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Venus Fly Trap - Indoors

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  • 25-04-2009 11:39pm
    #1
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭


    Wow I don't think I've been in this room before >_>

    So hey I live in the Carolinas and as it unfolds, this is the only small region in the world where the Venus Fly Trap grows in nature. Saw one at my garden centre a couple weeks ago and decided to give it a lash.

    So far I've havent killed it. Fed it a fly or two. And placing it in a Terrarium which is part of why I'm calling :pac:

    see I think I'm doing it wrong, im not a smart plant person. Wikipedia said these need LOTS of sunlight so I put them out in the afternoon sun and the poor thing started to burn up D:

    So it hasnt been looking to well. I know Carolina is its natural habitat but I dont just want to leave it outside (much neater on my desk!). Besides that when I left it out there my dad watered it with the hose, which is a Do Not (changed the water very quickly). So I went to Petco and got a plastic 2 gallon Fish Bowl.

    attachment.php?attachmentid=78329&stc=1&d=1240698786

    Right now its sitting in its original planter and a bed of washed Marble chips. Bought a soil mix from ebay which is on its way (Sphagnum Moss+ Perlite - seller-tailored FlyTrap Soil) And I got a 25W Daylight bulb and a Huge New Desk Lamp Arm Thing and a couple small crickets to give it some good munchies.

    My big concern is not daylight - it can be provided with too much sometimes, but I felt the daylight bulb was an easy buy (maybe it will help me with S.A.D. in the winter too!); but rather making sure this plant has proper humidity and doesnt burn up any more. Right now I have 2 crickets in the bowl still so its covered with plastic, looks very humid in there too which is also supposed to be good for it, but now you have the heat issue.

    Ideally what I want is to have a mesh cover on top and I have a solar-powered 4" fan in the garage I can rig up to the cage so it doesnt burn up wildly and it gets plenty of fresh C02 - but then I'd be worried about low humidity.

    tl; dr:

    - Whats most important: Light, Humidity, Warmth, or Airflow
    - Any tips for Terrarium plants?
    - Is there enough humidity in the house for my plant?

    attachment.php?attachmentid=78330&stc=1&d=1240698812
    attachment.php?attachmentid=78331&stc=1&d=1240698844
    attachment.php?attachmentid=78332&stc=1&d=1240698843

    You can see where its burning up, Thankfully some new mouths are on their way, im hesistant to trim off the old ones as theyre still catching a lot of sunlight still.
    Fortunately no Crickets escaped in the taking of these photos.


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    #2
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Really? Nobody?

    I'd start cutting off fingers and feeding them to the plant but the fat content in meat is toxic to them :(


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    #3
    generalmiaow
    Registered Users Posts: 865 ✭✭✭generalmiaow


    I have some of these. I accidentally killed one of these last year in a terrarium by giving it too much humidity and rot set in. The only tip I have is to lower the humidity if it starts showing signs (e.g. turning black) - they appreciate a bit of babying in the way of disposing of dead traps (which would otherwise decay and promote rot). I don't know much about light wattage unfortunately, I keep them in a mini greenhouse and a windowsill in winter.

    I remember some of the bigger bugs it caught would kill the traps, every so often one of them would die, but I think that's OK because it will make more. I take advantage of the traps to provide hormones that are normally only lipid soluble like GA-3 by giving it just-killed insects dabbed in hormones. Totally not necessary, but these plants seem to promote mad scientist behaviour.


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    #4
    generalmiaow
    Registered Users Posts: 865 ✭✭✭generalmiaow


    Nice pictures by the way, here's one of mine from last year after I bought it from homebase. This fellow is dead.


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    #5
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    From what I hear its because a big bug can stop it from sealing shut like it needs to. When the plant begins to digest then it can start bleeding out acids and/or attract bacterial infection much like an open wound. Its important for the process that the trap shuts tightly around the victim to act as a stomach.

    today I bought a bit of mesh to swap out the temp bag cover and give the plant circulation. Took apart the Car-Vent to give the terrarium some gadgetry :cool:

    attachment.php?attachmentid=78423&stc=1&d=1240796170

    It works really well, almost too well. But I'm going to take the risk of lower humidity and temp - seems safer than burning up.

