u/EnvironmentalEmu3290

Unfortunately, one of my beetles has died. I found him upside down under a rock and when I tried to to move him I noticed his joints were curled inwards and moved with motion. His antenna have not moved. I set him away in a container with honey water on a paper towel but I think he's already gone. I'm going to give it a few days before I do anything but once I'm ready, I'd like to pin him. He's the first death of my colony of 8. I've had them about a year.

I'm not exactly sure how he died, but I'm guessing old age. The first batch of beetles I got was from a local seller who I forgot to ask about whether they were captive bred or wild caught. I haven't introduced any new items or food for a bit and my other guys are doing good.

Anyway, how do you guys pin them? I have a bit of experience and how the basics of making a rehydration chamber and posing. How do you keep the blue coloration? Whats the best way to display them? Do you have specific frames or anything like that.

Secondly, should I be doing anything with my remaining beetles? Cleaning their cage thoroughly or reorganizing or something? I attached a photo of the current setup (this photo is from maybe a month ago?). Any tips of advice appreciated. I am very saddened by this

poor chesssquirt is going through a rough molt at the moment. ugly baby 😭
he always gets so angsty when he gets a molt like this. poor baby gets extra kisses (he hates this)

he is utterly terrified of every food source i give him. he's so stupid.

i found this guy outside and since he's invasive i took him and put him in my terrarium. i've fed him a super worm and a dubia before after much trial and error. he molted two days ago so I was planning to get him a meal again but he's so darn scared of everything.

the terrarium is full of isopods so he might be snacking on them (but given how frightened he is of everything and how he is only ever on the ceiling i sort of doubt it).

any tips to get this guy to eat? i didn't want to stress him out too much so i gave up for today. are there any better ways to feed him? early in the morning, right after misting, etc?

edit: i mean it endearingly when i call him stupid

what are the little cloud guys on chenya's pants ? i'm a big alice in wonderland fan but i can't figure it out. where did they come from ? are they a reference

found this tiny mirror and wondered if chesssquirt would like it. i have never heard him make this noise before. he's been pretty fired up lately.

what do yall read this interaction as? was he trying to kill his reflection (he's seen it before but never cared. maybe putting it in his cage was a mistake?) or befriend it. i've been expirmenting with new enrichment for him and rearrange his cage. he's been much more energetic with his new grit and since i've finally settled in after the move.

i'd love some weird enrichment ideas if anyone has some! i might make a run to a store to get him stuff. i used to keep some bird safe plants in his cage since i use a light in it for him. maybe i'll bring them back. he loves chewing on basil leaves.

tried to censor the vid incase folks don't wanna see spiders but i'm not good at this app so sorry if i didn't

i saw a female cellar spider in my room crawling on the wall and chesssquirt was super intrested so i picked it up and showed it off to him. he's been introduced to so many news things lately. he's such a curious boy :)

i loooooove spiders and have been keeping an eye on this one for a while. cellar spiders are completly harmless so i had no fear picking it up. chesssquirt has always been a fan of other animals (he used to live with a lot of other doves and parrots, and after that he spent about a month in an animal shelter full of dogs, cats, rats, and rabbits). he also is fairly comfortable around my dog (i only trust the dog because he's a service dog, highly trained, and also had a few accidental encounters with my old bird who was blind and landed on him so I am very confident he's safe)

excuse the mess its cleaning day

i caught a white pigeon who i suspect was released for memorial day. he was very lethargic and had a bunch of poop stuck to his butt so i captured him and brought him home.

so far i cleaned his butt of poop, set him up in a spare cage in a quiet room. he's got access to water and food (my dove's seed mix). i inspected him and found feather lice all over him. i need some advice to help this little guy!

i've been contacting rehabbers but nobody's answered. my area doesn't have much bird support, espically for a non native like this guy.

what do i do to help this man until i can get a rehabbers to take him? for the time being my plan is to leave him alone until i can find a solution.

it should also be noted before i captured him i did see him hit a window so he was a little stunned. he's very alert now and while he was patient with me while i cleaned his butt he has enough enough to run away from me.

any help is VERY appreciative!!!

(SORRY if i should have censored the photos im ok mobile and can't figure out how)

help! i found a white pigeon who i belive to be released on memeorial day. he's too high to grab and is not moving. i have treats to lure him but he seems lethargic and has poop stuck to his butt. i have supplies to take care of him but i need to catch him first. any tips??

finally got my hands on some excavator clay and got to work on rearranging my guys habitat. it's a mix of the excavator clay, some coco fiber, and some sand. plus the occasional leca and rocks. i have 8 bdfb in total and ive had them almost a year now.

the excavator clay isn't fully dry (i only got it a little damp) so it'll look a bit more red once that's done: i went on and added the beetles back because they were getting tired of the tiny container i kept them in temporaryly during the renovations. as a reward for not fighting each other they will get some salmon tonight

im looking to add some more climbing stuff in the middle, maybe some sticks or something. if anybody else has suggestions lemme know! i tend to rearrgene the tank every 3 months or so lol.

found this guy but the er entrance(i'm good, person in with is good). i was a bit preoccupied so i didn't think too much until later. ill go see if i can find it and lure it to me with treats once we have a room. i've got birdseed in the car and used to travel with a bird carrier but I left it at home by mistake.

anyway, does this little guy look like a ceremony release dove/pigeon? should i try and catch it and keep/bring it to a shelter? i have a full dove setup at home and two spare bird cages so i can def do a temp home need be. i've got a dove at home (chesssquirt).

should i just leave it alone? assuming i can find it again

i love watching him eat in slow motion it's so funny 😭😭😭😭😭
we recently moved and it's been rough but he's been doing amazing. he's a very brave boy

he's come so far from the days where he was scared of phones hehe. chesssquirt was feeling so happy and silly today he would not stop cooing so i had to take a quick video of it. he's having a good time because i've been staying home more. and his overall zest for life

we are getting ready to move pretty soon! he's already been to the new place a few times and adjusted pretty well so im not tooo worried about anything. i'm sure moving day will be annoying for him but he's a very brave boy now and can handle quite a lot. life has been real chaotic so he's been stepping up and being such a great little guy to help out.

i graduate this week and i can honestly say I wouldn't have made it without him. <3 my sweet boy