Dionaea muscipula (the Venus Fly Trap) is a carnivorous plant in the family Droseraceae from North Carolina, USA. They are fuzzy pet safe, as well as reptile safe, provided that the traps do not grow larger than your animals. Baby lizards and frogs should likely be kept away from them. Dionaea muscipula produce white flowers on long stems in Spring, and narrow green and deep maroon red leaves with a trap on the end that contains tiny hairs that when triggered twice in a 30 second period will close and trap bugs and small animals and digest them. Leaves will increase in the intensity of the maroon color when given more light. Plants will arrive in one 2.5 inch deep pot, fully rooted and in the correct medium. Basic Care: Plants should only be given rain, reverse osmosis water or distilled. Species likes to be in humid, tropical like conditions. Cold hardy outdoors year round in Zones 7 - 10 and with protection in Zones 5 and 6. Venus Fly Traps can handle a full range of temperatures as long as it does not remain frozen and is allowed to thaw during the day time. Plants prefer FULL sun and are best kept outside. Plants require a dormancy period of 3 to 4 months in the Winter time and should be kept inside an unheated garage or refrigerator during dormancy in zones outside of 5 to 10. Soil should be kept consistently moist and plants should be placed in a carnivorous mix of peat moss, perlite and maybe the addition of some coarse sand. Pots should be plastic or fire-glazed ceramic only. Terra Cotta pots will slowly kill the Venus Flytrap as minerals build up in the soil. Some people like to keep their venus fly traps in a tray of water, while others feel that you should just keep them consistently moist. No matter what, never let this plant dry out! Be sure to read the care guide included with your plant to ensure proper watering and care. Never fertilize, feed people food or trigger the traps, as they only open so many times and they need food when triggered because opening and closing takes a lot of energy.