    About those crickets - I've concluded they're one of the more retarded insects in nature. Terrible swimmers. One of them did get into the trap I wanted to feed but then crawled right back out when it triggered. Infuriating. Though the trap is/was on the end of its rope so it was quite slow. Shouldve pulled off the little feckers legs like I was told.

    attachment.php?attachmentid=78424&stc=1&d=1240796186

    So the death toll is 6 with no victory for the plant :pac:


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    #6
    Arcee
    Registered Users Posts: 359 ✭✭Arcee


    Well, i'm no expert - haven't been able to keep one alive more than about 6 months, but will let you know what I've learned so far. I got one during a good Irish summer and just kept it on the window sill in the sun and watered it regularly. I kind of got lazy after the summer and didn't bother making a warm humid place for it during the winter months and I guess that's why it died.

    It also seems feeding it too much is a big no no. The plant expends a huge amount of energy digesting insects in a trap and the trap will usually die afterwards.

    I'm still not sure on the quantity of live food it needs but probably something smaller and easier to digest than a cricket I would guess. I was thinking of giving it another go this year (despite the Irish climate!) and I reckon if I give it an insect every 2-3 weeks that should be enough based on what I saw happening the last time I had one. Every time it ate, it seemed to go downhill for a week or so and then struggled to come back to good condition. Maybe it just wasn't strong enough for proper live food.

    Despite what it says on the net, I found the traps didn't naturally attract insects so I had to go hunting..... the other problem was that the prey needs to move while it's in the trap to trigger the little hairs and cause it to shut. But it also can't move too fast or it will get out before the trap closes.

    I ended up catching small house flies in a jar (not easy and it makes you look like an idiot jumping around waving an open jar in the air) then putting the lid on the jar and shaking the bejesus out of it. This doesn't kill the fly but stuns it enough so you can pick it out and drop it in the trap. The fly won't move for a while but starts twitching as it regains its senses and hey presto, the trap should close. The fly is too stunned to get out but moving just enough to trigger the trap. All very cruel but what do you expect for a carniverous plant owner!

    I'd be interested to see how it goes for you - they're certainly difficult to keep but are a fun experiment too! Best of luck!


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    #7
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Arcee wrote: »
    Well, i'm no expert - haven't been able to keep one alive more than about 6 months, but will let you know what I've learned so far. I got one during a good Irish summer and just kept it on the window sill in the sun and watered it regularly. I kind of got lazy after the summer and didn't bother making a warm humid place for it during the winter months and I guess that's why it died.
    im new to this too but since my OP ive found some good articles.

    Your plant probably did not die at all but you assume that it did - when it gets gradually less and less sunlight during winter it automatically triggers its Dormancy - all the leaves will die off and you will have pretty much not a lot left. It stays like this for 3 to 4 months while it diverts all of its energy into rejuvenating itself and to creating a flower for the spring. It needs 3 to 4 month of dark and low heat and many sites reccomend leaving it in a tool shed or a fridge for this period. Around February it begins to grow again.

    the fact that you got lazy watering was actually what you were meant to do :D the articles recommend this and to let the soil dry up a good bit (not completely) for the wintering.
    I'm still not sure on the quantity of live food it needs but probably something smaller and easier to digest than a cricket I would guess. I was thinking of giving it another go this year (despite the Irish climate!) and I reckon if I give it an insect every 2-3 weeks that should be enough based on what I saw happening the last time I had one. Every time it ate, it seemed to go downhill for a week or so and then struggled to come back to good condition. Maybe it just wasn't strong enough for proper live food.

    I have access to small and large sized crickets so Ive had a crack at the smallest ones and again, theyre retarded. Its been observed though that insects with complex exoskeletons and a low food to waste ratio are bad food choices. Actually I was thinking I might try mealworms in a week or two.

