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VFT Food

Hi all.  I'm new here.  I'm looking for foods that my single VFT will eat, besides live insects.  I've tried dried blood worms and dried Gammarus shrimps - the traps close and open again in a day or two.  Are egg whites (boiled, I assume) acceptable?  What about foliar feeding?  Anybody know of anything else?  Thanks.      
 
Hey Merlin!
Firstly, Welcome to the forums!

Secondly, Venus flytraps require live food in order to stimulate the trap to close further, after it has innitialy caught its prey, so it can sometimes be tricky to get them to digest a non living food item. If you are going to feed them, I would stick to insects, maggots and similar. Some other foods such as raw meat, hamburger etc can cause the traps to rot. The plants use insects as a supplement and can still lead an ordinary life if they never catch anything! I'm sure you will catch plenty of living spiders, flies and bugs to satisfy the plants needs!
 
pill/sew/potatoe bugs are kewl... The ones that roll into a ball when you touch them, or the ones that look like them... The VFTs wont crush them, and you can see a bug silhouette walking around inside the trap, touching the trigger hairs, over, and over... Also, they're good because they're not fast enough to get out of the trap before it closes, as some flies can be... I love them. Also, no huge manibles... I've heard too, that they are cleaner than you averag sewer dwelling blue bottle...
 
Thanks for the feedback (and the welcome).  If I'm reading you right, it's live insects/arachnids/crustaceans or nothing.  But 'nothing' is fine.

The thing is, my (newly acquired) CPs are growing under lights, next to my orchids, in my den.  For a couple of reasons, live bugs aren't really an option.  I thought my choices were alternate foods or giving the VFT away.  But if it can do well without me filling its traps, then I'm okay - and I can keep it.    

(Edited by Merlin at 6
wow.gif
8 pm on April 13, 2002)
 
I feed mine freeze dried worms. I break off a little chunk maybe about 1/4 size the trap. Once the trap closes I give it a litle squeze. I do this a couple times ever hour for about two hours.
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Tristan on 6:30 pm on April 13, 2002
I feed mine freeze dried worms.  I break off a little chunk maybe about 1/4 size the trap.  Once the trap closes I give it a litle squeze.  I do this a couple times ever hour for about two hours.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Thanks! I'm definitely going to give that a try. One question: by "worms" do you mean blood worms? or something else?
 
I use the freeze dried tubifex worms that come in blocks. Make sure that when you feed them the piece is small and when you sqeeze the trap that the trigger hairs rub against the food.
 
My one VFT has caught a spider, an earwig, and a really fat bug I cannot identify all on it's own. My backyard is has a lot of flies at the moment (I need to clean the rabbit cage!) but the flytrap caught none! Hopefully they will turn redder, attract some flies and live upto it's name "Venus FLYTRAP"
 
  • #10
Have you tried live gammarus? I've seen them at the aquarium shop, sold in little plastic packets with just enough water to wiggle in.

Feeding the critter to your trap would probably be a relief to it, after that!

--Steve
 
  • #11
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Tristan on 9:37 pm on April 13, 2002
I use the freeze dried  tubifex worms that come in blocks.  Make sure that when you feed them the piece is small and when you sqeeze the trap  that the trigger hairs rub against the food.
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

I'll try that too! That's the exact same thing I feed my goldfish!
 
  • #12
I had lots of trouble catching live flies for my 1 Vft last year. Its just come out of dormancy and is now double the size compared to last year, and i have just ordered 2 more Vft, a South West Giant and a Royal Red. I have to buy some live food this year i think.................
Anyone know what small crickets eat ? I can only buy these 500 at a time, i havent got that many traps to feed..............
 
  • #13
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from dave2150 on 7:23 pm on April 14, 2002
I had lots of trouble catching live flies for my 1 Vft last year. Its just come out of dormancy and is now double the size compared to last year, and i have just ordered 2 more Vft,  a South West Giant and  a Royal Red. I have to buy some live food this year i think.................
Anyone know what small crickets eat ? I can only buy these 500 at a time, i havent got that many traps to feed..............[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

They eat wet bread, and also...each other! Raising them will prove smellier than you think--and they are likely to die en masse as a fungal infection runs through the tank or whatever you have them in.

It isn't worth the trouble.

--Steve

--SO
 
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