Beetle question

[malt_geckos]

I save my mealie and super worm aliens to turn into beetles. However, about 8 out of 10 have deformities when they turn into beetles. It's like the "wing" parts don't develop al of the length of the beetle. I throw them away because they can't even really walk. I have left them for a few days to see if the parts would develop but they never do. Why is this?

 

[rhino43grr]

maybe when you moved them you pinched them too tight or something i have the same problem with a lot of mine and i really don't know why i'm bothering trying to get more to turn into beetles since i have a good stock of mealies of all sizes at the moment

 

[malt_geckos]

I don't think I squeez them...I will try and catch myself next time I pick one up. I do play with them sometimes though...hehehehe. THey are fun to pick on because they are so gross....and they deserve it. Not really. lol!

Maybe it's because I touch them? I notice the ones that sucessfully turned into nice beetles are the ones that I have just found in an old tank and I never touched them.... hmmm...

 

[Leopardbreeder]

I did an experiment on this a few months ago. I took 5 into my incubator, and 5 at room temp. 4 out of 5 in the incubator where deformed, and 1 never became a beetle (it died). The 5 that were at room temp molted fine with no problems at all.

Do you have the beetles in higher temps? I think anything above 72*-75* causes deformities.

 

[2.1SRR.YYC]

I've noticed the same deformities and i have also noticed that the rate of deformity is related to the temperature at witch the worms transition into pupa. The ones kept warm in the rack seem to have a higher rate of deformity that the ones kept at room temperature.

 

[David Loftin]

I agree with everyone. High temperatures seem to cause deformities in the Beetles. I usally try to find the coolest place in our room to do this. Bathroom works well for me.

 

[malt_geckos]

I have them sitting on top of our rack. Maybe it's because when they are in the food dishes in the gecko cages they are over the heat tape sometimes. Thanks!

 

[Surf_420]

tryin using a spoon to get the pupating beetles , its very easy

 

[Rejoice in the Lord]

I wonder if it is because the higher temps are drying them out? I don't know. I do seem to have this problem also, and right now, it seems to be worse than I have seen it before. The room they are in is quite cool, so I have a lamp shining down on them to warm them up a bit. I don't think it is any warmer than they were during the summer months though. Interesting idea . . . I may have to try some experimentation.

 

[Alchemy]

The eggs seem to hatch faster and the worms grow faster if they have a warmer temp, on the flip side of that the beetles die faster and the aliens have a lower survival rate at the same temperature.
The best way I've figured is to use under the tank heating with a thicker bedding (about 2-3"). The aliens always form up top and that's where the beetles hang out as well. While the worms move around in between.
If you keep seperate tanks for beetles and worms (highly recommended as it's hard to clean the worm tank without throwing out new hatchlings) than you can just keep the beetle tank at room temp. I'd keep heating the grow tank though, they really do seem to grow faster when they're warm.