Myrmecodia tuberosa eaten :(

[divaskid]

Ugh I'm so disappointed. I just got this baby ant plant last week and this morning I came out to find the bulb is completely eaten and only the leaves are remaining.

I was wondering if any of you have experience growing these and if its possible to somehow get the leaves to make a new bulb? My experience tells me no, but if there's a chance I'll try.

Also, do you know what could've eaten it? The only two culprits I can think is a rat or a slug. Although I see no slug evidence

Here's a pic of what's left. There doesn't appear to be any bulb tissue left, just leaves.


Here's what it looked like prior to becoming dinner.


Thanks

 

[divaskid]

Looks like it was either a mouse or rat that's the culprit. There's bite marks on a few of my Nepenthes near by and the flowers on my one nepenthes have all been eaten up within its reach

 

[theplantman]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is absolutely no chance for it to grow a new caudex. I will say that your plant was probably only a few months old and will be easy to replace, even from seed. You probably already know a lot about them, but if you do try to obtain more seed make sure it is fresh and not allowed to dry out--the viability diminishes considerably even one week after the seed has been harvested. They are incredibly easy to start from seed provided you get good seed, however. Looks like you had a great soil mix, too.

Sorry about the loss!! That sucks.

 

[divaskid]

It's ok, I figured as much :/

There will be rat traps out tonight!

Thanks

 

[pearldiver]

Look for the member here Frog. He might could help you out.

 

[DragonsEye]

Definitely not slug damage -- the leaves or tender stem is what they would have gone for.

 

[divaskid]

Well here's a four month update. I stuck the top in the same media and I think it might have rooted! I still haven't dug it up to check but the bottom has become much thicker and it doesn't move in the soil easily either. I guess the fact that it's still alive says something

Here's to hoping it actually lives!

 

[carbonetc]

They're slow but absurdly easy to grow from seed. If you really want one with a caudex (and who wouldn't?) you could start over with seeds you gather from that plant. Or I could send you a seedling, but it'd be even smaller than your plant.

 

[divaskid]

Thanks carbonetc I really appreciate the offer
I however already bought another one soon after this last one looked like it but the dust.

I'll keep updating on this one to show its progress. I'm still amazed it's alive!

 

[jeff 2]

Bonjour

your juvenil always exist ?

what substrate use you ? what are your cultivates conditions ?

jeff

 

[divaskid]

It's still alive

It's growing in seedling orchid bark and perlite 1:1. There was peat before but I think it's washed out of the pot now.
My sprinklers go off every morning for 15 minutes and it also gets rain as well since its outside.
It's grown in about 60% shade. Temps are usually 70-80s in the day and 65-70s at night. During the winter it'll be cooler and summer slightly hotter.

 

[jeff 2]

the stem with the leaves or the caudex?

do you know if the stem with the leaves have now root ?

all the rubiaceae ( hydnophytum-myrmecodia -myrmephytum-squamellaria-anthorrhiza) grow in the same condition that nephentes , some one in lowland some others in highland in the south east asia and oceania .

web site

grow list

jeff

 

[divaskid]

The stem with the leaves. The caudex was completely eaten by a rat.

I'm not 100% sure if the stem with leaves has roots, but I'm guessing that it does. Here's a picture of it now. It's a bit sad looking probably due to the weatger this time of year.

 

[jeff 2]

Bonjour

rat !! rather snail or slug no

you should put a little more peat

I see some root, your plant seem OK , may be also more high humidity.

jeff

 

[divaskid]

Thanks I'll do that