Keeping Sun Beetles/Sun Beetle Care Guide

[@sg_animals.]

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this video, I'll be doing a ''how to bioactive'' video in the coming weeks detailing the ins and outs of not only setting up but also maintaining a bioactive enclosure. I will be getting back to some more reptile related content aswell! There's been a lot of focus on inverts at the moment. Have a good week!! If anyone's interested in psychology, check out my mates channel (Matt-Patrick Pschology)

[@matt-patrickpsychology7957]

love this content man! Would love to see some more of Jason the snake if at all possible!

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks bud! Hoping to do a vid on Jason soon ;)

[@fabianryan9192]

I realize it is kinda randomly asking but do anybody know a good place to stream newly released series online?

[@edencarlos2219]

@Fabian Ryan Lately I have been using flixzone. You can find it on google :)

[@princeronald162]

@Fabian Ryan I use FlixZone. You can find it by googling :)

[@shaunoneil3068]

I’ve been so excited waiting for this video, and it definitely didn’t disappoint mate! The enclosure looks awesome and I love the idea of curving the background to hide the corners! I have a 45cm Exo cube myself that I keep my g. prasina in, that has very similar requirements to these guys! I just wish I realised that sooner lol. Keep up the great work dude and I’m looking forward to the next video!

[@sg_animals.]

Hahah, thank you! Comment honestly made my day! Challenge to make but happy with the result!! Oh nice, how long have you kept prasina? Not a species I've come across very often at all! My next few vids will probably be more reptile related, but guess you might enjoy that haha! Thanks for the support bud

[@shaunoneil3068]

sg animals you’re more than welcome mate. There isn’t many reptile youtubers from the uk that I’ve found anyway, so it’s good to see someone who’s local-ish who knows what there doing (not that there’s anything wrong with the ones from the abroad lol). I’ve kept prasina for about 2 years now and hoping to breed them in the near future if all goes well! That’s fine with me mate, it’s one of the reasons why I subscribed lol. I’ve kept reptiles for about 15 years now with the odd invertebrate here and there, and I usually attend the IHS Doncaster show I’m not sure if you have been? But it’s just a shame is hasn’t been on this year with everyone on lockdown but it’s something to look forward to! Hah

[@sg_animals.]

I hadn't actually thought of that, thinking about it, all the ones I watch are American or elsewhere bar 1. If you do breed em, you'll have to let me know, if I've got space I'd love to add em to the team! I haven't no, heard a lot about it some good some bad. What's it like? I did hear a year or two ago that they were going to be stopped though, do you know anything about that?

[@shaunoneil3068]

I personally love it haha it’s like a day out but be sure to take plenty of money as it’s easy to get carried away lol they have been rumours about shutting it down for years due to the animal rights activists always popping up and complaining over stupid stuff but I don’t take it seriously as they always have something or someone to complain about when it comes to how people keep animals

[@sg_animals.]

I've heard it can be easy to get carried away aha, so maybe it's better not to take money? Yeah, there's a lot of for and against, but unless I see it in person, it's hard to decide which is in the right. Seems like such a split opinion for a lot of people

[@DidNotMeetCriteria]

This video is so well made. Top marks

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!! Was quite proud of the finished result but we've got an update coming soon :)

[@DidNotMeetCriteria]

I’ll subscribe then. Looking forward to it. Got my sun beetles through the post today, itching to make there new setup.

[@sg_animals.]

@@DidNotMeetCriteria You're gonna love them! The only thing I don't like about them is when they fly I always panic and duck... Forgetting they're in an enclosure 😂

[@benjilee5279]

Great job! Thank you for sharing. Keep up the great work!

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you!! Lots of plans to come :) Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TarantulaRookie]

such a really good care video for the pachnoda :) great job. Also - a really beautiful setup.

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks! Glad it helps 😄 I'm actually hoping to do another upgrade next year so keep a look out 😂

[@TarantulaRookie]

@@sg_animals. i certainly will

[@Natureisrestless]

man i just got them and bought more! i absolutley love how active they are! i can watch hours and hours, they are kinda clumsy its fun to watch! nice video !

[@sg_animals.]

