Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Terrarium Update


It's been a little over a week since I installed my terrarium, and there have been many exciting additions to the environment which I'd like to share with you, gentle readers...

First of all, I felt like my tree frog was having a boring time at ground level, so I purchased a fake vine and some fake leaves. He (or she) seems to enjoy them, and he loves to sleep at the top of the tank amongst the leaves. The other day when I fed him some crickets, he was perched about halfway up the vine - them he leapt down to the ground, landing with his mouth squarely on top of the unsuspecting morsel. It was awesome.

I also bought a light, for warming the space, as although the weather is hot during the day, it still gets a little chilly once the sun goes down.

This weekend I worked on supplementing my frog's diet. He eats only crickets at the moment, so I have to dust them with a calcium- and vitamin-containing powder to ensure he doesn't suffer from any nutritional deficiencies.

The carnivorous plants also need feeding I think. Apparently I can sustain them with dead crickets, but I'm having trouble with the transformation of a live cricket into a dead one. In other words, I too much of a sissy to kill an insect. Currently I'm attempting to asphyxiate one in a sandwich bag. It's been half an hour and it seems to be getting nervous at least.

So far, a couple of my Venus fly trap heads have died, but there is one new one growing. There are also signs of new growth in my pitcher plants.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Terrarium


Kristal had a spare terrarium after the gecko that Jim gave her died. It now proudly houses my new Venus fly trap and pitcher plants. Oh, and a Cuban Tree Frog!

Gosport Art Show


On Saturday Kristal and I looked after Pottery by Tasha McKelvey's booth at the Gosport Art Show. It was held on Portsmouth High Street by the quay, so I was more interested in the huge Navy ships docked nearby than the art. However, I did buy some carnivorous plants from the Fly Trap Farm stall.