How to catch House flys for food.

[Cuda]

Ok here is my gift to you! If you really want to catch a bunch of flys this is how I do it. I take a 5 gal bucket and put a plastic bag in it. Tape the bag around the top after you fold it over rim to keep the opening as bis and tight to the bucket as possible and so wind cant blow bag around being this is going to be outside. Fill bucked just a little bit covering the complete bottom with fish heads and guts after your fishing trip.( You can use dog pooh in a bind) Place loaded bucket in open sunny area for an hour or more. Have a plastic container that can fit inside the bucket as tight as possible that has a lid ready to go . When ready walk up to bucket quiet with container in one hand and lid in the other. Quickly put the open side of the container part way into the bucket and kick the bucket 1 or 2 times.( make sure you don't touch the stuff in the bottom of the bucket with the container.No need to make a mess!) The flys will always fly up. Raise up the container and place lid on from the bottom as quick as possible.
Now to feed take container and get it in the cage from the lowest door and open lid holding container above door opening while opening. Remember flys will always fly up.

I caught near a hundred flys in one pass. I would let some get out if you have too many to feed.

Remember you could end up with a bucket of maggots in a few days with fish heads. So get rid if it before the end of secound day or else!

 

[warpdrive]

a great idea...

Harry

 

[sandrachameleon]

Personally, I wouldnt use wild caught flies. possible parasite or bacteria issue.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wild-caught-flies-safe-chameleons-eat-29081/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blue-bottle-flies-22254/

 

[tkilgour]

Personally, I wouldnt use wild caught flies. possible parasite or bacteria issue.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wild-caught-flies-safe-chameleons-eat-29081/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blue-bottle-flies-22254/

What about wild caught maggots? Just curious, because I swept up several hundred from under my garbage can and placed them in containers with aspen fiber. They are now flies, flying around and well gutloaded and making more maggots. Are these safe to feed w/o risk of parasites? Thanks

 

[sandrachameleon]

What about wild caught maggots? Just curious, because I swept up several hundred from under my garbage can and placed them in containers with aspen fiber. They are now flies, flying around and well gutloaded and making more maggots. Are these safe to feed w/o risk of parasites? Thanks

I honestly dont know for sure. But I personally would think that your semi-captive flies would be safer. At least you know what they're eating.

I've read several people blame wc flies for coccidia and other nasties. But I also read a thread where Dave Weldon once did a fecal test from an animal that had eaten wild flies, and found nothing problematic. I've sent him a PM to ask if a follow-up test was also good, or if he has done or heard of any other testing. It would be nice to have conclusive answers about wild flies, one way or the other.

I do know you can easily buy captive cultures that have no risk associated with them, and that seems a good way to go.

 

[Cuda]

Well I dont worry about it. I don't see bugs being regulated by the FDA
and I even heard of sick raised crickets.
There are Pros and Cons to everthing.

Personally, I wouldnt use wild caught flies. possible parasite or bacteria issue.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wild-caught-flies-safe-chameleons-eat-29081/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blue-bottle-flies-22254/

 

[TRohr]

Your best bet would be to catch wild flies, let them lay eggs, get rid of the wild flies before the eggs hatch, let the eggs hatch, start a culture. I don't think there are any parasites that would pass through eggs. I wouldn't use fish guts. There has to be something better.... Sounds like a safe bet I guess.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I don't see bugs being regulated by the FDA
...There are Pros and Cons to everthing.

actually, I believe the FDA does indeed regulate bugs - they decide how much can bug and fecal matter can be in human food dont they? LOL

Definately pros and cons to everything. Agreed. I use some wild caught feeders. I get fecals done regularily to mitigate risk.
But wild flies arent going to be something I add to the mix anytime soon.

 

[radstusky]

Definately pros and cons to everything. Agreed. I use some wild caught feeders. I get fecals done regularily to mitigate risk.
But wild flies arent going to be something I add to the mix anytime soon.

I agree, flies are known to carry parasites, so why take the risk in order to save a few bucks? You won't be saving anything when you have to go to the vet, and now you've risked your cham's life.

 

[tkilgour]

I honestly dont know for sure. But I personally would think that your semi-captive flies would be safer. At least you know what they're eating.

I've read several people blame wc flies for coccidia and other nasties. But I also read a thread where Dave Weldon once did a fecal test from an animal that had eaten wild flies, and found nothing problematic. I've sent him a PM to ask if a follow-up test was also good, or if he has done or heard of any other testing. It would be nice to have conclusive answers about wild flies, one way or the other.

I do know you can easily buy captive cultures that have no risk associated with them, and that seems a good way to go.