Oh honestly, they make climbing look so effortless then just plop straight down to the soil with zero grace 😂 Thanks for watching 😄

[@julius_the_python]

Thank you for this video! I am finally getting some sun beetles and this is just what I was looking for to help me set up a perfect enclosure. Cheers!

[@sg_animals.]

Brilliant to hear and thank you!! I hope they get on well, sure you'll love em 😄

[@nicocoppe]

Nice caresheet! I now understand some of the mistakes I made...

[@sg_animals.]

Oh no! I hope it helps for the future 😄 Thanks for watching!

[@themantisgarden]

Nice video mate. I'm having a binge on sun beetles lol because I just looked at mine 😆

[@grahamglover2438]

Awesome video, love the way its setup for these guys, i do however use rotting wood from a local source, deep deep deep into the woods near my home where no sprays or chemicals are found

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you :) I'd be concerned of pathogens and parasites, but there's plenty of ways to sterilize them. Lucky to have that nearby though! I'd do the same if I had the chance!!

[@dooksouls5423]

Great video! My pacman frog went into brumation last year, meaning I had some left over sun beetle grubs and decided to grow them out, and I now have 3 beetles!! It's been so much fun for me that I have decided to build them a bioactive cohab build with my millipedes, and this video really helped! 💖

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks! They really are amazing little animals to watch and keep! And that's interesting, what millipedes do you keep?

[@dooksouls5423]

@@sg_animals. I didn't realise I could find beetles as fun as they are tbh, it's been a brilliant experience. I have Bumblebee millipedes, and to my surprise they have made lots of little babies. So a bigger enclosure will be needed :P

[@sg_animals.]

I have bumblebee millipedes too! Also due an upgrade, I might have to do a video on them soon, haven't done one yet!

[@dooksouls5423]

@@sg_animals. Well I personally think you should do a video but.. I may be a bit bias. I think millipedes are drastically underrated as pet inverts and they deserve a bit more recognition!

[@giorgiosperandio8708]

Great video, I have some questions about heat and light. For larvae i would like to use a heat pad placed outisde the box, at a few cm of distance feom the side. For adults i was thinking about e heat lamp. Do they need a proper light simulating day and night for a proper survivaland reproduction?

[@arvopelaa]

Great job!

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you!! Definitely worth the effort on this one! :)

[@giorgiosperandio4680]

Great video! What about heating? Could you suggest me some heat lamp?

[@sg_animals.]

Hey, sorry I've only just seen this and your other comment. My reptile shed keeps a steady ambient temp but I'd recommend a ceramic heat lamp (with a guard) inside the enclosure, if you're in the UK, I normally use Arcadia or Pro-rep. You can use a heat mat if you like but secure it to the back or side of the enclosure, they go into the substrate to thermoregulate so you don't want to set it up underneath. They do benefit from a light cycle so having an LED on a timer will be great for the beetles and the plants 😄 Hope this helps!

[@fazercraig9652]

Mine live happily in my reptiles enclosure. Its a bio setup I have tropical woodlice , springtails and I use dubia roaches for the bigger stuff. They have everything they need and seem to be doing well they live with green basilisks so their home is 6ft by 6ft with coca soil and sphagnum moss. They have small trees and plants to walk on high vines and branches to bask on and every 3 hours in the day it rains in my enclosure with the rain system cool little beetles they have been in their for 4 years so I imagine they are breeding and my reps don't seem interested in eating them. Oh and they eat apples and banana and moss and plant matter probably the wooden branches too tbh.

[@sg_animals.]

A lot of the time when people tell me about mixed enclosures, there's an issue and a risk that probably shouldn't be taken. But roaches and sun beetles (and their grubs) are a great addition to the diet of a basilisk! That's a great sized enclosure aswell! Brilliant to hear, you've achieved something great there and I can't think of a single issue with it, it's something I'd love to do in the future! I've also always wanted a basilisk but don't have the space right now, too busy working on expanding my current enclosures.

[@fazercraig9652]

@@sg_animals. Thanks not sure why but im a rai forest freak and I'm currently building another for a frilled dragon and I have a 60x45 x45 terrarium on the go aswell that im putting a tokay gecko in. Basilisks are really cool but they need abit of knowledge too many people buy them cause they are cheap and just throw them in a fish tank or small enclosure. You need a pond type structure, small trees, filters lots of vegetation real or fake ( real is always better) they can become really expensive. An adequate enclosure alone can run into 1000s and a lot of times especially in England you need bespoke enclosures built for you but they are amazing.

