# FF feeding contraption *No Escapes!*



## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

I had a new little project this weekend 

I hate flies escaping when I'm feeding the frogs, especially when the culture is booming.

So I made a little contraption here to prevent escapes.

clear tubing









Box cutter









Deli cup lid









Cut a hole in the middle big enough for the bulkhead fitting.









Here's a bulkhead I found at Homedepot. There's better ones online that has a barbed end so you can connect tubing on it, but I didn't want to spend money on shipping just for one fitting lol



















Connect it on to the deli cup on both sides.









I found this reduced barbed fitting in the garden hose area of Homedepot so I can connect by clear tubing.









connect it to the bulkhead









a simple ball-valve









cut a piece of tubing and connect it to the valve and the deli cup end.



















get another container. This one's a glass bottle, but I forgot where I got it from. You can use other containers like plastic soda bottles. Any container which funnels up is better so you can easily tip it down and dump the flies out.









another ball valve with tubing, which will be attached to the glass bottle.



















and here's the whole thing finished 









grab your favorite supplement









put some in the bottle









place the new lid on the fly culture you're using. Make sure the valve is shut.









connect it all together and watch the flies crawl up. It helps a lot if you tip the culture over to dump the flies into the hole and just keep tapping on the culture and the tubbing to drop the flies into the glass bottle. I'll probably cut the hole on the side of the deli cup lid next time. It'll be easier for the flies to go through the bulkhead.









Then just shut the valve off in the fly culture side and disconnect. Shake the bottle to dust the flies and just tip it over and feed


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## rollinkansas (Jun 9, 2008)

My buddy uses a very similar contraption for feeding house flies without getting any escapes...looks like this:


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

is there a translation? LOL I don't know what I'm looking at here


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## rollinkansas (Jun 9, 2008)

raimeiken said:


> is there a translation? LOL I don't know what I'm looking at here


Translation? I think for German, those are the most english looking counterparts haha...gauze, glass/plastic...










you put the green end in the container of insects, and suck in through the other end...bugs get trapped in the middle part, then you can blow the insects into the cage quickly and close the door of the cage.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I've considered a similar device but my idea was to attach it to a tank semi permanently with a string running through the tube (tube running into the tank) so the flies could easily craw up it from the culture and drop into the tank...then you could just replace the culture as needed. This would be good for large tanks with groups of frogs so you had a steady stream of food....I think with the string suspended or just barely touching an area the flies climbed up maggots getting into the tube and making cocoons or whatever and clogging it up would be minimal if it happened at all.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

interesting idea. But what do you suck it with? your mouth? I don't think I'd want to be inhaling the scent of the culture lol


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

Dendro Dave said:


> I've considered a similar device but my idea was to attach it to a tank semi permanently with a string running through the tube (tube running into the tank) so the flies could easily craw up it from the culture and drop into the tank...then you could just replace the culture as needed. This would be good for large tanks with groups of frogs so you had a steady stream of food....I think with the string suspended or just barely touching an area the flies climbed up maggots getting into the tube and making cocoons or whatever and clogging it up would be minimal if it happened at all.


I wanted to do the same as well, like plumb some pipes into the tank that's attached to the culture and put a valve in there so I can just open it when I want the flies to go into the tank.

But the problem with that is you won't be able to dust the flies


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## rollinkansas (Jun 9, 2008)

raimeiken said:


> interesting idea. But what do you suck it with? your mouth? I don't think I'd want to be inhaling the scent of the culture lol


yes. Its not as bad as it would seem...there are 2 layers of extremely fine gauze plus cotton, so nothing is getting through....granted like I said this was used for bigger flies, no reason it couldnt work with fruit flies as well.


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

seems like alot of effort, I just use a milk jug funnel and a plastic cup. Place milk jug on cup, fold the lid back a little let the flies dump down the funnel. close culture. Shake flies around in cup. No escapes.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

it's really pretty easy after it's all put together


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

raimeiken said:


> I wanted to do the same as well, like plumb some pipes into the tank that's attached to the culture and put a valve in there so I can just open it when I want the flies to go into the tank.
> 
> But the problem with that is you won't be able to dust the flies


Ya, my plan was to supplement out of regular cultures a couple times a week. The permanent culture is just to supply a steady stream of food inbetween the supplemented feedings. I'm not a big fan of supplementing more then a few times a week, I don't think we know enough about what they need and in what amounts to supplement heavily every day.


