Venus FlyTrap...HELP PLEASE!?

Question

Ok i bought a VFT and i did my research b4 i bought it. but i still got a couple of questions...

i live in long beach and i have it in a plastic container with another plastic container over it to keep in the humidity and the there is enough room for air to go in an out(the plastic is thin and clear) and i have it in Sphagnum peat moss and pearlite.

question one
do i need to buy green moss for the surface layer or is this ok.??

question 2
can i leave it in there (there is enough room for it to grow) or do i have to move it from there?

question 3
how can i make a terrarium?

question 4
on this container that i have it i take it out side to get sun light. but i don't know if i should put it in the shade or do i have to put in under the sun or just enough for sunlight to hit it but not literally under the sun??

question 5
how can i make my own terrarium? where can i buy one?

question 6
what temperature does in have to be in the "dome/container?"

i thank you for all your help.

Answer 1

1. It doesn't matter. The moss is just a matter of preference.
2. Yes, you should move it to a larger container if you are planning on keeping it in a terrarium.
3. Below is a video from Expert Village that will help you build the perfect terrarium for your VFT.
4. No, terrarium contained plants should never be placed in full sun or bright light. It will cook them. Only in the shade.
However, you can choose to plant it outside and in full sun.
5. All you need for a terrarium is a 5-10 gallon aquarium. They are inexpensive and work well.
6. As long as you keep them out of direct sun then the temp should be fine. Like I said, they can be planted in the sun in open air. They can also tolerate temps as low as 20 degrees.

Helpful web sites and more info:
If you are going to grow carnivorous plants then you need to do it right from the start so welcome to the wonderful world of carnivorous plants. First, you need to decided where you want to keep them. You can keep them outside in full sun or in a terrarium, but I recommend that you not keep them in their origional container because their roots need room to grow and there is not enough air. Also, if you are going to keep them in a terrarium then make sure you do not put the terrarium in direct sunlight. What a lot of people do not know is that carnivorous plants do best outside in the open air and in full sun. They are cold tolerant up to 20 degrees and actually need to be winterized and go into hibernation in order to do well next season. If your temps drop below 20 then you can keep them in an unheated garage or garden shed. If you keep them in a terrarium then you can force them into hibernation or dormancy and I will give you the site that explains how to do this. As for watering, carnivorous plants are bog plants and their soil needs to stay moist all the times. If you grow them in a terrarium this should not be a problem, however, if you grow them outside you will need to place them in a saucer of water and make sure you keep the saucer full at all times. As for feeding them, check out the expertvillage video I've included and it will answer all your questions.

carnivorous plant NoNos:
No meat of any kind. Meat rots and it will kill them
No fertilizer of any kind. Pot carnivorous plants in a 50/50 mix of peat moss and perlite only.
No straight tap water. Use filtered tap, aged tap or distilled (preferred)

Here are some sites that will help you with just about everything you need to know about growing carnivorous plants. Good Luck and have fun.

Information:
http://www.cobraplant.com/venus-flytrap.html
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/carnivorousplants?starvote=2&pid=153840
Contains a Section on dormancy:
http://www.the-venus-flytrap.com/venus-flytrap-help.html

Expertvillage videos all about carnivorous plants:
Feeding and more:
http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/pitcher-feeding.htm
Building a terrarium:
http://homegarden.expertvillage.com/videos/terrariums-selecting.htm
Propagation and more:
http://homegarden.expertvillage.com/videos/carnivorous-plant-propagation-division.htm

Answer 2

1 seems ok.green moss will do no harm
2should be enough room ,suggest you keep it shaded and uncovered part of day
3use a small `aquarium
4 plenty of light but not direct sunlight.
5small aquarium probably cheapest
6 if it gets really hot put a few (say6)ice cubes in container/terrarium to lower temperature .
hope this helps .good luck
ps don`t feed too much `meat /insects has `traps go black and die while digesting /its a natural thing .the enzyme that digests the meat kills the traps