I have joined the Macropanesthia rhinoceros club!

D

dragonfire1577

Third Instar
So today I picked up a small pair of M. rhinoceros and just wanted to share with you all, this is a species I actually never thought I would see let alone own until after I realized a regular vendor at my local expo sells them! After some planning, obtaining a big bag of chemical free live oak leaf litter (a favorite among my glowspots and supposedly a good staple for these guys) I finally picked these guys up! I will upload photos shortly and I am curious if anyone has any tips on these guys I am housing them in the container they have been in since they have been supposedly doing fine in there for a few months already. I will upload pics shortly.

 
dragonfire1577 said:
So today I picked up a small pair of M. rhinoceros and just wanted to share with you all, this is a species I actually never thought I would see let alone own until after I realized a regular vendor at my local expo sells them! After some planning, obtaining a big bag of chemical free live oak leaf litter (a favorite among my glowspots and supposedly a good staple for these guys) I finally picked these guys up! I will upload photos shortly and I am curious if anyone has any tips on these guys I am housing them in the container they have been in since they have been supposedly doing fine in there for a few months already. I will upload pics shortly.
Click to expand...
Congrats man! :D I hope they do well for you, let us know if you have any questions regarding care needs! They are pretty dang easy to keep, but have some specific care needs that if not met, could kill them. 

 
Yeah I've been researching like crazy and found care seems to be essentially safe leaf litter(oak being a confirmed safe staple), moist substrate about an inch deep for nymphs like mine and occasional supplementation if other foods. Also temps over 80 seem dangerous if I'm not mistaken but that info seemed like it was loose and not well documented.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here is the setup they have been in up until I obtained them, both have molted successfully multiple times in here (they are like 7 months old) and it seems pretty basic but also seems to have been getting the job done. I did pack down the substrate a little after inspecting them but besides adding more leaf litter and that I didn't change anything.

20170910_202747-756x1008.jpg

 
Yes congrats !!! I am curious who sold them to ya :)   ... they are low maintence or I'm just lazy ... I just feed them oak/maple leaves and rotten logs like I go with all my other roaches , Dubia roaches included !!! ... keep em at room temp and spray them down once a week.... my 2.5 should be breeding next year .. its been a long 4 yrs wait !!! hahahaha ...

 
Very nice, personly I would offer less soil if I were you but it's a low chance anything would happen. I also offer adult pairs for sale and nymphs 

 
Redmont said:
Very nice, personly I would offer less soil if I were you but it's a low chance anything would happen. I also offer adult pairs for sale and nymphs 
Click to expand...
It's because of potential burrow collapse correct? I may remove some soil and also was wondering if they will disturb each other while molting, so far it's obviously worked fine but I was wondering if they should be in separate containers for now until they get bigger or just if a bigger enclosure would suit them better.

 
dragonfire1577 said:
It's because of potential burrow collapse correct? I may remove some soil and also was wondering if they will disturb each other while molting, so far it's obviously worked fine but I was wondering if they should be in separate containers for now until they get bigger or just if a bigger enclosure would suit them better.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'd shave the substrate level down a bit, the main concern is that if the nymphs attempt making a burrow for molting, and it collapses, (which is very likely with substrate like coconut fiber or potting soil), then they can suffer massive molting deformities.

They shouldn't disturb each other too much as long as they aren't too cramped, roaches apparently do better when they have company, so I'd still keep them together if I were you. :)

And to answer your earlier comment, yes, temps in the 80s or above can potentially harm them, so they should be kept in the mid 70s at the warmest. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ya, they will do better together and possibly grow faster (Dubia kept together in cramped containers grow faster and breed faster) when the female has a litter take the male out because he could eat some of the nymphs.  

 
Got it seems pretty simple, I will lower the sub down and possibly add a very small amount of sand so help the substrate hold it's shape as I have heard it helps. I figured they would be fine together as roaches are social just wanted to assure it wouldn't increase risk of a bad molt.

 
Looks decent, I have a pair about your size. And half the substrate you still have in there, you only need enough soil for them to just cover themselves and that's it.

 
Sand was a consideration because it stiffens up the substrate if added in small portions I've observed but yep not adding any due to them thriving on coir before I got them and it clearly working for others, no need to fix what isn't broken!

 
dragonfire1577 said:
Sand was a consideration because it stiffens up the substrate if added in small portions I've observed but yep not adding any due to them thriving on coir before I got them and it clearly working for others, no need to fix what isn't broken!
Click to expand...
Indeed, they should do just fine on plain old coconut fiber. :) Hope they do well for you, keep us updated!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top