Venus Fly Trap

[Jeanne]

Thought I would post this for those of you into plants... I have had this little one for a few weeks now, it has new growth and is doing well, despite my not so green thumb.

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Very cool. Used to have one of those a while back. What do you feed it?

[JLC]

That's SO cool! I'd love to have something like that in my house...we get all sorts of annoying flying bugs that dart into the house as soon as a door is opened.


Brings up some fun questions though:

What do you feed it when there are no flies around?
How often does it need to "eat?"
When you do feed it...do you have to feed each "mouth?" LOL
Have you ever let it "bite" your finger? What does it feel like?

[Jeanne]

It has been catching flys on its own every now and then, so I have not felt it neccessary to go in search of food for it.

[cueball]

Have you ever let it "bite" your finger? What does it feel like?

HAHAHAHAHA

[xdeus]

It looks like it's doing pretty well. Do you put a cover on it, or does it get enough humidity by just sitting on the rocks and water?

We had a couple when I was a kid, but they didn't last long. Probably because we kept sticking our fingers on it to make it close, or feeding it all the flies we could find.

[Jeanne]

That's SO cool! I'd love to have something like that in my house...we get all sorts of annoying flying bugs that dart into the house as soon as a door is opened.


Brings up some fun questions though:

What do you feed it when there are no flies around?
How often does it need to "eat?"
When you do feed it...do you have to feed each "mouth?" LOL
Have you ever let it "bite" your finger? What does it feel like?

I have not had it long enough to worry about feeding it myself, as it is catching flys. I guess you could feed every mouth, but my understanding is it is not really neccessary to do so, and the fact that the traps stay closed for up to 2 weeks for digestion, makes me not want to do that. Supposedly, you can over feed them, and when you do feed them, you feed them small prey because if it is too big, it can cause the trap to turn black and start a mold growth. From all the reading I have done, it is said you are not suppose to tease the traps, as it takes lots of energy to close and lots to re-open for empty traps. I did let one close on my finger after I got home, cause I could no resist the urge to find out if it would hurt, it did not hurt at all, although this one is a baby yet... maybe the bigger the trap it is, you may feel something, the "teeth" are pretty strong, dont bend easily or anything... I will mess with some settings on my camera and see if I can get better pics so you can see the hairs inside the trap...

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html

I think I may order a pitcher plant or two, they are also carnivorous... and I do plan on ordering a few more VFT's at some point. The VFT I have now was a specimen I found at Walmart believe it or not, it was not in very good shape when I got it, but has since turned around... they had it in the garden area, in no sun at all, and dry as a bone.

[Jeanne]

It looks like it's doing pretty well. Do you put a cover on it, or does it get enough humidity by just sitting on the rocks and water?

We had a couple when I was a kid, but they didn't last long. Probably because we kept sticking our fingers on it to make it close, or feeding it all the flies we could find.

I started out with it covered, but it did not seem too be happy with that arrangement. So I took a 2 liter bottle and cut it so it was short, as you see in the pic, placed the rocks into it and added water, the pot sits on top of the water and rocks, enough so that the bottom of its pot is just barely in the water... you are not suppose to leave them sitting in deep water because they do not get enough air exchange otherwise and develop rotted roots and moldy plants. I have read that these plants dont need as much humidity as most "caresheets" say, and that with sufficient water, they do fine in low humidity and plenty of sun light....and it does eeem true, b/c mine is thriving and getting new growth.

[JLC]

Thanks for taking the time for such detailed answers, Jeanne! VERY interesting!!