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

Do people have a problem with escapees? i never do. i just tip a culture upside down on a container that’s the same size, that way there isnt a gap. this seems like a pain in the ass to use every time. but whatever works!


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## evolvstll (Feb 17, 2007)

If you put the fly culture in the fridge for a few minutes or so it slows the flies down. It also helps to keep them from cleaning the dust off themselves as quick.


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## crzsnwbdr (Sep 23, 2010)

I thought about doing something similar to this for when I travel. This winter there may be a few days (up to a week) when my brother can't cover feeding for me while I'm away. Would this be a good setup? I guess the downside is never knowing if there will be an over or underflow of FF available to the frogs.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

crzsnwbdr said:


> I thought about doing something similar to this for when I travel. This winter there may be a few days (up to a week) when my brother can't cover feeding for me while I'm away. Would this be a good setup? I guess the downside is never knowing if there will be an over or underflow of FF available to the frogs.


You'd definitely wanna tested it a couple times before you left to make sure the flies were getting out in a steady stream. If you set it up but they can't reach the string or how ever you do it to get out and into the tank then you have a problem. You'd also wanna make sure you used a culture that was just starting to produce flies or just had produced a bunch and is full of 100's if not 1000's...if you hook it up after you've just feed out most of the flies, the few left who will be laying eggs may get out but it may be several days before anything new hatches and morphs so after the last flies leave the frogs get no more for days. I've noticed the flies tend to move up when you take the lid off, going for fresh air or something...so as long as they can get out but they don't clog up the tube with cocoons it should work.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If your frogs have been well fed, then a few days missed isn't going to harm them at all.. In fact it may be good for them as most of the frogs people keep are obese.... 

Ed


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

Ed said:


> If your frogs have been well fed, then a few days missed isn't going to harm them at all.. In fact it may be good for them as most of the frogs people keep are obese....
> 
> Ed


Ed,

What do you figure the max is for "missed days"? My last vacation was 8 days in Paris (feel free to ask me about Monet's "Water Lilies"). And in '11 I'm trying to the get the spouse's approval for 12 days in Sardinia... 

Thanks in advance,
Bob


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

raimeiken,

Thanks for all the cerebral stimulation!

Bob


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

radiata said:


> Ed,
> 
> What do you figure the max is for "missed days"? My last vacation was 8 days in Paris (feel free to ask me about Monet's "Water Lilies"). And in '11 I'm trying to the get the spouse's approval for 12 days in Sardinia...
> 
> ...


 
If they are well fed and have good condition, I wouldn't even think twice about leaving them for 7-10 days. Cycle them down so they aren't in a reproductive mode as this will significantly reduce thier nutritional needs and not worry about it. If you are concerned about it still, you can add a bunch of springtails and isopods to the enclosure to allow for "foraging" for several days to extend the time frame. When you return, the frogs will have lost some weight but will rapidly put it back on when you resume your feeding schedule. 

Newly emerged froglets can lose a lot of weight in that time frame so you may to have someone feed very young frogs, but adults should have no problems.


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

What about using a soft air gun's ammo container to put your flies in when feeding? 

Usually, the containers come with a pointed "spout" and also has a cap to put on the lid. 

Just go with the regular old funnel to put flies into the container with the supplements and put the cap back on the container. When feeding, take the tip off of the cap, turn upside down and "squirt" the flies into the viv. 

Also, with being able to close the container and easily dispense them into the viv, you wouldnt have to keep tapping the flies down into the bottom of the feeding jar as they try to climb the sides and escape. 

Some people mist as they feed and this would alleviate the problems associated with keeping flies in the feeding jar. 

-Matt

EDIT: Here's a picture to explain what I was talking about.


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