    This is what im reading anywho: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/venusflytrap.html
    [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Times New I2]"The best insects to feed the plant are those with soft bodies that are 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the traps. The hard shells of beetles and similar insects make them difficult to digest. One reference stated that after starving a plant for one year, it was then fed an insect in each trap. The result was that all the traps died and it set the plant back two months. This suggests that the plants can be over fed. (The likely cause was that the stress of trying to produce so much digestive fluid at one time weakened the plant.) On the other hand the problem may have been caused by the year of non-feeding weakening the plant. Most references state that 3 to 4 insects a month is enough. Several sites warned against trying to feed a [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Times New I2]Fly Trap[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Times New I2] hamburger; the fat content could injure the plant. Over feeding may lead to reduced trap size and long, weak growth."[/FONT]

    Despite what it says on the net, I found the traps didn't naturally attract insects so I had to go hunting..... the other problem was that the prey needs to move while it's in the trap to trigger the little hairs and cause it to shut. But it also can't move too fast or it will get out before the trap closes.

    I definitely saw with the cheeky cricket fecker (before it drowned) that in action. As for the attraction I'd agree its probably not terribly potent but it does attract - if you leave bugs and things in proximity of the plant they will very quickly investigate the leaves, especially flies. Even the damned cricket seemed to want to get back in for a second look after it triggered the trap and fecked off. grr.
    I ended up catching small house flies in a jar (not easy and it makes you look like an idiot jumping around waving an open jar in the air) then putting the lid on the jar and shaking the bejesus out of it. This doesn't kill the fly but stuns it enough so you can pick it out and drop it in the trap. The fly won't move for a while but starts twitching as it regains its senses and hey presto, the trap should close. The fly is too stunned to get out but moving just enough to trigger the trap. All very cruel but what do you expect for a carniverous plant owner!

    That sounds intelligible to stun them. Similarly the pet lad told me I should have ripped the hind legs off the crickets to slow their movement. All the same I have managed to successfully feed it one fly just by passively adding it to the terrarium a week ago.
    I'd be interested to see how it goes for you - they're certainly difficult to keep but are a fun experiment too! Best of luck!
    Thanks. Well I'll update once in a while cos im enjoying this. For whats its worth I dont think you really killed your trap and should hazard giving it another go this summer.


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    #8
    John mac
    Registered Users Posts: 5,112 ✭✭✭John mac


    I had one a few years ago, kept it on a window ledge and well watered (it is a bog plant after all)
    no special feeds except a few flies (caught live and placed on the leaves)
    got it to live for a year.. till i went on hols and forgot to water it for 2 weeks..


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    #9
    generalmiaow
    Registered Users Posts: 865 ✭✭✭generalmiaow


    Overheal wrote: »
    About those crickets - I've concluded they're one of the more retarded insects in nature. Terrible swimmers. One of them did get into the trap I wanted to feed but then crawled right back out when it triggered. Infuriating. Though the trap is/was on the end of its rope so it was quite slow. Shouldve pulled off the little feckers legs like I was told.

    attachment.php?attachmentid=78424&stc=1&d=1240796186

    So the death toll is 6 with no victory for the plant :pac:

    Just curious- do the crickets not try to nibble on the plant?

    Regarding attracting insects, I find that the practice of keeping them in a terrarium generally stops that from happening... and of course, some of them have some cop on but some do come and land, mostly hoverflies and tiny flies. I've seen wasps being caught but they are too strong for the traps. I have a feeling that the bigger bucket style carnivorous plants are more attractive.


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    #10
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Some things you attempt to feed it would chew at the plant. I was googling what to feed this and someone was talking about how a caterpillar at its way out after the trapped had already sealed tight around him.

    Crickets dont seem that interested in eating the leaves. Things like caterpillars though which are only built for eating eating and more eating will chew anything in sight.


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    #11
    Arcee
    Registered Users Posts: 359 ✭✭Arcee


    Overheal wrote: »
    im new to this too but since my OP ive found some good articles.

    Your plant probably did not die at all but you assume that it did - when it gets gradually less and less sunlight during winter it automatically triggers its Dormancy - all the leaves will die off and you will have pretty much not a lot left. It stays like this for 3 to 4 months while it diverts all of its energy into rejuvenating itself and to creating a flower for the spring. It needs 3 to 4 month of dark and low heat and many sites reccomend leaving it in a tool shed or a fridge for this period. Around February it begins to grow again.

    Aww, now I feel bad - I probably threw the thing out when it was still alive!! :eek: *enters a world of guilt*

    I will make amends this summer :) Thanks for all that good info, I'll let you know how I get on. First step is to find a decent/healthy looking one in the garden centres. They tend to look half dead in the shops here. I don't expect to see them til May or June though.... I think that was the time I got my last one.