[@sg_animals.]

Rainforest setups are some of my favourite, the colour, life and variation is just brilliant to look at! That's exactly how I feel about Chinese water dragons! If you ever want good plants for (what I think) is a reasonable price. Take a look at www.therichrainforest.co.uk/e-commerce/bromeliad it's got nothing to do with me, I've just always loved the products. If that's what you like though then you're gonna love the plan I've got for my water dragon. Just saving up the cash to put it in motion!

[@fazercraig9652]

@@sg_animals. thanks I just bought 4 plants from their haha going to see how they are then going to buy some of their creepers 😁 I moved my sun beetles out my vivarium and into my terrarium too as I feel I can offer them a better environment in there plus one of my dragons kept eyeing them up lol

[@Gothicgirl1122x]

Great video

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you!

[@Wilbyos1]

Iv just got everyone need now to build this inspired me. What I would like to know is what kind of plants can I put in, what did you use? I’m frightened of poisoning them

[@sg_animals.]

Hey, sorry for the late reply. I used some random commonly used plants in this build (Boston fern, spider plant, indoor cordyline tango). But there's a number of other plants commonly used which I will likely incorporate in future builds, pothos, alocasia, cordyline tango, ficus pumila, syngonium. Hopefully the beetles will treat them well and not kill em though haha

[@Wilbyos1]

@@sg_animals. thanks but I’m worried about pesticides do you get them from Speclist shops on line or just normal plant store ….

[@sg_animals.]

@@Wilbyos1 reptile shops are a good bet, they typically source from suppliers that don't use insecticides. That being said I often use indoor plants from garden centres, so long as you give em a good rinse before introduction. Itll remove any residual chemicals. Never had an issue myself

[@Wilbyos1]

@@sg_animals. thanks 🙏

[@andyshollow6480]

Great video thx going g to upgrade mine soon got a problem with fruit flies how do you deal with them?

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks! The main thing that keeps em in check is moderate feeding. Don't overfeed. The clean up crew help also, whatever the beetles don't eat the clean up crew make quick work of overnight!

[@andyshollow6480]

@sg_animals thx I have just added some isopods I told the wife she over feeds um lol

[@BlaisZeroni]

Won’t the beetles eventually overrun the terrarium with all the breeding, or do you keep it in check somehow? How much does this tank cost in maintenance, how much wood and leaves does a colony need per month? Are there other insects that can be kept with these beetles to have a bit of variety in there?

[@sg_animals.]

For some people, I guess so, if you want to keep breeding in check then you can use topical grey woodlice or giant orange woodlice in the enclosure, they won't bother the beetles or grubs but they love snacking on the eggs. Personally I use the grubs as feeders for my reptiles, keeps the population in check and avoids me having to order them online anyway. Not much to be honest, a bit of electricity but not a lot, wood and leaves are cheap to buy and I only refresh them maybe once a month or two depending how quick the colony makes use of them! I'm not sure to be honest, I've not really looked into co-habbing these guys, other than with the clean up crew so woodlice, springtails and worms. I imagine there's probably another peaceful invert out there that wouldn't have an issue living alongside these guys and has the same environment requirements but as I say, I've never really looked into it so sadly can't help much on that front I'm afraid. Do you already keep them or considering getting some?

[@BlaisZeroni]

@@sg_animals. no I don’t have any yet. Currently I’m reading up on how to and hope to get a nice terrarium going at some point! Thank you for your guidance and expertise! Feeding the grubs to your reptiles is a great idea! Unfortunately I don’t have any, but would wild birds work? In a setup like that would it be sure there will be enough eggs to form into beetles, or is there a chance the woodlice will eat too many of the eggs to keep the population going? And what about keeping the woodlice in check? Oh and how do you keep the beetles from escaping and flying all over the place when you are cleaning the substrate and feeding? I haven’t found many maintenance videos so it is hard to imagine as someone new to this. Haha so many questions... Thanks again!

[@sg_animals.]

