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Atlas / Library / Lucanidae / Giant stag beetle
BeginnerNocturnal · sleeping now
Lucanidae

Giant stag beetle

Dorcus titanusด้วงคีม (stag-beetle group; คีม = pincers)Serrognathus titanus

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. davidsbeetles.com

Photograph: 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Giant stag beetle is nocturnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/dorcus-titanus

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature20–26 °C
Humidity60–80 %
Enclosure20×15×20
Diet1–2 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
20–26°Ambient

One ambient band, 20–26°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states20-26C

Humidity

60–80%Target RH

The sheet states60-80%

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m3–11 cm
1520100400 cm
3–11 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Coleoptera
IUCN / CITES
Not evaluated; CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Beginner–Intermediate
Commonality
Very popular; many prized subspecies (palawanicus etc.)
Adult size
Body 30-110mm incl. jaws (subspecies vary); big black mandibles
Lifespan
Larva ~8-14 mo (L1-L3); adult can live 6-12+ mo (long for a stag)
Growth rate
Moderate
Activity & niche
Nocturnal; adults on sap/fruit; larvae in white-rotten hardwood
Temperament
Males + even females aggressive to each other; docile to keeper
Venom / defense
Harmless - no venom; strong pinch from jaws if provoked

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substrateclimbing branchwarm hidewater60–80 % RH20 cm20 cm
warm hideclimbing branchwatersubstrate
50100150200 cm
20 × 15 × 20 cmWidth × depth × height
3dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesLarvae: flake soil OR kinshi (mushroom-inoculated) bottles ~0.8-2.3L; adults 20x15x20cm+ for breeding

Temperature
20-26C
Humidity
60-80%
Min. enclosure
Larvae: flake soil OR kinshi (mushroom-inoculated) bottles ~0.8-2.3L; adults 20x15x20cm+ for breeding
Substrate
Larvae: white-rotten hardwood / flake soil / kinshi; adults: coco/soil + bark
Hides / decor / water
Bark, hides, egg-laying wood; mist for humidity

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 1–2 dAs an adult
28Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesAdults: beetle jelly, banana, sugary fruit; larvae eat rotten wood/flake soil/kinshi · Adults: jelly every 1-2 days; larvae: change substrate every 2-3 mo

Staple food
Adults: beetle jelly, banana, sugary fruit; larvae eat rotten wood/flake soil/kinshi
Feeding frequency
Adults: jelly every 1-2 days; larvae: change substrate every 2-3 mo
Supplements
Kinshi/protein flake soil for bigger jaws

Behaviour and handling

HandlingGentle; jaws can pinch; support body
CommunalHouse individually - even females fight; pair only to breed
Defense / stress signsJaw-gaping threat, freezing, leg-tuck

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
0.7–1.2 yrLifespan in care
0.7 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Eggs laid in rotten wood -> L1-L3 grubs -> pupa in cell -> adult; some export criminalised

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsFailed eclosion, mushy/wet substrate, mites, dehydration
Red flags / quarantine
SignsMites; verify legal import (some regions restrict export); never release

Good to know

  • Prized subspecies fetch high sums; the Palawan form is among the largest stags on Earth

What it needs

Enclosure at least 20 × 15 × 20 cmbecause enclosureLarvae: flake soil OR kinshi (mushroom-inoculated) bottles ~0.8-2.3L; adults 20x15x20cm+ for breeding
A thermometerbecause temp20-26C
A hygrometerbecause humidity60-80%

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.