Found a wild female D. tityus...

[HerculesKabuterimon]

Recently I went on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. Since some beautiful species are native to the region, namely Dynastes tityus and Lucanus elaphus, I brought some gear and hoped to find some individuals. Low and behold, the first night, the night we arrived, I found a female D. tityus at the gas station beside the hotel! I really don't have a lot of experience hunting for beetles (mainly because I am mostly from the reptile and amphibian hobby) so this was some excellent luck in my opinion. She was flipped on her back and just laying on the sidewalk outside the gas station so I feel like she was likely doomed - either being stepped on by a customer or die anyways from being trapped on her back by the next morning. Anyways, now that she is home, I am hoping she has already been mated and I can get her to lay some eggs. She is quite active and readily feeds on banana in between burrying herself every other day of so. Thought I'd share some pics.

Any tips or recommendations for the ideal husbandry for this specimen or best ways to promote egg laying are appreciated.

 

[mrl16]

I am new to beetle keeping, but I have a wild-caught female D. tityus as well.

I harvested some white rot hardwood (Oak is great) from my backyard. I crushed it, added boiling water, and then sterilized it in batches via microwave to kill pests. Make sure the substrate is moist and spongey but not dripping wet. You could mix in some humus as well for more volume. I packed down 7+ inches in depth for her making sure the bottom few inches were cemented down. If she is gravid, then frequently setting out beetle jelly or other food for her is good. If not white rot hardwood substrate, flake soil will work. Hope this was at least somewhat helpful!

 

[HerculesKabuterimon]

I am new to beetle keeping, but I have a wild-caught female D. tityus as well.

I harvested some white rot hardwood (Oak is great) from my backyard. I crushed it, added boiling water, and then sterilized it in batches via microwave to kill pests. Make sure the substrate is moist and spongey but not dripping wet. You could mix in some humus as well for more volume. I packed down 7+ inches in depth for her making sure the bottom few inches were cemented down. If she is gravid, then frequently setting out beetle jelly or other food for her is good. If not white rot hardwood substrate, flake soil will work. Hope this was at least somewhat helpful!

Yes sounds pretty standard, thanks! Where was your female collected? I might want to add some genetic diversity.