    EDIT: One more thing - I noticed that after a while the plant sort of develops it's own eco-system. When the flies in the traps started to decompose it seemed to attract all sorts of other small flies around the plant. These weren't big enough for it to eat but it got kind of messy. I didn't notice any bad smells though. I found that quite interesting and assumed it was another method of attracting prey, eg, the small flies would then attract bigger ones that could be food for the plant maybe?


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    #12
    generalmiaow
    Registered Users Posts: 865 ✭✭✭generalmiaow


    Arcee wrote: »

    EDIT: One more thing - I noticed that after a while the plant sort of develops it's own eco-system. When the flies in the traps started to decompose it seemed to attract all sorts of other small flies around the plant. These weren't big enough for it to eat but it got kind of messy. I didn't notice any bad smells though. I found that quite interesting and assumed it was another method of attracting prey, eg, the small flies would then attract bigger ones that could be food for the plant maybe?

    That's very interesting. I did notice that a lot of tropical plants smell like rotting corpses, which I suppose is what flies are into.


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    #13
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    I remember when I was a kid hearing about one carnivorous flower in the rainforest - dont remmeber the name, but it grows to over 12" in diameter and stinks to high heaven like a rotting corpse. Flies come from miles around.

    Do you mean when they were being digested it seemed to attract more flies or when it spat out the remains? Ideally you ought to clean pick those up and toss them out shouldnt you?

    Got mine just now transplanted into its more permanent soil solution (perlite+peat moss - unfertilized) that I finally got in the mail. Hoping of course I didnt traumatize it to death with the transplant. those 2 new shoots are still on the way. One looks ready to open up within a day or two and a third one just started to show up. Also with the new soil there is no more pools of cricketty death.
    I'll let you know how I get on. First step is to find a decent/healthy looking one in the garden centres. They tend to look half dead in the shops here. I don't expect to see them til May or June though.... I think that was the time I got my last one.

    Go to the Garden Centres Now and find out when the shipment of traps will arrive. You'd want to be there on day one to find the best one. I think I did this on accident - I wasnt even out looking for one, but some of my traps are over 1 inch long and the plant avg radius is about 4 inches (max 6") which I'm lead to belief is quite healthy.

    The other option is to look for an online seller like on ebay or somewhere.


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    #14
    Mr. Presentable
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,496 ✭✭✭Mr. Presentable


    My 9 year old daughter has one we got in Lidl last year. It died back during the winter, but is now flourishing on a south facing windowsill indoors. It flowered and now has seed pods! It gets watered but never fed - I read somewhere that one or two traps a season is all they need - it caught something small itself last week. They naturally occur in swamps, I believe, so we keep it moist.


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    #15
    Arcee
    Registered Users Posts: 359 ✭✭Arcee


    Overheal wrote: »
    Do you mean when they were being digested it seemed to attract more flies or when it spat out the remains? Ideally you ought to clean pick those up and toss them out shouldnt you?

    The small flies arrived after it had been digesting for a while. Mine never spat anything out - either the trap died or it reopened with only a very small trace of paper-like fly skeleton/shell. There were never really any remains to clean up..... but once the flies arrived, they stayed even if the plant wasn't eating. They were like really tiny fruit flies...


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    #16
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,917 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    nipplenuts wrote: »
    My 9 year old daughter has one we got in Lidl last year. It died back during the winter, but is now flourishing on a south facing windowsill indoors. It flowered and now has seed pods! It gets watered but never fed - I read somewhere that one or two traps a season is all they need - it caught something small itself last week. They naturally occur in swamps, I believe, so we keep it moist.
    Thats cool. I dont know if I'll try to harvest seeds next year or just prune the flower bud when it shows up next spring to save the plant some energy.

    They only occur in nature within a small 100 mile radius of Savannah, GA. I live on the northeast edge of that zone, If I'm reading these maps right. Don't occur in swamps though but in Bogs and according to wikipedia have evolved some fancy method of regrowing themselves after a brush/forest fire.

    I could let it catch its own food but I get far more evil-villain satisfaction out of doing it myself.

    Mr. Fly: Do you really expect me to talk?
    Overheal: No, Mr. Fly, I expect you to die!


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