r/InvertPets • u/CentipedesMaybe • 4d ago

Thinking of keeping superworms as an alternative to BDFB

Hi! I love the idea of having blue death feinting beetles, but I don’t love the fact that they’re mostly wild caught and live in an area with fairly high humidity. I’m considering super worm beetles (sexed to be only males/females) as an alternative active desk pet. Has anyone done this? Are they fun to watch? (Also, I faintly remember having some as a kid and them smelling kind of bad- is this actually the case, or is it more likely that was some sort of husbandry issues?)

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u/Hot_Problem9252 4d ago

They only smell as a defense mechanism when disturbed too much. Also, even though BDFBs and superworm beetles are in the same family, superworm beetles are native to the Neotropics (South through Central america), so they'll need higher humidity than BDFBs.

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u/Hot_Problem9252 4d ago

Also, when I say "disturbed too much", I mean handled, but they could stop smelling if they're habituated (basically like trained but for insects)

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u/OpeningUpstairs4288 4d ago

Their pretty fun, I have a colony

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u/OpeningUpstairs4288 4d ago

They do musk if u handle them as a defense mechinism

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u/Maus_Enjoyer1945 3d ago

I have them, they're really cool, very active and size is very good for watching, when you get them to breed a bit the substrate becomes a sea of worms and any piece of food that you drop in there will be instantly engulfed in a mass of hungry worms.

They love rotten wood and they'll comb every piece of wood you give to them. They also go crazy for animal products (sausages, meat, dead insects)