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New..oh the joys

I plan on getting a few vfts soon. In an attempt to not be both new and post something foolish, I read the care instructions at the top there (yay me). I did note, however, that a few advised against keeping them in a terrarium, which I had planned on doing as it's the only way I can keep my plant-butchering cats from doing nasty things...explaining that plants "are friends, not food" doesn't seem to work
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I live in an apartment, so outside living isn't really feasible.

So, is there a successful way to keep them in a terrarium?
 
Hi Grab and welcome to the discussion forums. I hear ya about plant-butchering cats! They also investigate roses in Waterford vases, sitting atop of fireplace mantles, freshly purchased for one's fiancee. CRASH! but that's a tangent!

The thing about many CP's is that there are several common factors that go into successful cultivation; such as, appropriate water (Distilled, rain, RO, Deionized), light (sun is best), appropriate, moisture / humidity, dormancy for some, appropriate temperature, and the underrated concept of air circulation. This is where terraria are a little less than perfect. I can speak from my own (experimental) experience when I had my brand new VFT in an old plastic (washed out) pretzel container. I had the plant and pot sitting (open tray) inside the pretzel container. at first I had the screw-on lid on top to retain humidity during the night and opened during the day. Then we had to go away for a few days and I left the lid on. That little decison threw the plant off for several weeks. Since it was summer, I had a mini-"greenhouse effect". The new traps that ensued were smaller and a couple of the traps blackened before their time. Fortunately, I corrected my faux pas and the plant forgave me.

You can do it in a terrarium but there are two drawbacks. Air circulation / air exposure has to be provided. Also, any layer of covering cuts down on light and thus photosynthesis. As one highly experienced grower once mentioned, even something as thin as saran wrap reduces light. But opening the ecosystem up for circulation also combats the other.
 
Something else to keep in mind is that to keep VFTs healthy, they need a period of about 3 months for dormancy during the winter. It might be easiest to have the plants in their own pots inside the terrarium. You can then remove the pots, stick them in a ziplock bag, and put the plants in the crisper for 3 months. You can also do them "bare root" if space in the fridge is tight.
 
If you want to start a terrarium, you might want to consider neps, but remember to take it slowly. I can fix you up with a nepenthes ventrata, almost bombproof.
 
Thanks
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The terrarium just seems the best option for any sort of plant life, due to my evil, evil cats who, unless I decide to lop off their paws, manage to reach every conceivable nook and cranny.
 
That they do, Miss Grab! That they do. Hmmm, evil? Lop? I just showed your post to my cat, Starlight (pictured yawning in my avatar). Her ears went back! I take it your cats are there not by your choice?
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actually I'm very fond of my cats. I only find them evil when it comes to plants
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and that's my Cade in the avatar
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i tie'd some dynomite to my ventrata yesterday and it blew up...i guess when they ment bombproof it wasent literally
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Grab @ Nov. 02 2004,4:19)]actually I'm very fond of my cats. I only find them evil when it comes to plants
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and that's my Cade in the avatar
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Ah, cool whip! Orange tabby! How many do you have?

What was the original topic again?
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (jimscott @ Nov. 02 2004,10:51)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Grab @ Nov. 02 2004,4:19)]actually I'm very fond of my cats. I only find them evil when it comes to plants
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and that's my Cade in the avatar
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Ah, cool whip! Orange tabby! How many do you have?

What was the original topic again?
I have 4
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and I think it had to do with something the little angel in the avatar views as an appetizer
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  • #11
I had to read that a few times before my puny brain could process what you wrote. 4?! Wow! We only have the one, now. At one time we had 3 adut cats. Another time we had Starlight and two separate litters of kittens. So that would have been like 9, briefly.

What was the appetizer?
 
  • #12
He ate an aloe plant, some sort of mystery tree that someone gave me, and threw a cactus across the room
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and, to be fair, my oldest cat is 19 yrs old and highly neurotic, so it's really 3 1/2 cats (since you never see her)
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cute...but oh so neurotic
 
  • #13
Hmmmm, interesting menagerie you have there! Tossing a cactus across the room is quite a feat / feet! Sorry, couldn't resist. Either you have a lot of cactus / succulents, or he has an affinity for it.

19? that's like - 153 in human years? Wow! She must have more than the usual alloted 9 lives!

How can you tell he is neurotic, as opposed to psychotic?
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  • #14
Yeah Mabel likes to throw down pots and she killed my sisters gerbil(she was heart broke):( Jim so that was you with the pretzel container eh?
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  • #15
Oh,and Prissy (bermese?) declawed and spayed is very well behaved:)
 
  • #16
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Hi Noah, I'm trying to remember, isn't this pic my original avatar - Mable?

Yup, I used a pretzel container for my VFT's.
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  • #17
Yep that Mable:) You I and Matti all used it at one poibt(Matti still has it but he isn`t on here anymore:()
 
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