03MAR24:
im just about set up for my beetles!! im planning on ordering soon; i found a seller online that raises and sells a variety of insects, and hes advertizing a specific subspecies of darkling beetles that i think he nicknamed himself, that are very small and cute, and easy to breed. i was really charmed by blue death feigning beetles and was fully planning on getting them, but through my research for set up i saw someone directly point out that since they are so difficult to breed, that means the vast majority of the ones for sale were taken from the wild...

i am very excited though. it feels a bit like unlocking my potential again; researching and pulling things together is making me remember being a kid and trying to collect all the weird animals i could. honestly, im fairly shocked i havent done this sooner; as a kid i caught/raised/hatched:

• salamanders
• frogs
• butterflies
• ladybugs
• moths
• snails

and also regularly (gently!) played with roly polys, bees, and ants. related, if these beetles go well, i think im going to get some isopods next. :) isopod is love, isopod is life. ❤

supples i picked up for the beetles (~$60 total from local specialist pet store):

• reptisand
• aqueon glass aquarium - size 2.5, 12" L x 6" W x 8" H
• zilla fresh air screen cover - size 2.5
• eco earth compressed coconut fiber expandable subsrate
• small water dish
• rotting leaves, curved pieces of bark - collected from local forest while hiking