FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello my name is Jacob and I'm new to the site. I recently potted some VFT and I am having trouble feeding them. I have tried dead and live bugs. My main question is the four phases of the digestion. I have successfully made my plant trap make the initial snap and close on a bug. Then It gets to the tightening phase. But i can't get past that. I want to know if the sealing phase looks the same as the tightening phase on a regular vft from a hardware store. Or do the teeth pull outwards 30 mins or so later, in which they are no longer interlaced but the trap is sealed shut and the teeth are facing outwards.?? how do i know? I guess the reopening phase is a given. Also, I have a bug in a trap but 1/4 of the bug is sticking out. the trap is still closed. but that refers me back to my original question. So what happens if the bug is 1/4 or 1/2 out and the trap snaps and tightens??? does the bug have to be all the way in the center of the trap??? any help is appreciated. Thank You. -- JacobGGXP --

The trigger hairs require repeated stimulation to actually initiate the sealing phase, so dead bugs don't work unless you gently squeeze the traps a few minutes after the initial snap, to restimulate the trigger hairs. And yes, the teeth will move to be parallel with the sides of the trap during sealing.

Hi, if the bug isnt fully in the trap, there is a risk of rot/mould of the trap.
This can also happen if the bug is too big for the trap in question.

Yeah if peicesof the bug is sticking out o the trap the trap might not be able to seal properly so it could rot and blacken.
So what I would do is feed it maybe once or twice per month with live insects that are 1/3 the size of the trap.

Depending on the health of your trap, it can eat bigger things, mine ate a fly the same size of the trap, barely sealed, with a wings and two legs sticking out, and it was fine

Stick to small insects, and you will be fine