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- Jul 7, 2005
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Fruit flies are desireable feeders for many keepers. However, due to their very mobile nature they are also extremely difficult to use. This goes for many different species of roaches, as well...namely lobster roaches, which were the test subjects I used for this experiment.
The main method here is to use Carbon Dioxide. Previously, I had used dry ice...however, this raises a multitude of problems for the casual hobbiest. It's somewhat difficult to handle safely and it doesn't store very well.
However, this can be overcome with some relatively simple chemistry.
Sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide whenever it reacts with an organic acid. Most cola products also contain dissolved CO2.
In this paper, I used Alka-Seltzer, Vinegar and Baking Soda and half a can of Vanilla Coke to knock out lobster roaches (because I didn't have any fruit flies handy).
First, what you need is an airtight reaction vessel. Believe it or not, soda bottles and waterbottles are already airtight, even after they're open.
I made three initial prototypes and eventually settled on this one:
This was made from a water bottle with a lift-nozzle (gatorade bottles have this type of nozzle). I prefer this type because it seals the CO2 from the reaction in and keeps the contents of the reaction under pressure until it's needed.
You will also need one of these:
To make the chamber, simply glue the nozzle around the hole of the waterbottle's nozzle type thing. The seal doesn't neccessarily have to be airtight (acheiving an airtight seal with hot glue is harder than one thinks), it just has to be sturdy.
Second, attach aquarium tubing to the top of the bottle like so:
Now, you have a complete reaction vessel.
Next, you need a way to get CO2. As mentioned earlier, I used alka-seltzer:
Vinegar and Baking Soda:
And about half a can of Vanilla Coke:
I acheived identical results with all 3 methods, however Alka-Seltzer was the one I found easiest to use because controlling the beginning of the reaction was easiest with this method. Because I was able to start the reaction immediately before capping the bottle, this method captured the most CO2.
Vinegar and Baking soda is the most economical route to go, though. I picked up a 1 liter bottle of vinegar and a pound of baking soda for about $1.20. I picked up a package of 36 equate tablets for $1.57.
The tablets come two to a package, although you could probably get away with using one tablet per session.
First off, you need to get the tablets in the bottle:
The tablets aren't going to fit into most water bottles, so breaking them up is OK.
In fact, breaking the tablets into fourths increases their surface area and speeds the reaction up.
For the purposes of documentation, I reversed the steps. I reccomend filling the bottle 1/4th full of water, and then putting the tablets in.
Cap the bottle as soon as possible and let the reaction build pressure in the bottle.
Now...like I said earlier, this is designed around fruit flies but can be used for other species...roaches, wasps, baby tarantulas that just won't co-operate.
To simulate the vials the fruit flies come in when you buy them, I simply used a cleaned out old vial I had lying around for this experiment.
In that vial, I used three sizes of roaches. 1st instar, 3rd or 4th instar and an adult.
Here's the video of them being knocked out...just so you can see how fast this really works:
To prove this doesn't kill them outright, I also filmed their recovery:
Ignore my estimates for their size in this video. They're incorrect because I filmed this sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning so I was really tired. The roach medium roach is roughly half grown...which would most likely put it around the 4th instar.
In fact, I referr to the three sizes as 'instars' when I meant to say 'small', 'medium' and 'large'.
Stupid mistake.
Anyways...this method can cut your feeding times by about half. Simply collect some fruit flies, crickets, or roaches, knock them out and then put them into your spider's enclosure. They'll come to after a few minutes and as a bonus will still be a bit 'groggy' when the spider finally finds them which decreases the chance for injury.
Also, CO2 anesthetization has been used to cancel the diapause period in mated wasp foundresses and bumblebee queens...so this could very well be used to simulate hibernation without the need to put them through a relatively risky hibernation period in a refridgerator.
The wasp thing is what got me interested in researching these methods, although I think this will find wider use among hobbiests with use on feeder insects.
I would like to say this to all the wasp keepers on AB, though...I have had an amazing time over the past two years working with these magnifficent creatures. Before I started working with wasps, I never would have imagined I would have had so much fun working with insects.
I have met some truly incredible people through doing this and have had a lot of fun and have overcome some pretty major challenges while working on these caresheets.
Unfortunately, my path as a hobbiest is currently drawing me away from that hobby. As fun as it is, it is very time consuming and there are projects which I would like to work on that will demand more and more of my time and because of that, I don't think I'll be able to care for a full fledged wasp colony this year or until my other projects are complete.
I am taking a break from that hobby and will not be publishing any more articles on their care for at least two years.
