I am currently in the process of setting up a terrarium for blue death feigning beetles. This post will be updated as I make more progress.
The enclosure is a 100 cm x 35 cm x 40 cm (39″ x 13″ x 15″) open top glass vivarium that I bought secondhand.
The bottom layer of substrate is natural soil gathered from my local forest nearby a rotten tree, with a tiny bit of sphagnum moss mixed in, measuring about 5 cm (2″) deep. This is to retain moisture and encourage larval growth.
The top layer of substrate is a mix of play sand and natural soil, roughly 3:1 respectively, measuring another 5 cm (2″) deep. I created slopes of thicker substrate on both the hot and cool ends of the enclosure, to see if the beetles and larvae have a preference for what conditions to burrow in.
For decor, I gathered some pine bark, various fallen branches, small pebbles, and flat rocks. Bundling twigs together can make the appearance of a dead bush, which fits quite well into a desert environment.
All soil, wood, and leaves I gather from nature is first sterilized by laying it on an oven tray, max 2 cm (1″) deep and baking it in an oven at about 100°C (200°F) for 40 minutes to an hour. This helps to reduce the risk of pathogens making it into my enclosures and possibly harming my pets. Minor nutrient loss can occur as a result of the baking process, but I find it has no negative impact on the survival of my pets. Always be careful when baking soil or wood, and never bake or boil rocks. I clean rocks by soaking them in hot water with dish soap for several hours, and giving them a thorough brushing.