Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
is there any secret to making fruit flies colonize faster? I had 5 cultures going, 3 of them are brand new (not very many flies), but my 2 good ones got destroyed by my dog (long story). If you put them under lights and keep them warm would that help?? Any advise?
Thanks in advance.
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

do you have the melanogaster or the hydei? The hydei take longer to get established. keeping them too warm can be tricky b/c you don't want the culture to mold. If you can raise the temp be sure to give good air circulation. Depending on container you are using, if it is large you can put nylon (sheer curtain, nylon stocking) over the top instead of reg. top for better air and they cannot escape. Heat will help but I would up the heat ambiently rather than frying them with a bulb (less risky, too).

If you have the melano. they will reproduce quickly. Look thru the sides into the medium and if you see squirmy white things and brown "pods" you are well on your way as that is the larvae and pupae. Good Luck!

btw, do you make your own culture?
here is one of several recipes
FF culture

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Hi Lele, I have both. Both are brand new! I bought them this weekend from Eds Fly meat at the show. They are in the Large deli cup thingy with a lid that has a huge hole on the top and a sponge in the hole. My other cultures were reproducing like crazy! Darn Dog anyways!!! I wasn't doing anything special, so I was hoping if I spruced up the temps it might help. It will be tricky, but I'll see what I can do. I don't think I can make my own "chow", the smell makes me sick. Even in the cups that I have! I'm a wimp.. Although I love the smell of silky chow, remindes me of home and the hay fields, I don't think I could do the fruit flies! P.S. I just hatched about 200 baby silkies! They are about 4 days old and just starting to turn whiteish! They are soooo cute and tiny!!!!
Hey you'll have to repost your pics of Tarzan...
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

Hey,

When I used to keep fruit flies in mass numbers I didn't do too much special. Just kept them at room temp, and moved them into new containers as they multiplied. I started off with 6 containers, then by the time they multiplied in a few weeks I was left with 120 fully producing containers!!!!!!!!! It was madness!!! I basically stopped reproducing them and fed them off (ran out of deli containers). Just keep them at room temp, make sure they don't start to mold, they aren't too crowded, and they have food and you will do fine. BTW, good job on hatchin' out the silks. Silkworms are the only bug I get sad over when I have to feed them! I don't mind the crickets cause they keep me up all night chirping! I ussually take some silkworms when I get them and put them in a separate container as pets. I even play with them!!! fun fun. lol good luck raising them up.

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Adam,

there is something about those little cats, huh? I had a really hard time in the beginning when I finally decided to raise some for Luna. I raise wild silk moths for education, population increase and conservation efforts so feeding a caterpillar to my cham was pretty much out of the question! And the silkies are cousins of my wild silks. B/c Darwin didn't eat any of my last batch I ended up with adult moths - I have a REALLY hard time feeding them! I like to draw themm b/c they have such pretty wings. He actually ate two this morning which took me off guard - I laways have to look away. Won't be raising any again soon. I need a Lepidoptera free winter while the eggs and cocoons are resting in the snow!

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

when I had to speed up the process I set them on top of the striplight, then at night keep them in a warm room or on top of the fridge. The bottom heat is better than from above b/c it is the larvae you want to get moving. If you've ever started plants insode form seed it is the same idea - think of the larvae as the "roots"

So you couldnl't see the pics of Tarzan either? First time I used pixentral and only b/c it is quick.
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Keeing them warm definately helps, around 80 is prime. If your mix has vinegar in it, you shouldn't have much of a mold problem. You could even add a bit of vinegar the the cultures you already have. Ed's fly cultures are pretty much mold free reguardless of what you do to them, so you shouldn't have a problem. I have bought from them a few times and their cultures are excellent.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

O.k. I moved them. I'll let you all know if it works. I've never had a problem with mold from Ed's, so I just need to make the flies have some babies!! Maybe I'll put up a picture of a bowl of rotten fruit that's like 10 days old, and hope it turns on the "mojo" !! LOL, I crack myself up ! Anyway, thanks. Hey Adam, do you name your silky "pets"?? LOL, I named mine Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner! LOL, there's also been a Snack Sr. and a Snack Jr!!
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

-----
Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet