Dermestid Beetles

My newest attempt at specimen preparation is through the use of dermestid beetles. These beetles are used all over the country as a means of gently and effectively removing flesh from the skeleton. These beetles have proven to be very high-maintenance, especially given that these critters are usually hard to get rid of when they infest a home.

My daily experience with the beetles usually goes as follows:

1. Check the sponge in the tank that provides the water for the beetles. If the sponge is dry, dampen it up until it almost drips. Too much water in the tank causes mold to grow and encourages mites to infect the beetles.
2. Make certain the the food they have is fresh and that they are still actively eating. It is my goal to create a hot tank, meaning that the beetles are always eating and that there are very few periods of inactivity. At this point, I have been feeding them a pinkie (baby rat) once every three or four day depending on how much or how fast they have been eating. I remove them when they are either very dry or have gone rancid. 
3. Make sure that the beetles have lots of shade and darkness to hide in. They are not too fond of light and will often slow down the speed at which they eat. 
4. Finally, we check that the tank is warm enough to maintain the beetles. You don't want anything cooler than 75degrees Fahrenheit but no higher than 85 degrees. This is the hardest part to accomplish because the tank has high and low spots in regard to heat. The problem with this is that when the temperature gets any higher than 85 degrees, the beetles gain the ability to fly. They don't fly very far, but it could make it more likely that they escape while doing the daily chores.

I have done this every day since I received the critters on the 14th of the month and have been changing things accordingly. I have moved them into a 10 gallon tank from their original 20 gallon tank. I also removed the excess bedding and added paper towels and Styrofoam for cover and to give them something to burrow into.