Sorry for the late reply, been a busy week. Wild birds would enjoy them but if they're not native to your country then that'd risk spreading potential diseases and bacteria to the wild so I wouldn't risk it if I were you! Yeah I never had a problem with it, the beetles lay a fair few eggs and so long as you feed enough fruit and veg then the population keeps going. It obviously won't grow as fast as without woodlice. They don't fly that often to be honest and when they do it's only a short distance. So you can normally open it up and do the maintenance without any/many issues. Does make me jump every single time though 😂😂 It's no problem at all! If you've got any more questions, ask away! I'm not doing overtime anymore so I'll reply a lot sooner...

[@budman8926]

@@sg_animals. Keep my suns in with two different types of stick insects. 3 types of millies and springs and about 12 types of isos. All breed well but i do have a large tank compared to most. I keep my guy in a 90 by 90 so plenty of room to play with. Nice little channel you got going. Ive been building tanks for a few shops and zoos in the uk this year its good fun.

[@panosgr1559]

Hello there. I have a huge issue to solve which is temperature. It's mid October now and as you can imagine the temperature has already dropped significantly and my sun beetles are not coming out to eat and they are inactive unless there is a sunny and warm day. I really need a heating source but I don't know which is the best for my Exo Terra Faunarium 300x195x205 mm. Do I need a heat lamp or a mat? And which wattage will fit the best for them? Thank you in advance! Panos.

[@sg_animals.]

Hi! Sorry for the late reply. Glass enclosures can be difficult this time of year, you can wrap the back and sides with insulating wrap and yes use a spotlight heatlamp on top. Use a pulse thermostat with a 25/50 watt bulb. The thermostat is crucial as a safety aspect. Keep the bulb away from the glass too (a bulb dome sitting on top of the wire mesh is best), rapid temp changes can crack the glass. The beetles can be observed basking in the wild so they'll definitely make use of this. Alternatively you could use a heatmat instead and see similar results but place it on the side so the soil remains cool and it'll still need the thermostat. Hope this helps! 😁

[@leondijkstra9032]

I wouldn't recommend a heatmat with beetles (or any burrowing animal). If burrowing animals are feeling too hot they will burrow to escape the heat. While using a heatmat this will only bring them closer to the heat source. This will cause them to burrow deeper trying to escape and so on. This could end up killing your beetles/larvae.

[@ShieniLicksOnLemons]

How many eggs would you estimate one female lays during her lifetime? I'm considering getting green sun beetle larvae and all the information about them is basically "look up Pachnoda marginata care it's the same" and then the information for their breeding ends at "the female lays one egg at a time"... I already have problems with my hissing cockroaches breeding too much so I don't want another cause for headaches with these bugs 😅 Also my hissers ate the background I made for their terrarium which I had made using styrofoam, mold resistant silicone and the same coconut brick substrate you used, and it did nothing to them... So it seems like silicone is a pretty safe substance. I still do not understand what made them suddenly decide the background looked awfully tasty after living in the terrarium for almost a year

[@Flammper]

Cool vid! It helped a lot! keep up the great work :D

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks! Glad to help :) Happy keeping!

[@faes_forest638]

ok so I need some help, I recently got some sun beetle larvae and a few turned into cocoons. I moved the cocoons to the front of their glass enclosure where I can see them and I also keep springtails and isopods in with them and the springtails and isopods have started eating the cocoon until they get inside and can then get to the grubs? This has happened to two of my 10 larvae/cocoons now, why are they doing this and how do I stop it-

[@sg_animals.]

What species of isos do you have? Some of them do become quite protein driven but I've never experienced that! Mine tend to be untouched once they've left their eggs. I have to wonder if maybe the pupae didn't make it and they're just clearing up what's left? Otherwise I'd probably try thinning the population out a bit to reduce competition and therefore demand so hopefully they go untouched in future (use dishes/saucers with food inside to lure the isopods in and then manually remove them). They shouldn't be able to climb the side of the dish to escape!! Hopefully that helps and goodluck!

[@faes_forest638]

@@sg_animals. ah ok, will do tysm. I think they’re tropical grey Isopods from the look of them, I did take some of the other cocoons out and put them in a plastic container with coco fibre, should I put them back in?

