The Venus Flytrap

[SamClemensMT]

Has anyone got any idea how you can best keep a Venus flytrap healthy indoors? Especially during the winter months.

 

[peachdejour]

Okay. I learned this the hard way when I was a teenager. Do not feed it breakfast sausage. It will kill the poor baby almost instantly. While pork isn't that great for humans, it's really not that good for the venus fly trap. I would say go buy crickets from the pet store! However, I was the girl the fed sausage to a plant. Don't listen to me.

 

[Cereus]

I'm sorry I laughed at the sausage, that was just too funny. I can hardly blame you for trying it out because we are taught as kids that they're carnivorous so we auto assume that they can handle a little bit of meat. The fat is what killed it. That being said, mealworms will work. They shut when there's movement so you might have to stimulate them to close if the mealworm doesn't move enough to trigger their sensors. During winter they tend to go dormant and are sluggish so it's best that they get plenty of light. If you want to feed them, then 2 traps at a time should be more than enough.

 

[SamClemensMT]

Okay. I learned this the hard way when I was a teenager. Do not feed it breakfast sausage. It will kill the poor baby almost instantly. While pork isn't that great for humans, it's really not that good for the venus fly trap. I would say go buy crickets from the pet store! However, I was the girl the fed sausage to a plant. Don't listen to me.

Can these plants really digest processed meat? I would guess that if you can eat a cricket, a little breakfast sausage shouldn't hurt you. I wonder why your plant died. Maybe it choked on the sausage.

 

[peachdejour]

NO. It cannot digest processed meat. That's why it died! I just assumed because it was a carnivorous plant it could eat a little meat. It makes for a good story now, but it was a very silly thing to do knowing what I now know. Notice I said DO NOT feed it breakfast sausage. hehe

 

[Cereus]

Oh gosh haha. Meat that humans eat are too high in fat content and more complex in chemical make up than a fly for a venus fly trap. Their digestive system can't handle breaking down that stuff. Nah, Venus Fly Traps most definitely can't digest processed meat or general animal meat for that matter. Bugs aren't as complex and don't have much fat content.