Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought some rice flour beetles a few weeks ago. I prepared a plastic shoebox for them with wheat and regular flour and some yeast. I haven't touched them since.

I checked on them today and most of them are dead. A few of them kicked around once I strained them out, but there are none whatsoever that are crawling around happily.

Any ideas as to what may have caused this?

Usually they come in a deli-cup of the proper media, which I assume is rice flour. For me, they last several months just stored dry and relatively cool in the same container and media they are shipped in. I've never tried to culture them from the mature beetles, just replenish the culture with a new order a couple of times a year.

You don't want to add water, since they have to stay dry. If you added water and yeast, like a fruit fly culture, that may be the problem.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

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