I am so lazy...

[LilyPad]

That I went to the specialty pet store and bought an established fruit fly culture I've been buying those little tube cultures from Petsmart, it was working for the toadlets when they were super bitty and not eating a ton, but now with 7 peeper froglets and 4 quickly growing toadlets, it is not near enough, and way too expensive to buy every tube culture that petsmart has.

It was $10 for a nicely established culture with a TON of flies in it.

How long with this last? The container said it was started 7-27. It looks the same as the cultures others here have posted, the deli cup, the medium.

Here is a question now, with the crickets, I used the toilet paper tube trick to get them out easily.

How do I get the fruit flies out without them going EVERYWHERE? I tried dumping them in a glass cereal bowl, and they were climbing up the sides as fast as I could dump them.

[Lacibeth]

The cultures I have set up I just tap them down from the lid, open it up, and shake them out like a salt shaker. If I'm dusting they go into a ziploc w/ the calcium/vit for "shake and bake" fruit flies. Once they're in the feeding container a sheet of cello wrap keeps them nicely contained.

[John]

I usually keep cultures no more than 30 days after their setup date.

As for getting the flies out without many escaping, it takes practice. And even then, you will still lose a couple every now and then. Here's Josh from Josh's frogs walking you through the same kind of procedure I follow:

[LilyPad]

Thank you John, I did notice that once they were dusted (AFTER I had already dropped them in the bowl) they didn't climb anymore. I'll make sure to add my calcium and vitamin powder first from now on. The date is written right on the culture, so I will just call ahead and make sure they have another one when this one is ready to be done!

[JeffX]

It's really difficult. I've found tapping on the sides of the container before you open it will knock them down, then while trying to feed your froglets, you almost have to take a finger and keeping tapping to keep some of them down at the bottom.

[DonLisk]

Try dusting British Gliders :-) They fly out of the cup as you open it and its madness...... good thing we have a kitten to chase them down.