Instead, I ask everyone who works with wasps to keep working and refining the methods and to pick up where I have left off and to keep documenting everything you have done. I'll probably return to that hobby in a year or two and by that time, I want to see people actually breeding these guys in captivity.
The main method here is to use Carbon Dioxide. Previously, I had used dry ice...however, this raises a multitude of problems for the casual hobbiest. It's somewhat difficult to handle safely and it doesn't store very well.
However, this can be overcome with some relatively simple chemistry.
Sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide whenever it reacts with an organic acid. Most cola products also contain dissolved CO2.
In this paper, I used Alka-Seltzer, Vinegar and Baking Soda and half a can of Vanilla Coke to knock out lobster roaches (because I didn't have any fruit flies handy).
First, what you need is an airtight reaction vessel. Believe it or not, soda bottles and waterbottles are already airtight, even after they're open.
I made three initial prototypes and eventually settled on this one:
This was made from a water bottle with a lift-nozzle (gatorade bottles have this type of nozzle). I prefer this type because it seals the CO2 from the reaction in and keeps the contents of the reaction under pressure until it's needed.
You will also need one of these:
To make the chamber, simply glue the nozzle around the hole of the waterbottle's nozzle type thing. The seal doesn't neccessarily have to be airtight (acheiving an airtight seal with hot glue is harder than one thinks), it just has to be sturdy.
Second, attach aquarium tubing to the top of the bottle like so:
Now, you have a complete reaction vessel.
Next, you need a way to get CO2. As mentioned earlier, I used alka-seltzer:
Vinegar and Baking Soda:
And about half a can of Vanilla Coke:
I acheived identical results with all 3 methods, however Alka-Seltzer was the one I found easiest to use because controlling the beginning of the reaction was easiest with this method. Because I was able to start the reaction immediately before capping the bottle, this method captured the most CO2.
Vinegar and Baking soda is the most economical route to go, though. I picked up a 1 liter bottle of vinegar and a pound of baking soda for about $1.20. I picked up a package of 36 equate tablets for $1.57.
The tablets come two to a package, although you could probably get away with using one tablet per session.
First off, you need to get the tablets in the bottle:
The tablets aren't going to fit into most water bottles, so breaking them up is OK.
In fact, breaking the tablets into fourths increases their surface area and speeds the reaction up.
For the purposes of documentation, I reversed the steps. I reccomend filling the bottle 1/4th full of water, and then putting the tablets in.
Cap the bottle as soon as possible and let the reaction build pressure in the bottle.
Now...like I said earlier, this is designed around fruit flies but can be used for other species...roaches, wasps, baby tarantulas that just won't co-operate.
To simulate the vials the fruit flies come in when you buy them, I simply used a cleaned out old vial I had lying around for this experiment.
In that vial, I used three sizes of roaches. 1st instar, 3rd or 4th instar and an adult.
Here's the video of them being knocked out...just so you can see how fast this really works:
To prove this doesn't kill them outright, I also filmed their recovery:
Ignore my estimates for their size in this video. They're incorrect because I filmed this sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning so I was really tired. The roach medium roach is roughly half grown...which would most likely put it around the 4th instar.
In fact, I referr to the three sizes as 'instars' when I meant to say 'small', 'medium' and 'large'.
Stupid mistake.
Anyways...this method can cut your feeding times by about half. Simply collect some fruit flies, crickets, or roaches, knock them out and then put them into your spider's enclosure. They'll come to after a few minutes and as a bonus will still be a bit 'groggy' when the spider finally finds them which decreases the chance for injury.
Also, CO2 anesthetization has been used to cancel the diapause period in mated wasp foundresses and bumblebee queens...so this could very well be used to simulate hibernation without the need to put them through a relatively risky hibernation period in a refridgerator.
The wasp thing is what got me interested in researching these methods, although I think this will find wider use among hobbiests with use on feeder insects.
I would like to say this to all the wasp keepers on AB, though...I have had an amazing time over the past two years working with these magnifficent creatures. Before I started working with wasps, I never would have imagined I would have had so much fun working with insects.
I have met some truly incredible people through doing this and have had a lot of fun and have overcome some pretty major challenges while working on these caresheets.
Unfortunately, my path as a hobbiest is currently drawing me away from that hobby. As fun as it is, it is very time consuming and there are projects which I would like to work on that will demand more and more of my time and because of that, I don't think I'll be able to care for a full fledged wasp colony this year or until my other projects are complete.
I am taking a break from that hobby and will not be publishing any more articles on their care for at least two years.
Instead, I ask everyone who works with wasps to keep working and refining the methods and to pick up where I have left off and to keep documenting everything you have done. I'll probably return to that hobby in a year or two and by that time, I want to see people actually breeding these guys in captivity.
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