WOAH!!! who forgot to tell this newbie that cats FART!! PU

I went to pikes just to look, haha!
I dont need any more parsley, I grew plenty this year, but the one at pikes came with 3 fat cats!!
One of them got really mad at me for moving him and orange horns came out of his head, and then he did it!!!!
He stunk up the whole screen room. Boy, would I like to bottle that and get my son back!

I had a zillion things to do today, and what did I do? Make more cat houses. I have no more containers, I have to get more or build something bigger...I cant believe how fast these grow!

chris

Added 1 more cat this morning. I really thought I had gotten them all.
Now there are 14. 2 days ago, I put them all in 1 cage. Today I put 7 and 7 in two cages. They are gonna need something bigger.
Has anyone built a cage for there cats? I can do the box and screen, how would you put an entrance for easy cleaning?

chris

Wow, that's a lot of cats! And when their horns come out....get ready to hold your nose, it does stink! I've heard some say it's not too bad.....it's bad!

I recently bought this cage for my cats:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11749&N=2006+114048

It's big, easy to get in and out and easy to clean.

I guess when they get that big, Chris, then the milkweed doesn't have time to get limpy as fast as they are eating it.

Fly, a reptile cage, That's neat!

Chris, you've got two kinds of cats growing at the same time too? EBST and Monarchs, right?

Yes, just brought the ST home today.
I am going to try and put a cage together tomorrow. Will use flygirls example. thanks

Chris, last year I built one out of 1X2 pine with screening. The wood was a tad warped when I bought it and the door wouldn't close and over time it just warped more, so I was real frustrated in making another one.

There was another DGer who built one and explained the best kind of wood and the best cut to buy. Are you going to build it out of wood? I could try and find that thread.

Yes, I was thinking wood. I will look for the thread also. I didnt think of the warping.
I was more concerned with the hinge doors, I dont want gaps for the bugs to get in.
Still thinking whether or not it is worth it, by the time I buy the materials.
I will stop at petsmart on the way to Homedepot

I looked at the reptile cages, similar to mine, at Petsmart and the door was zippered, I didn't like that, it never fails...someone will pupate on the zipper!

I'll look for that thread.

Here it is:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/643281/

Mark seems very knowledgeable about the wood....you probably could dmail him.

Wow, great thread. Lots to think about now.

Now I have gulf frit eggs. I guess all those host plants have worked. It is so exciting to see all the different BF that are visiting.

The Tiger Swallowtail that were on the Pikes parsley are now safe in their chrysallis

Yay! At least you don't have to feed them anymore, you can rest!

LOl, The 14 monarchs are whats making me crazy. 4 of those are starting to pupate, I think.
I took the netting down from above my daughters bed and we hung it above a snack table. Used hot glue to glue the sticks that they pupated on to the table. So I had the bigger cage for the others. Everything is happening so fast that there is no time to build something. Just had to throw something together so I could seperate some of the monarchs. Will take pics tomorrow

netting from above bed

tiger swallowtail chrysallis

Put the monarchs in the bigger cage just in time. 3 pupated on the screen lid and more ar getting ready.

Chris, you raised Tiger Swallowtails on parsley? Did you have Black Swallowtails too?
I like your cross-bar thingy in your Monarch cage. How did you make it? What kind of sticks are those that are glued together?

Chris, that's a nice set-up you have there.

I wanted to show this pic from the museum in Houston, it has a butterfly conservatory and here is a pic of the chrysalid hatchery. It had a window to the public and you could see all the different bfs eclose, it was really neat. Looks like an asssembly line.

Wow! that must be a great sight.
I am glad I didnt have to feed all of those!
I cant believe how close they are to each other, I was wondering how to keep the much further apart. I will stop worrying about that now.
chris