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Atlas / Library / Scarabaeidae (Dynastinae) / Elephant beetle
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Scarabaeidae (Dynastinae)

Elephant beetle

Megasoma elephas

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. en.wikipedia.org

Photograph: Letizia Weichgrebe · 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. Elephant 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.

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https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/megasoma-elephas

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature23–27 °C
Humidity65–80 %
Enclosure40×30
Diet1–2 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
23–27°Ambient

One ambient band, 23–27°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 states23-27C

Humidity

65–80%Target RH

The sheet states65-80%

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m7–14 cm
1520100400 cm
7–14 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
Advanced
Commonality
Prized heavyweight; less common due to long rearing
Adult size
Body 70-140mm; velvety, with horns; very bulky
Lifespan
Larva ~18-24+ mo (L1-L3); adult ~3-6 mo
Growth rate
Very slow
Activity & niche
Nocturnal; adults on sap/fruit; larvae in deep rotten wood
Temperament
Placid giant; harmless
Venom / defense
Harmless - no venom; can pinch with horns

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substratewarm hidewater40 cm30 cm
warm hidewatersubstrate
50100150200 cm
40 × 30 cmWidth × depth
12dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Seen from above: the sheet gives a footprint and no height.

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: L3 in 10-20L, 30-40cm deep flake soil; adults 40x30cm+

Temperature
23-27C
Humidity
65-80%
Min. enclosure
Larvae: L3 in 10-20L, 30-40cm deep flake soil; adults 40x30cm+
Substrate
Larvae: rich fermented flake soil / white-rotten wood; adults: coco/soil + bark
Hides / decor / water
Sturdy branches, bark; 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; larvae eat flake soil/rotten wood · Adults: jelly every 1-2 days; larvae: change substrate every 1-2 mo

Staple food
Adults: beetle jelly, banana; larvae eat flake soil/rotten wood
Feeding frequency
Adults: jelly every 1-2 days; larvae: change substrate every 1-2 mo
Supplements
Protein-rich flake soil for mass

Behaviour and handling

HandlingGentle; heavy - support fully
CommunalRear large larvae individually; separate males
Defense / stress signsHissing, leg-kicking

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
0.3–0.5 yrLifespan in care
0.3 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 -> L1-L3 (heavy L3) -> long pupation -> adult; patience required

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsLong-cycle losses, failed eclosion, mites, dehydration
Red flags / quarantine
SignsVery long larval stage; non-native - never release; mites

Good to know

  • Covered in fine golden hair; among the heaviest beetles by body mass

What it needs

A thermometerbecause temp23-27C
A hygrometerbecause humidity65-80%
Not stated: The size of the enclosurethis sheet describes the enclosure without a figure: « Larvae: L3 in 10-20L, 30-40cm deep flake soil; adults 40x30cm+ »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

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.