FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

PeatMoss wrote:Sorry to hear about your friend.

Very interesting project you have, should look wonderful once it grows in.

BTW, do you actually keep Acrochordus? If you do, I must demand you post some pics!

Thanks! I, too, think it will be very cool once things settle in...and we've got a whole growing season ahead of us!



I shut down all of my aquariums right at 2 yrs ago. I kept Acros for ~5 yrs. Plenty of disappointments and plenty of successes. It was mentally a very intense time for me. I enjoyed it, and I think often of getting another A. javanicus or 2...just cuz, but I'm still holding off for now. I'm distracted by my other hobbies, and even though I could set them up virtually maintenance-free...nothing is ever really "maintenance-free". Obtaining, acclimating and maintaining the feeder fish supply can be a job in itself.

Right now, I maintain the website for the benefit of others, and my reward is seeing more and more people having success with Acros. Sadly, the few people overtime that could keep them long-term, kept the knowledge like a family secret. My intent has been and still is to bust that little bubble.

Matt wrote:So sorry to hear about your friend naja. My thoughts are with his family...

The planter looks good. Those "rangy" flytraps that were densely packed into pots should fill in and grow nicely this year for you in that wonderful planter. I look forward to seeing updates throughout the year. I love all of your projects and the great photos you take as they progress

Thanks, Matt! And, Thank You for the plants, and cooperation on getting them. I plan on "baby-ing" them with the whole shade hut process (still have to figure out what that process is though... ). I've come up with a simpler and less expensive version of the shade hut that I am using on plants that I am repotting. I'll take some pix and update that into the other thread.

Anyway, Yes, I definitely plan on updating this as things progress. I will certainly share my adventures with the shade hut process on this planter. It has a lot of mass, but it's not insulated, so I'm already scratching my head about how to deal with it come fall/winter.

Took a browse around the website. Those are some really wicked looking snakes! I can understand your wanting to stay away from keeping live animals though. Especially reptiles, they can be a real pain to keep. Plants are far less stressful...

Good job on trying to spread information, I find that the reptile industry is full of bitter people trying to keep their secrets to themselves. Good to see people trying hard to make info available to all, especially for rarer species.

PeatMoss wrote:Took a browse around the website. Those are some really wicked looking snakes! I can understand your wanting to stay away from keeping live animals though. Especially reptiles, they can be a real pain to keep. Plants are far less stressful...

Good job on trying to spread information, I find that the reptile industry is full of bitter people trying to keep their secrets to themselves. Good to see people trying hard to make info available to all, especially for rarer species.

I still have some terrestrial and arboreal snakes...and the rodents that go with them, but I'm not really into the reptile world anymore. I don't see them as being "bitter", but I see a bunch of people srcambling to be a "Big Name" and an overnight "Big Name", etc. Kids that spent 2 months reading, looking at pix and vids and....suddenly...they are a self-proclaimed expert! YaaaaaaaY! Whatever.

I've been keeping since 1973 so, I'm just another one of the older hands back in the corner doing what I have always done: My Own Thing. I do enjoy and appreciate the "advances" that have been made, but between the idiot-types that have caused things like the situation in Fl and the overnight wannabes....I'll just continue to enjoy it from my chair and let them continue to beat-the-crap out of themselves and each other.


Here's a quick update on The Planter:


Well, it's been a week. The shade hut has been on and unchanged. They have been quite moist/wet....not sure if that's from the wicking or not. Last few days, until this morning, have been very clear and sunny. I've noticed a lot more traps blackening, but new growth is popping up! I've left the shade hut in the same orientation that it was, but turned the planter itself 90 degrees (after taking the pix):




I simply could not get this shot:










So far, things are looking good. Not sure how often I'll update this, but I'm going to take it a bit slow on exposing them to full sun.

Time for another update:

Things look a bit rough from this perspective...seems to be more blackening of the leaves:




However, when ya get down on ground level...things don't seem so bad. Plenty of new growth and old growth continuing:












Everything is wet. Was very slightly drizzling while I was taking the pix. Been raining, raining, raining. With the shade hut and the drier days that we do have, the water level in The Planter is staying about 3" below the surface...which seems like a good spot for now.

How has this worked for you? I know it's been about a year since you last updated! I'm thinking about utilizing your idea with the milk jug and PVC pipe. I think I may use this drain (http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/tub-o ... 10940.html) idea though! That way if it fills with water higher than the pipe, it'll drain!

Have you had any issues with the pipes clogging up or no? Curious to hear back!

Almost done with my planter! Followed some of your ideas! If you could respond to my previous post above, I'd appreciate it!

bisnicks wrote:How has this worked for you? I know it's been about a year since you last updated! I'm thinking about utilizing your idea with the milk jug and PVC pipe. I think I may use this drain (http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/tub-o ... 10940.html) idea though! That way if it fills with water higher than the pipe, it'll drain!

Have you had any issues with the pipes clogging up or no? Curious to hear back!

Unfortunately, the planter did not work out. I'm not exactly sure what the deal was, but I have some guesses:

First, I do not think the issue(s) had much to do with the setup itself.

Second, I think the overall problem was a combination of things:

The plants I received were not all that hardy, which is something I understood before the agreement was made. It was a bulk order at a cheap price. Even though I had the shade hut on the planter, I think that a couple of frosts and the low temps was a big part of the issue. The temps were shooting up and down around here...as is typical, so all and all I think the lows and highs and frosts, etc were the main culprits.

The setup lingered for a while, but ultimately did not make it.