First attempt at wingless flies

[Tropicok]

A friend of mine has set me up with everything I need for raising wingless fruit flies. We'll see how this goes. I brought home a small jar of springtails a week ago and dumped all of them in the TLTF and auratus tanks by accident. Meant to keep some for breeding but, oh well, I can order more. My friend also gave me a huge amount of mealworms to get a colony started. He raises the mealworms on finely ground baby chick mash with calcium and a potato for moisture.

[SludgeMunkey]

Fruit flies are easy. Just keep them warm and away from fluorescent lights, TVs and microwave ovens and they do fine. Mealworms are even easier. keep them in a glass container, feed them quick oats. throw in a half a potato and some Cheerios every so often and they do their thing. My toads really like the beetles produced this way.

[Tropicok]

Good info about keeping fruit flies away from "death rays"... Problem with wingless flies is they climb the walls just about as easy as flying out of the tank. Can I get wingless and legless flies? (an attempt at humor)


Now a question...why keep the mealworms in a glass container? Plastic shoeboxes are what herpers I know use.

[Kurt]

If you can provide a fine mesh top, then the fruit flies can't escape. Unfortunately, you have to make one yourself as no one manufactures one presently. If I still made silk screens for a living I would be making them.

[John]

I'm actually writing a huge article about fruit flies right now. The photos for it are in my albums if you want an idea of what's coming.

[firefly]

Does anyone have experience of curly winged flies, wheres best to buy them from and how to keep them, what they eat etc please ?

[firefly]

Anybody please ????

[Ebony]

Tropicok...To keep my fruit fly in, I use netting from the old netting curtains. It works really well as you can still put your enclosure lid on over top.

Sorry firefly, I cant help you.

[John]

If you mean the curly winged fruit flies, there's ~no difference in culturing them to the other kinds.

[frogfreaks]

Does anyone have experience of curly winged flies, wheres best to buy them from and how to keep them, what they eat etc please ?

Here you go

Springhalen - Homegrown Frogs and Feeders

[BEETLE]

Curly-winged housefly (Musca domestica), if this is what you are after most good reptile shops in the UK can order them, Dartfrog has culture food .

[firefly]

Thanks Beetle - these were the things I was thinking of, the fruit flies are too small I think for my FBTs.

Curly-winged housefly (Musca domestica), if this is what you are after most good reptile shops in the UK can order them, Dartfrog has culture food .

[John]

Carrion flies are not fun to culture - the stench and the bacteria risks pretty much make it impractical for the majority of people.