Wth is in my terrarium?!

[leesahlynn]

Yesterday I noticed a big black beetle walking on one of my branches.



Looks exactly like that. I was like "oh a beetle, one of the frogs will get it".

I checked in there tonight and now I see THREE of them!
They're really big and they're really gross, honestly.

I haven't put in any branches or logs from outside, they're all store bought.
I would have noticed them in a bag with crickets, I assume.

Besides being disgusting, are they going to harm my frogs?

[leesahlynn]

Oh my god, they're the superworms I put in the tank awhile ago, aren't they?!

That's really gross! I had no idea they turned into big beetles!!

[Tony]

Yep, superworms turn into big gnarly beetles.

[LilyPad]

LOL That's exactly what they are!!!

[leesahlynn]

Yep, superworms turn into big gnarly beetles.

Will my red eyes eat them?
Or should I get them out of there?
I'm assuming they're all starting to "hatch" now.
There's gonna be about ten or so in there.

[Tony]

I would take them out. Neither superworms nor the beetles are a good food source for red eyes.

[leesahlynn]

Well I figured that out when I opened the container of them and saw how GIGANTIC they were!

This is all very unfortunate, the beetles give me the creepy crawlies.
Something about them is just ....ughhh!

Just crickets from now on, at least they look friendly.

[Lacibeth]

Zophobos morio aka the superworm aka the Brazilian darkling beetle is native to Central and South America. If you're thinking of perhaps just dumping them outside please don't. Tuck them in a ziploc and stick them in the freezer for 48 hrs. At that point they're dead, and there's no risk of introducing a non-native species.

[Zathura]

XD I had the same thing happen with some regular mealworms I had tried to feed my tarantula once. They had disappeared from the bowl I'd set them in, and I thought she had eaten them...and about a week later, I noticed little beetles crawling around the enclosure. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out what they were, but I thought I had some kind of infestation, lol.

You shouldn't be creeped out by them, but I agree with the poster who suggested freezing them. They won't harm you...at the most they might pinch you a bit, but there's nothing to be afraid of, they definitely won't be able to break your skin, and they have no venom or other kind of poison. Just scoop them up with your hands, you'll be fine.