[@bloodstainedagony]

Love the setup buddy. Came across this while getting ideas for my own. Where did you get that mushroom you glued to the side of the wood? I'll take it that its fake? It's a nice effect!

[@sg_animals.]

Thanks! It's actually real! I need to get more of them, they're really nice and effective. Off ebay called a ''dried vivarium mushroom''. I think they're a little hard to find at the mo though with all the shipping issues going around. Most people seem to be sold out

[@bloodstainedagony]

@@sg_animals. I'll keep my eye out. thanks for the reply :)

[@mellyyann6327]

Hi! I’m also from the UK where do you get your supply of rotting wood, leaves etc would really appreciate it! Awesome video and beautiful beetles!

[@sg_animals.]

Hey, yeah no problem! I get my rotten wood from this seller on ebay, always good quality and a decent price www.ebay.co.uk/usr/tenbury-seller?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754 And my leaves from another ebay seller for the same reasons! www.ebay.co.uk/usr/st.hubbins29?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754 I find a lot of businesses charge a silly price but these guys are very reasonable and take fair precautions to be safe :) Thanks for watching!

[@sg_animals.]

Okay just went to buy some leaves and the second link has stopped selling them unfortunately, tenbury (the first link) sells them too though!

[@mellyyann6327]

Thank you so much!

[@ShelbyOnSafari]

Thanks for going into such detail and care with your sun beetles! How did you get such great footage of the larvae? In my recent video, I tried to showcase them but couldn't quite get the right footage. xx

[@sg_animals.]

Hey! Thank you :) Tried to cover all bases. They're a bit of a pain aren't they. I just used my feeder tongs to pick them up (given they like to turn around and bite) and pop em down with the camera already filming the spot I put them down in. That way I can get footage of them digging their way into the ground. It helped that I was building a new enclosure though so moving them anyway, otherwise it'd be tearing up the current build to try and find some! Had a look at your channel by the way, got some good stuff there! Keep up the good work! :)

[@ShelbyOnSafari]

@@sg_animals. They are certainly funny things! We've actually done a few research projects on them, trying to establish best practice for lighting, humidity, etc. But I'd love to add the layer around the sides like you did to increase climbing space. That is good timing with your new enclosure, ours needed a good deep clean! Have you found your beetles prefer any specific fruits? I know you mentioned a few including mango, ours really respond to that and strawberries too! Thank you for checking the channel out, as someone who's just started I am trying to find my bearings!

[@sg_animals.]

They do seem to love it, find them on the sides much more often than on the branches. Mine seem to go for banana above all else, and yeah as you say, strawberries are always received well. Maybe they've got a sweet tooth aha. How are you finding it so far? You've started off well to be fair! Took me over a year to find the style I want, think I'm sticking with it now. It was interesting to hear about the way the beetles warm up their bodies preparing for flight in your video, hadn't come across that info before!

[@ShelbyOnSafari]

@@sg_animals. Haha! I think they do have a sweet tooth :) Thank you, I am finding it a bit tricky getting used to the youtube algorithm and trying to get people other than my friends and family to watch the videos... my poor husband! If you have any tips and lessons you've learned, I'd be happy to learn! But, I am enjoying the ride! Sun beetles have been researched a lot for biomimetics and other fields, but not much for best practice husbandry care which I find mind boggling, but I may be biased :) This is probably one of the more interesting papers: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s003590100222 Hope all is well! Thanks again xxx

[@sg_animals.]

Yeah it's a bit of a tricky one isn't it, I think responding to your communities comments (reply and like/hearting them) companied with a consistant upload schedule are the two biggest measures. There's a whole lot more than influences it but those seem to be the main two. Otherwise it's just finding something that works for your channel. For me, the care guides and unusual pet videos are fun to make, help people and seem to attract an audience. Just important to make sure you're putting out the right information of course! :) That's interesting! I tend to search for ecology guides more than care guides, helps show scientific research and natural habitats/diets and behaviours to help replicate at home! That's an interesting link though, was a good read thank you!

[@user-fs8ip3kf2c]

We just got some larvae so not quite at the beetle stage yet but want to get ready, what lighting would you recommend as best? We’re in the UK. Also does it need to be kept at a certain temperature?

[@sg_animals.]

