A rhinoceros beetle has joined our family

We have started raising a rhinoceros beetle with the children.

It sounds like a small event in one sentence, but the reactions in our home divided into very clear groups. My daughter and son were delighted by the idea of a new little family member. My wife recoiled at the thought of seeing the beetle up close. Coco, meanwhile, showed an impressive lack of interest.

Four people and one dog looked at the same beetle in completely different ways. The scene was too characteristic of our family not to record.

The beetle’s household goods arrived first

Once we decided to raise it, the first task was looking up the things we would need. I added an enclosure, bedding, food, and other basic supplies to the cart one by one.

At first I assumed that welcoming one small insect would require only a small amount of preparation. A living creature, however, creates questions regardless of its size. Where would the enclosure stay? Would the children try to handle it too often? Who would remember the food and keep the habitat in order? The practical questions arrived immediately.

My standard while choosing supplies was ease of care rather than decoration. The children needed to be able to observe the beetle while the beetle remained secure, and the setup had to be something our family could care for consistently. I do not have enough experience to declare that one particular product is the answer. For now, I am preparing the basics and learning what works in our home by actually doing the work.

As the delivery boxes arrived, the children’s anticipation grew. The main guest had not even settled in yet, but the empty enclosure and supplies had already turned the living room into a small event.

Both children were delighted

The children’s faces needed no explanation. My daughter and son kept returning to the enclosure to look at our new arrival. They often become interested in different things, but that day their attention gathered in the same place.

I hope their excitement lasts. At the same time, I hope this does not end as a brief burst of curiosity. A living creature is not a toy to take out only when someone wants entertainment. It needs quiet time and steady care.

I want us to observe together while first learning not to handle it carelessly. Rather than competing to see who is brave enough to touch it, I would like the children to slow down, notice how it looks that day, and share the ordinary tasks it needs.

I did not begin as an expert either. If I want to explain something to the children, I have to check it first. In these notes, I would rather record what I did not know and what we changed through experience than pretend to have a perfect answer.

My wife recoiled, and the boundary became clear

My wife stood at the opposite end of the children’s excitement. It was not a judgment about the beetle. Seeing it at close range was simply uncomfortable for her. The closer the children came to show it, the farther she moved away.

I have no intention of forcing that reaction to change. Something fascinating to one person can be difficult for another to approach. In a shared home, the distance requested by the uncomfortable person matters as much as the enthusiasm of the person who loves it.

That made a secure enclosure, a clear place for it, and simple family rules even more important. I do not want the children’s curiosity to make my wife feel tense in her own home. Caring for the beetle also means respecting the boundary that lets the rest of the family live comfortably.

Coco truly did not care

The most surprising and somehow most Coco-like response was complete indifference.

Coco is fourteen. Her hearing has faded, but she is still active, and she makes her presence very clear when something matters to her. This particular commotion did not make the list. While the children buzzed with excitement and my wife kept her distance, the rhinoceros beetle did not become an important event in Coco’s day.

Perhaps a small insect moving into the house is not much news to a dog who has been at the center of our family for so long. Coco may hold the special title of Haru Space’s first pet, but in real life she has also mastered the wisdom of not joining matters that do not concern her.

The larger everyone else’s reaction became, the funnier her calm looked. A welcoming ceremony was happening on one side of the room. On Coco’s side, it was just another day.

Practicing how to care for a small life

I do not yet know how this experience will unfold or what mistakes we will make. Care may be more demanding than expected. The children’s attention may move elsewhere sooner than I hope. I am also keeping in mind the realistic possibility that much of the steady work will eventually return to the parents.

Still, now that we have begun, I want to care for the beetle well while it is with us. I hope the children experience not only the exciting moments but also the ordinary process of checking food, keeping the area in order, and observing without disturbing it.

I do not plan to turn this into a grand lesson about responsibility. I only hope the children naturally discover that work remains after the first excitement. I want to stand beside them as someone who checks, learns, and corrects mistakes, not only as the person giving instructions.

A new observation log for our home

These stories will not become a definitive guide to raising rhinoceros beetles. I plan to record what we actually prepared, whether the children’s interest continues, what becomes difficult, and whether my wife and Coco maintain exactly the same distance.

I will not publish the children’s names, faces, schedules, or details that identify their daily lives. Instead, I want to preserve the atmosphere of days like this one—the family reactions and my own thoughts that would otherwise be easy to forget.

My daughter and son were delighted. My wife recoiled. Coco did not care at all. I stood between them, organizing the supplies and quietly wondering who would become the most diligent caretaker.

I do not know the answer yet. I only know that a rhinoceros beetle has entered our home, and a new family story has begun with it.