Feeding Flies to Pets

How to Feed Flies to Pets

• If feeding wingless flies to the pet tap on the jar until all of the flies fall to the bottom. This prevents them from crawling out when you open the container. Once all of the flies are at the bottom simply tap the open jar over the pet's aquarium until enough flies fall out. If feeding winged flies to your pet, put them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to slow down their metabolism and make them easier for your pet to catch.

Types of Flies

• Fruit flies are the most common type of flies used to feed pets. The giant fruit fly, Drosophila hydei, is the variety most commonly sold in pet stores, but the vestigial-winged fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is sometimes fed to young pets because of its smaller size. Pet owners can also purchase curly-winged fruit flies, which have a mutation that renders them flightless or wingless. Common houseflies can also be used, but may be harder for some pets to catch.

Keeping a Fly Culture

• Some pet owners choose to keep a fly culture to regenerate food for their lizards and toads rather than returning to the pet store frequently. A fruit fly's life cycle is 12 to 15 days, allowing them to reproduce and multiply quickly. It is best to allow adult flies to remain in the culture for a few days after they hatch so they can lay eggs, but remove them before five days so they won't die naturally and pollute the culture.

Dusting and Gut-Loading Flies

• Some pets, such as lizards and toads, often require additional nutrients. To solve this problem, flies are sometimes dusted with vitamins and minerals. The flies are placed in a bag with calcium dust or other vitamins and shaken until they are evenly coated. Flies can also be gut loaded, which means allowing them to eat vegetables and other nutrient-bearing food before they are fed to the pet.