They don't require any specific lighting so personally I use an arcadia ''jungle dawn'' to help plant growth and show off their colours! I'm UK based too so hopefully you'll be able to get a hold of one (make sure to use a ceramic lamp holder for it though, not the plastic ones, they might melt...). They typically do well somewhere around 25C, could achieve this with either a heat mat (stuck to the back of viv not the base) or ceramic heat lamp (enclosed in a cage so they don't touch it). Both would need a thermostat to control them but viable and suitable options Alternatively if the enclosure is large enough, could use a heat mat in winter to keep them warm, but just use a heat lamp in the warmer months of the year to give them the option of basking, again regulated with a thermostat and safely covered, hope that helps 😄

[@panosgr1559]

Hello sg_animals. I have 2 adult females that laid eggs without any presence of a male. Will the eggs hatch or not? And how it is possible for a beetle to lay eggs without mating?

[@simonrobinson4761]

This has inspired me to build something similar. How are you finding the white dwarf isos with the grubs/eggs? I know you said they have a low protein drive, but I have read conflicting reports. What has been your experience?

[@sg_animals.]

Thank you! Go for it, it's really rewarding. Started off really well, had no issues and the population of both has kept growing. The tropical greys and giant oranges have found their way in again though 🤣 Think they migrated from my boas enclosure... Might build another enclosure with all new bark and decor to be certain it remains as only dwarf whites! And move the enclosure in a separate room

[@simonrobinson4761]

I live near woodland and resent paying for something I can pick up for free. I understand the concerns regarding possible bacterial infections though. Is there a way of sanitising wood so that it is fit for tropical inverts? I heard that putting it in a low oven for a couple of hours will kill any bugs. And then soaking it again will restart the decay process. Any tips please?

[@sg_animals.]

As far as I'm aware it's just what you already said, baking at a low level. That being said I've never actually done it myself so can't be much help sadly. Also worth checking the wood you pick to ensure it'll be safe for consumption and picking in an area you're certain pesticides haven't been used! Sorry I couldn't have been more help

[@simonrobinson4761]

@@sg_animals. thanks for the reply. I have sterilised bark chippings for some of my other hobbies. But they were for decoration not for consumption. Low oven for about an hour and it seemed to work. But a good shout about the pesticides :)

[@sg_animals.]

@@simonrobinson4761 It's something I'll have to get the hang of some day! Like you say, seems strange paying for rotten wood... I imagine the thinner the wood the easier, can ensure the heat's reached the centre. Hope it goes well!

[@shanederekbennett682]

Where do you get ya rotten wood from?

[@sg_animals.]

Sorry for the late reply! I get all mine from ebay, a seller called ''tenbury-seller''. Always good stuff!

[@katiebug4105]

I can't find sun beetles anywhere online! Where do you get yours? Can you link me to the website? If not can I buy some from you?

[@sg_animals.]

Hey, where abouts are you? If you're in England then I know a supplier for the grubs. If you're elsewhere then it's a bit more difficult but there are options!

[@bigsam8597]

Where can I order them, I'm from the US

[@sg_animals.]

I've no idea in the US I'm afraid, maybe contact your local reptile shop or have a look online. But they're normally quite easy to get your hands on the grubs and wait for them to turn into beetles! :) Hope that helps

[@bigsam8597]

@@sg_animals. I've spent a long time the other day looking for them online, but no US stores I've found so far have them. And the UK stores don't ship to the US, unfortunately.

[@sg_animals.]

Sorry to say but I can't help then I'm afraid. I've no idea what shops might supply in the US, maybe try joining a Facebook beetle group and ask around?

[@bigsam8597]

@@sg_animals. Oh, ok, thanks!

[@sg_animals.]

Hey! I've found someone in California thats got some ready to send. If you've got Facebook I can add you and put you in contact? :)

[@lyndsayhunter7103]

Can you have rhino beetles in that tank I’m new to the hobby :)

[@sg_animals.]

I think it'd be a bit too small for rhino beetles, they're much much larger than the sun beetles. The setup would be okay for them, just in a larger enclosure :)

[@klippschliefer4968]

no problems with over population?

[@sg_animals.]

I feed some of the grubs off to my lizards 😁

[@klippschliefer4968]

oh sh**!!!