bother with big guys like Dynastes, Megasoma or Chalcosoma - mostly because I lack the patience for a generation duration longer than 14 months.
I prefer compact beetles with stubby legs; they don't get stuck or stumble as often as those designed for climbing.

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How ethical is it to buy pinned beetle specimens? Especially the big ones, I don't want to support the capture of wild beetles.

>>2174387

Capturing wild beetles does less damage to their population than the destruction of their natural habitat. You can also expect most pinned beetles to have served their natural purpose (procreating) already.

>>2174534
ok thanks

I just found an Ox Beetle, what kinds of cares does it need

>>2176007

That beetle isn't going to live longer than a few months so you might as well release it.

But if you insist on keeping it, put it in a medium/large plastic faunarium, fill it with 3 inches of substrate composed of rotten wood, rotten leaves and dirt, put in some pieces of wood to climb on and feed it a piece of banana.
My ox beetles often dragged the banana underground and were hardly visible most of the time.

>>2176109
Thanks, I tought they could live years. Will release it, I might get a tarantula