Toxodera sp. care

[Synapze]

Anyone here on the forum working/planning on a care sheet for Toxodera? 

 

[hysteresis]

Have you spoken with Ennis Fei? You have Toxodera? LoL?

 

[Synapze]

I follow him on Instagram. His photos are some of the best I've ever seen! I'm hoping one of our resident experts will post a care sheet soon. 

 

[hibiscusmile]

They need nothing special, some type of raffia or excelsior helps when they are small nymphs to hang onto while molting.

 

[Synapze]

They need nothing special, some type of raffia or excelsior helps when they are small nymphs to hang onto while molting.

As always, thanks.

I'm really surprised that these have made it into the hobby already. The environmental conditions are pretty much the same as many other species commonly kept. Enclosure temperature 23°-26° C. Humidity 70-80%. Nothing hard to maintain.

 

[Grapple_Apple]

Toxodera are extremely difficult to keep and nothing like the species commonly kept lol. They are a completely different caliber of difficulty.

To start they need a specialized diet of pretty much exclusive Lepidopterans. They need a constant stream of near 100% humidity and very high ventilation, as well as an extremely large mesh cube to molt and grip onto successfully for their even more complex molts as they have multiple protrusions on their body. Temperature would be one of the easier things as they aren't highland or go into diapause. If you ever think about keeping them you better already have a stable source of clean and parasite free moths and butterflies of varying sizes. Even highly proficient hobbyists are going to struggle unless you happen to live in Malaysia with them lol

 

[Synapze]

@Grapple_Apple It will certainly be a challenge.