10-31-2011, 11:49 PM
I do not know if this is an original idea, but it is something I came up with and works well for me when we take shorter vacations.
The biggest problem with short vacations (or any vacations for that matter) is frog care while you are gone. We don’t have that problem with our dog since the neighbors have a house key and we pay their daughter to feed and walk the dog while we are away. So what’s so different about the frogs---it’s the flies; it’s all about the flies! Nobody but froggers are willing to handle fruit flies.
Take a clear plastic cup, some electrical tape, one rubber band and two plastic coated condenser magnets (plastic to eliminate rusting otherwise present with bare metal magnets) and you are on your way to getting practically anybody who knows anything about magnets to feed your frogs while you are away.
1. Drill a small hole large enough to insert the rubber band on each side of the cup about 3/4s of a thumb’s length from the top of the cup.
2. Take one condenser magnet and tape it to the center of the rubber band with the electrical tape. Condenser magnets are very strong, so err on the side of more tape than less as you don’t want the magnet pulling away from the tape while you are gone.
3. Cut the rubber band so that it is a single string and insert one end into the hole on the side of the cup and tie a knot. Do the same with the other end. The key here is to keep a minimal amount of tension on the rubber band, as it is that tension that allows the rim of the cup to firmly seal again the glass.
4. Very carefully (remember, these magnets are very strong; strong enough to crack the glass on your viv) place the cup inside of the tank with the mouth pressed against the inside glass of the tank. Very slowly bring the second magnet toward the outside glass until it attracts the magnet inside the tank. Let go and your cup is in place.
5. Add your flies, maybe a bit of excelsior and fly medium and then call your best friend and tell him in a couple of days to come over and remove the outer magnet. The cup will gently drop away from the glass and release the flies.
6. If your tank doesn’t have a water feature or automatic misting system, be sure to leave plenty of water for the frogs while you are gone. Shouldn’t be too difficult to get someone to change the water while you are gone or leave it—a few days is not going to hurt anything.
One last suggestion. If you really want an "automatic" fly feeder, Micromark sells a small electric motor that causes a center pin to revolve. The pin has a hole in it, so you can easily insert a plastic rod and tape the outside condenser magnet to the rod. Connect the motor to a timer and tape it to the glass, when the motor comes on, it will pull the magnet up and away from the glass. Absolutely automatic, absolutely guaranteed. Good luck.
The biggest problem with short vacations (or any vacations for that matter) is frog care while you are gone. We don’t have that problem with our dog since the neighbors have a house key and we pay their daughter to feed and walk the dog while we are away. So what’s so different about the frogs---it’s the flies; it’s all about the flies! Nobody but froggers are willing to handle fruit flies.
Take a clear plastic cup, some electrical tape, one rubber band and two plastic coated condenser magnets (plastic to eliminate rusting otherwise present with bare metal magnets) and you are on your way to getting practically anybody who knows anything about magnets to feed your frogs while you are away.
1. Drill a small hole large enough to insert the rubber band on each side of the cup about 3/4s of a thumb’s length from the top of the cup.
2. Take one condenser magnet and tape it to the center of the rubber band with the electrical tape. Condenser magnets are very strong, so err on the side of more tape than less as you don’t want the magnet pulling away from the tape while you are gone.
3. Cut the rubber band so that it is a single string and insert one end into the hole on the side of the cup and tie a knot. Do the same with the other end. The key here is to keep a minimal amount of tension on the rubber band, as it is that tension that allows the rim of the cup to firmly seal again the glass.
4. Very carefully (remember, these magnets are very strong; strong enough to crack the glass on your viv) place the cup inside of the tank with the mouth pressed against the inside glass of the tank. Very slowly bring the second magnet toward the outside glass until it attracts the magnet inside the tank. Let go and your cup is in place.
5. Add your flies, maybe a bit of excelsior and fly medium and then call your best friend and tell him in a couple of days to come over and remove the outer magnet. The cup will gently drop away from the glass and release the flies.
6. If your tank doesn’t have a water feature or automatic misting system, be sure to leave plenty of water for the frogs while you are gone. Shouldn’t be too difficult to get someone to change the water while you are gone or leave it—a few days is not going to hurt anything.
One last suggestion. If you really want an "automatic" fly feeder, Micromark sells a small electric motor that causes a center pin to revolve. The pin has a hole in it, so you can easily insert a plastic rod and tape the outside condenser magnet to the rod. Connect the motor to a timer and tape it to the glass, when the motor comes on, it will pull the magnet up and away from the glass. Absolutely automatic, absolutely guaranteed. Good luck.