Best way to keep BSFL?

[KittyRIOT]

I keep them at room temperature, around 65F, and they die in less than a week. I noticed some were dying and it was hard to sift through and find live ones so I put them in a regular food storage container, cut the lid out and put mesh over it for ventilation. Any suggestions?

 

[DocZ]

I keep them in a wine fridge at about 55 degrees and it seems to work well extending their lifespan
Are they dying or hardening up and getting ready to pupate into flies?
I usually tossed the darkened ones into the plant pots to pupate into flies

 

[KittyRIOT]

I keep them in a wine fridge at about 55 degrees and it seems to work well extending their lifespan
Are they dying or hardening up and getting ready to pupate into flies?
I usually tossed the darkened ones into the plant pots to pupate into flies

I need to invest in a wine refrigerator, I suppose.

Ah, I'm not familiar with the entire process. They're dark and hardened. Is it normal for all of them to look like that? I don't see any moving at all. I got the medium sized ones on the 16th of August and they've been that way for probably almost a week? I still have them in the container, should I leave them or put them elsewhere?

 

[ERKleRose]

Could you post a pic?

 

[KittyRIOT]

Could you post a pic?

 

[MissSkittles]

Are you sure they are dead/dying and not getting ready to become flies? I’ve noticed whenever I get a new container of bsfl thru the mail, the container smells like death and ammonia, but not one dead maggot to be found. I suspect they eat their dead.

 

[KittyRIOT]

Are you sure they are dead/dying and not getting ready to become flies? I’ve noticed whenever I get a new container of bsfl thru the mail, the container smells like death and ammonia, but not one dead maggot to be found. I suspect they eat their dead.

I posted a photo to the reply above yours! I'm not familiar with the process or what it looks like. I have suspected the same and it's very unsettling.

 

[MissSkittles]

What I see in the pic is they’re pupating. Soon they’ll be flies and your cham will have some fun flying treats! They shouldn’t all hatch at once, so you could put them in one of your cham’s plants and cham will do the rest.

 

[KittyRIOT]

What I see in the pic is they’re pupating. Soon they’ll be flies and your cham will have some fun flying treats! They shouldn’t all hatch at once, so you could put them in one of your cham’s plants and cham will do the rest.

Well heck, I'm glad I didn't throw them away! I have a larger pot at the bottom of the cage, do I just put them all in one or spread them out over the rest?

 

[ERKleRose]

Whichever you want

 

[Lindasjackson]

I keep my bsfl in a larger Tupperware than the one they came in and I poked holes all in the lid. I had them for a couple months and some turned into flies. I would just open the cage and open the Tupperware in the cage so Eustis could hunt and eat them.

 

[Mountain Dragon]

i did exactly what Linda did but I kept them in the fridge for two days because idk

 

[Lindasjackson]

My very first batch I put in the fridge because I didn’t know better and they all died. My second batch were doing great and I was feeding them to Eustis and they were also pupating, then someone on here said we should gutload our bsfl like we do our other bugs so I started feeding them. The next thing I knew the stuff they come in turned to mud and they all died. I’ve since learned that you only feed them tiny bits of food, not a lot.

 

[Snuits]

What I see in the pic is they’re pupating. Soon they’ll be flies and your cham will have some fun flying treats! They shouldn’t all hatch at once, so you could put them in one of your cham’s plants and cham will do the rest.

Just out of curiosity can you feed your cham one that pupating?

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Just out of curiosity can you feed your cham one that pupating?

I don’t know on this but I don’t think so because they would be pretty hard but tbh idk

 

[MissSkittles]

Just out of curiosity can you feed your cham one that pupating?

As @Mountain Dragon said, they would be pretty hard. Also, they don’t move so your cham wouldn’t have any interest in them. My chams love hunting down the flies and it’s good stimulation for them.

 

[Mountain Dragon]

As @Mountain Dragon said, they would be pretty hard. Also, they don’t move so your cham wouldn’t have any interest in them. My chams love hunting down the flies and it’s good stimulation for them.

Next time I get a batch of bsfl I’m going to try that

 

[Snuits]

As @Mountain Dragon said, they would be pretty hard. Also, they don’t move so your cham wouldn’t have any interest in them. My chams love hunting down the flies and it’s good stimulation for them.

Okay thank you.