Need BB Flies Tips

[Texas Panther Man]

I got some blue bottle flies from mantisplace.com Ive never tried the bb flies before. Ive been doing some research and yes I used the search button. But does anyone have any tips other than what they offer on mantisplace. Ive bought the rearing cups and pre mix dry food. Anything else I should be aware of before I start?

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Hey, i'm no help at all since I have not tried these. I am planning on ordering some very soon. PM me please and let me know how things are going with the flies! I will be tuning into this thread as people add to it. Thank you!

 

[Lil nasty]

mine just hatched and my cham loved em, i just threw em in a clear container and waited i think 2 weeks and this morning flies! i just threw in some honey, they probly werent gutloaded good but i couldnt wait and wanted to see them eaten lol

 

[pssh]

Easy enough. Some honey and bee pollen sufficiently gutloads them. Just make sure you put them in the fridge and make sure there are no holes in the container that are big enough for them to escape from.

If you are referring to breeding them, you will need to get some rotting meat.

 

[gaxmode]

I ordered bb flies from mantis place for the first time last week and my cham loves them!! Just bought a few cup o flies, their premixed fly food (powdered milk and honey), foam inserts for the cups for water and wood chips to lay the pupae in. the pupae hatch out quickly, I get more flies daily.

When I placed my order I wanted bb spikes, they didn't have any in stock so they refunded that portion. When I got my package, surprise, they sent me 500 house fly pupae and 100 bb fly pupae, for free! I highly recommend mantisplace!

 

[reptoman]

Hey Scott, the advice I got from colorchams was to put powdered sugar and powdered buttermilk in with the flies along with some water crystals or a paper towel. I was able to keep 500 flies alive with this for around 2 weeks while feeding them off to 3month old panthers and my adults. I ended up putting around 20 pupae in several small plastic glad cups with a hole poked in the lid so I could have them already split up into small groups. Once they have emerged as flies,I put them in the fridge for around 15 to 20 minutes, lightly dust them with calcium and sprinkle them into the bottom of my cages and shut the door. They get active within a couple of minutes after removing them from the fridge so you have to be quick or you may have flies buzzing around your house. Hope this helps.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Thanks Reptoman. Thats the hands on info I was looking for. I ordered 500 so I hope my crew will eat them.

 

[Hibiscusmile]

Hey Scott, the advice I got from colorchams was to put powdered sugar and powdered buttermilk in with the flies along with some water crystals or a paper towel. I was able to keep 500 flies alive with this for around 2 weeks while feeding them off to 3month old panthers and my adults. I ended up putting around 20 pupae in several small plastic glad cups with a hole poked in the lid so I could have them already split up into small groups. Once they have emerged as flies,I put them in the fridge for around 15 to 20 minutes, lightly dust them with calcium and sprinkle them into the bottom of my cages and shut the door. They get active within a couple of minutes after removing them from the fridge so you have to be quick or you may have flies buzzing around your house. Hope this helps.

HI All! FINALLY got my password emailed to me so I could get back in here, been messed up for a long time.
My fly food has bee pollen , milk, whey, powder sugar and other things in it. They just want the sugar, but they have to eat it all! I mix it myself an the flies do well with it, because it is not just sugar as some mixes are. I use about 1500 bbs a day and 1500 to 2000 house flies a day, so I always have fresh pupae available, but what I like to do is take out the amount of pupae I want to hatch each day and I put them in a bottle and store in a nice warm place, then when they hatch I can feed the little black fuzzy buddies off! I do this each day, and I always have flies that way. I also pupae them myself, so they are always fresh and always have a good hatching rate. Hope this helps and any questions, go head, make my day!
oh! ps, I forgot, if too many hatch, which sometimes happens, you can keep the bbs in the refridge for almost a week without feeding. The house flies do not do as well, but that could be because 500 in a bottle is a bit crowded!

 

[reptoman]

Thanks for that info. I did not mix the sugar and powdered buttermilk the first time and noticed that the sugar was gone and buttermilk was not touched..

 

[Hibiscusmile]

Yea, they are like kids! Always just wanting the sweets. I did see someone else post they mixed theirs with water to make a paste, that may work, never tried it, I use water and wood chips so they don't drown or my water crystals.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I bought the wood chips and the feeding cups. I never thought about using the water crystals i had on hand. No worries about drowning that way. I'm still waiting on my order. It should be here today or tomorrow. My adults are gonna love having some flying feeders to hunt.