Too many blue bottle flies!

[Rst_Cham]

I usually only have a few flies emerge at a time. Today I came home to probably more than thirty! They're in a tall Tupperware, there's just so many I'm not sure what to do with them since I only feed a couple to my cham at a time. How long will they last? Should I just freeze them to get rid of the excess? Its really pretty gross having so many.

 

[alphakenc]

You can kept them in the fridge at temperatures between 35°F and 43°F. Keep stored on the damp sawdust for a longer shelf life as far I know.

 

[alphakenc]

 

[Rst_Cham]

View attachment 226292

You can keep the adult flies in the fridge? I have about thirty adult flies...

 

[alphakenc]

You can keep the adult flies in the fridge? I have about thirty adult flies...

Not the adult ,the larvae/spikes

 

[jamest0o0]

Yes you can keep the flies in the fridge. It's perfect. They slow down a ton and won't fly. Then you can dump a few in another cup(use a lid) and dust them. They tend to warm up pretty fast, but you have enough time to get some out and put them in the cham cage. I'll hatch a few hundred at a time. They have lasted over a week easily in the fridge for me. They die much faster left at room remp.

 

[alphakenc]

Yes you can keep the flies in the fridge. It's perfect. They slow down a ton and won't fly. Then you can dump a few in another cup(use a lid) and dust them. They tend to warm up pretty fast, but you have enough time to get some out and put them in the cham cage. I'll hatch a few hundred at a time. They have lasted over a week easily in the fridge for me. They die much faster left at room remp.

Great idea thanks for sharing, now u can strore both stage of the blue bottle flies...nice info .

 

[jamest0o0]

Great idea thanks for sharing, now u can strore both stage of the blue bottle flies...nice info .

Yeah it works out nicely, makes them easy to keep and feed regularly

 

[alphakenc]

Yeah it works out nicely, makes them easy to keep and feed regularly

I assume is the same temperature with the larvae right

 

[jamest0o0]

I assume is the same temperature with the larvae right

Yeah I just keep them in a mini fridge on the door.

 

[Rst_Cham]

Yes you can keep the flies in the fridge. It's perfect. They slow down a ton and won't fly. Then you can dump a few in another cup(use a lid) and dust them. They tend to warm up pretty fast, but you have enough time to get some out and put them in the cham cage. I'll hatch a few hundred at a time. They have lasted over a week easily in the fridge for me. They die much faster left at room remp.

Great, thanks so much! I woke up to even more flies this morning. How many flies can I feed off to my 5 month old panther per day do you think? I dont want to overdo it but he LOVES hunting them since the rest of his feeders are cup fed. He gets a variety of feeders daily plus his staple of crickets.

 

[jamest0o0]

When i feed them I put like 50 or so in at a time and just let my chams go crazy for the next 2 days or so. Mine love them and can easily eating like 20-30 a day.

 

[alphakenc]

u can also gutload them prior u feed them to ur cham..if u dont gutload ur feeders then it will defeat the purpose by passing the nutrients to your precious cham.

 

[Zilla23]

not to hijack your post but what do you do if your picky, spoiled toddler cham has decided he doesn't WANT the flies anymore, even though he normally eats them like candy and you now have 30 flies that have been in the enclosure for two days, will they just die, I can't open the door to clean or anything because I don't want flies all over the place!!! HELP!! I swear he just LOVES to wait until I stock up on certain feeders to decide he doesn't want to eat them anymore and now I am stuck with all these bugs!! cheeky little bugger!!

 

[jamest0o0]

@Zilla23 the flies usually stay up top by the lights, but they die within a couple days either way. I have a pitcher(nepenthes) in my enclosure that gobbles up tons of the stragglers.

 

[Zilla23]

@Zilla23 the flies usually stay up top by the lights, but they die within a couple days either way. I have a pitcher(nepenthes) in my enclosure that gobbles up tons of the stragglers.

I am getting ready to order a Nepenthes for my new enclosure so that will help, guess I will just wait for these to die

 

[Rst_Cham]

Will they still gutload in the fridge? Are you just using a mixture of powdered bee pollen, honey, and water? Anything else?

 

[alphakenc]

Bluebottle fly adults feed on nectar and they are pollinators of flowers, especially with a strong odor often resembling rotting meat.
It depends on what type of cham u own ,gutload with mustard green collard green etc.grain protein along with some honey u mention to make a paste.

 

[Rst_Cham]

OK, thanks! I have a panther.
It worked great slowing the flies down in the fridge, dusting them in a cup and transferring to enclosure. Max turned a lovely shade a turquoise when he saw them and starting hunting right away.

 

[jamest0o0]

Will they still gutload in the fridge? Are you just using a mixture of powdered bee pollen, honey, and water? Anything else?

I mix those and a bunch of powders like moringa, kelp, spirulina, brewers yeast, etc into a paste and dip a cotton ball in it. The flies suck it up. I leave them at room temperature for 12-24 hours to feed on it before putting them in the fridge.