Well, the original flies were long gone. All I got were the larva or maggots, and once they turned to flies they have been eating fresh fruit and vegtables, like carrots, apples, oranges etc. I dont want to risk parasites at all, so do you recommend I just toss the flies to be safe? Is it possible for the fly larva to start with parasites? I am just trying to do more research before I start feeding them.

 

[Cuda]

I don't do it to save money. I do it to let him catch free range natural bugs.
If you only knew what crap was in the food we eat. They say people eat a spider someime in there life while they sleep and I wouldn't feed him a spider. LOL
I also have be bitten by a million misquotes and its a fact they carry bad stuff. I'm somehow still here enjoying life and thats what I'm gonna do for my buddy, let him enjoy life .
What I do is for me. What you do is for you>

I agree, flies are known to carry parasites, so why take the risk in order to save a few bucks? You won't be saving anything when you have to go to the vet, and now you've risked your cham's life.

 

[OOOst16]

I'd never feed my Cham anything that was just touching fish heads or dog poop. Not smart. Flys are all bacteria. Not good for chams

 

[Cuda]

It is part of life some people think snakes and retiles are no good and will hurt you and kill them. Your hands are full of bacteria. People can get hepatitis from someone not washing them. The pooh thing is if your in a bind, I would not use it unless I had to like if there was no food and buddy was starving. Thats why I use the fish . It is left over from what I'm gonna eat.

I'd never feed my Cham anything that was just touching fish heads or dog poop. Not smart. Flys are all bacteria. Not good for chams

 

[Warrix642]

I'd never feed my Cham anything that was just touching fish heads or dog poop. Not smart. Flys are all bacteria. Not good for chams

I eat fish!!!!!

Not true at all! Flies are great for chams when you raise them yourself. I feed wild bugs every once and a while. If the bugs are healthy they prolly aren't infected with parasites. Madagascar is full of flies, parasites and toxic plants but chams are still thriving. I would be feeding WC flies everyday or even every week but its up to you.

Dustin

 

[sttines]

Cuda, I am not bashing you personally as you may be finding different results but of all the very cheap resources for raised flies in bulk, I am surprised that WC flies are considered to be a healthy source of nutrition. Fish heads and dog doo to boot, each of those flies in that bucket have been on the poop and piss of everything in the area and every garbage can and dumpster also. Yes, I know we all have or will eat no telling what in our lifetimes, spiders, etc. but that is, or for me anyway, not an intentional consumption. I'd like to see a show of hands of those scouring their neighborhoods with a fork going through fish heads, dog poop, garbage cans, and so forth and think because it's out in the "wild" it's nutritional.

 

[sttines]

Fish heads are leftover from what you will be eating? Are you cooking this fish or eating it raw after sitting in a bucket outside in the sun?

 

[Cuda]

Wow I just read some of your posts! They are mostly about heath yet to try to kill you guy by giving him a heart attack and making him fall by messing with him while he was sleeping? They don't have people in nature ripping them off there perch because they don't like where or how they are sleeping.Sometimes too much worry is not good.

I'd never feed my Cham anything that was just touching fish heads or dog poop. Not smart. Flys are all bacteria. Not good for chams

 

[Warrix642]

Fish heads are leftover from what you will be eating? Are you cooking this fish or eating it raw after sitting in a bucket outside in the sun?

I'm an animal I eat all my meats raw! Look out

 

[tkilgour]

Flies can be a healthy addition to your chams diet. They can be gutloaded the same way as crickets. Technically, if you use WC flies to reproduce and make pupae then they should be safe, since they are semi-captive. By the time your WC flies die and you raise the larva to flies and gutload them on healthy food you are getting a very healthy feeder not raised on garbage, dog poo, and fish heads. Therefore, there would be nothing unhealthy about feeding flies like this.

 

[nick barta]

Interesting debate....

I would differentiate between garbage/poop/putrid meat feeders such as wild caught flies, and non garbage feeders such as moths, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and locusts.


Variety is important, but you can accomplish variety by buying flies, and WC is not necessarily "better" just because it is WC, IMHO.


Blue Bottle or Houseflies that are commercially raised have virtually no risk, and the cost is minimal:

500 BB spikes (re:maggots) is 2.5 cents per fly shipped.
1,000 BB spikes is 1.8 cents per fly shipped.

Mantisplace.com has both and they last about a month for me in the refrigerator. I dump about 10 a day into hatching containers in the cages, they pupate and hatch, and they crawl out a hole in the side of the container on a bamboo skewer, so they continuously feed my chams.

At under 2 cents a feeder, it is the way to go, chams are attracted the the quick movements of a fly, and the fly container in the cage can auto feed when I am gone.

Nick