Non-bug foods?

[nrbelex]

I know that it is highly recommended that nothing be fed to VFTs aside from bugs but I remember reading that the whites of hard-boiled eggs are OK. I thought I read that someone tried using a finger/toe nail (I guess on the assumption that it's just protein, like the hard-boiled egg white) and was wondering if that might be OK? Anybody had success with anything else? Thanks!

~ Brett

 

[PiranhaPlant]

Wouldn't a finger/toe nail cause fungus and cause the trap to rot?

 

[nrbelex]

That's what I was wondering. Are the traps that sensitive to that kinda stuff? That's my question - summarized

.

~ Brett

 

[PiranhaPlant]

There's a thread on feeding vfts, but it's for bugs.

 

[Nflytrap]

Dunno if a VFT would want keratin-I doubt it.

Egg white sound interesting but you'd have to figure out how to get the trap to start digesting this nonmoving object first.

 

[nrbelex]

Well If I remember correctly (since I can't find the thread), people massaged the trap periodically after making it close (by just sticking the egg in and hitting the triggers). I think people reported success but I can't remember...

~ Brett

 

[FlyTrapNewbie]

I thought giving the traps something that might be high in protein was a no-no? I'm a weightlifter and eat a lot of egg whites every morning for one reason and one reason only. They are very high in protein. Maybe I'm thinking of something else, but I thought I heard that about protein with the traps. Correct me if i'm wrong on that. If egg whites are OK to give them then I don't mind sharing a little with my hungry plants.

I've become pretty good at feeding them dead things when I've had to and getting the traps to seal shut so I wouldn't have much of a problem with the egg whites. I'll stick with the bugs for now though until there's more proof about it.

 

[StifflerMichael]

It is possible to 'massage' the trap after it closed: use a small pin introduce the egg white (I use thawed frozen crickets I get from the pet store, they're cheap and I highly recommend them over the egg whites). Enter from the side of the trap, and when the trap closes hold the pin inside. Periodically, gently move the pin back and forth to 'massage' the trap. This technique has worked great for me, very rarely does a trap re-open.

Oh man, I used to weight'lift and eat those egg whites every morning--used to fart a lot

 

[FlyTrapNewbie]

Quote[/b] (StifflerMichael @ April 13 2005,9:36)] Oh man, I used to weight'lift and eat those egg whites every morning--used to fart a lot    

lol  Yeah, that is one of the drawbacks to eating those! I guess I won't give my traps any then. Don't want to give them gas.  

 

[The Griffin]

Barry Meyers-Rice actually fed some flytraps some dead skin off his foot(he had a foot fungus), and they actually digested it fairly well.
If you try the egg, I would use a pretty small piece and go from there.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[nrbelex]

Well, inspired by the first true day of spring in New York (last week), I decided to go outside and do some hunting... under rocks. I wound up with a bunch of millipedes, a beetle, a fly and a pillbug. One week later my plants seem to be happy with all (though I'm pretty sure the pillbug was too big). Next time I'm lazy or bored (and happen to have a hard-boiled egg) I'll try the "egg method" out. I know this is kinda the wrong place but do you think my sole (weak) sarracenia would be OK with it? Thanks!

~ Brett

 

[Kazamblam]

You can actually feed the VFT other things like raw meat or other meat products!

 

[nrbelex]

Wait a second there - I'm 99% sure that other food products are not OK. Could I get a second opinion here?

~ Brett

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (Kazamblam @ April 21 2005,7:41)]You can actually feed the VFT other things like raw meat or other meat products!

Is this something you've tried with your VFTs? I tried raw hamberger once. By the end of the second day, the grease from the meat had started coating the trap which eventually died.

 

[endparenthesis]

It's a total myth... stay away from the hamburger.

 

[nrbelex]

That's what I thought... too bad though

~ Brett

 

[tonytheterrible]

Here is a link to the results of Barry's experiment with the dead skin from his foot. It's pretty gruesome, but interesting nontheless.

Can Venus Flytraps digest human flesh?

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Tony, yeah, I saw that a long time ago. Greusome? Nah, I've seen worse.

Kazamblam, that's a widespread myth. Some people insist up and down to me that it worked fine for them (back when they were 8 and had one for three days, apparently), but the fat, salt and grease content is definitely no good.

The hard-boiled eggwhite thing is fine.. I've done that before.