Share photos of your cat cages

Please share photos of your caterpillar houses/cages for others to see.

I use a variety of plastic containers, pop up meshed clothes hampers, aquariums and reptariums. The plastic containers are everything from the Gladware or Rubbermaid used for food storage to larger 12 or 15 qt storage bins. I cut out a large hole in the tops and hot glue tule/mesh fabric over it to allow for the circulation of air.

I also use wet floral foam pressed or set into small dishes, tins, bottle caps and jar lids. The wet floral foam is excellent in that it absorbs and holds water. You can then stick cuttings or leaf stems into it and the caterpillars can crawl over it without you having to worry about them drowning in standing water.

I buy that at Walmart quite inexpensive for a package of three blocks. Pull out the eaten or dried cuttings/leaves and replace them with fresh ones or just throw the whole thing away and replace it with a clean piece of wet floral foam. I add water as it evaporates within a day or two in this south Texas heat.

~ Cat

The photo shows a plastic cup with wet floral foam and citrus cuttings. You can see a Giant Swallowtail egg on the lower leaf that is touching the wooden bench. This of course goes into the cat cage so predators won't get to it.

This message was edited Nov 20, 2006 8:23 AM

A cup cake baking cup container used to hold eggs or first instar cats. I told ya'll...I'll use anything available. I cut out a circle in the lid and just laid a piece of tule/mesh fabric over the container and pressed the lid back on.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2006 11:28 PM

A plastic food storage container. This one has bottle caps with wet floral foam to hold milkweed leaves that have Queen eggs on them as well as first instar cats. I like putting down a layer of paper towels just to make cleaning out the frass easier.

another plastic storage container for last instar caterpillars. This one has Queens in it. You can see one getting ready to pupate at the edge of the mesh lid. I put in dried branches to faciliate their crawl to the top.

A pop-up meshed clothes hamper also used to hold twigs with chrysalides on them. Has a zippered top. This has lots of room for the eclosing butterflies to spread their wings and flit around a bit. They can also cling to the mesh easily as they wander around.

I sometimes put last instar cats in this too...but they have like to pupate at the top...right where the zipper goes around. Am afraid one of them might just pupate on the zipper teeth!

This message was edited Aug 23, 2006 11:34 PM

Another small plastic storage container with a lid that flips open and snaps shut. I used jar lids with wet floral foam to hold the milkweed leaves for the Queen caterpillars. Again, I cut out a section of the top and hot glued tule/mesh fabric.

This is one of those bigger 12qt rubbermaid storage bins. I also cut out a section of the lid and hot glued tule/mesh fabric on it. You can see the plastic dishes with wet floral foam I use to hold citrus cuttings. There are several Giant Swallowtail caterpillars visible on the leaves.

Photo of a store bought reptarium. Great for holding last instar cats. They love crawling all over the mesh to find just the right spot to pupate. Also provides plenty of room for eclosing butterflies to fan their wings. Has a dual zipper that allows for the top three sides to open.

I put in dried branches and wire jungle gym thingies I made for the cats to crawl and pupate on too.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2006 11:37 PM

...and this is a photo of a wood frame screen lid I made to fit an aquarium. The caterpillars crawl up the glass to pupate from the screen lid :o) This one shows Queen chrysalids...many pales ones at that!!!

...and a photo of an inverted wire basket planter I put in the aquarium cat cage for the caterpillars to also use when they are ready to pupate.

Thanks so much TPP,

You've given me some ideas of things that I can use around the house without breaking the bank! I just have to find some tulle...

~Sunny

Cat, thank you so much for sharing. I'm very new to raising butterflies, but I'm very excited to be doing it. I just converted a plastic sherbet tub into a 1 st instar nursery - luckily I had a piece of tulle :) Here's the cat cage my DH built for me last week. The top comes off, but I'm going to need a side door because it's too deep for me to reach the bottom to clean it. Also, I'm afraid I'm going to knock a crysalis off when I remove the top to put in more food. Thanks to your great ideas for making containers for them, now I know where I can keep the guys when it comes time to add the changes to the main cage. Thanks to Katrina, I now have sun in my back yard and for the first time I can grow the plants and flowers to attract butterflies, and this summer I really went crazy with it. And I know it will just get better and better. Peggy

I've been looking for pics of cat houses. I have been buying those plastic paint buckets from home depot/lowes and cutting the middle out of the tops and stretching mosquito netting over them. I stick the cuttings in a small rockwool cube and put them in with the cats. I put a paper towel in the bottom and lift it out when I clean up behind them.

Problem is, I have about 22 cats now and I have lots of little buckets!

I also have a cage I ordered for insectlore.com and a terrarium and I have two chrysalis’ in the terrarium and 3 in the insect lore cage. I am going to move the two chrysalis’ in the terrarium to the insect lore cage.

I have 3 big cats in the insect lore cage and I am hoping they turn soon so I have all chrysalis’ in one place.

I am thinking of buying a terrarium from petco or someplace so I can get more organized.

Any suggestions to my setup are welcome because I guessed at everything!

Here's the insect lore cage, I managed to squeeze in a pot I put tropical milkweed in to it and tied it off so they couldn't crawl on the bottom. I don't think I'll do a pot this way again though.

Here's the top of that cage with chrysalis on top and one I hope about to make his "J"

Here's all my little buckets. I am running out of room, and leaves!

If anyone has suggestions fro a more organized better system, please let me know! In the meantime, the best thing I can think of is a front opening terrarium--front opening so it's easier to not distrub the chrysalis'

Maureen

I also want to include this link for a nice looking cat nursery:

http://melanys.tripod.com/nursery.htm

Here's some pictures of my cat house It's6x6x6 with shelf's half way up.I can put up to 40 one gallon potted plants in at a time and still get in to move things around.

inside with a new born

the plants are parsley and fennel loaded with BST cats

The small cage was my first .It was just to small to change out potted plants without disturbing the other cats and brushing into hanging chrysalis

Don, I like your cages. The big one gives me ideas about the changes I want/need to make to mine.

Peggy

Don your cages are awsome. What do you feed the newly emerged butterflies?

Maureen

mim01 the first couple of batches I tried to feed them a mixture of fermented beer,bananas,molassies,corn syrup that I had gotten the recipe from another forum.They all seemed alot more interested in just flying away and getting on with life.Now I just open the door and they just fly off.The problem being the longer the door is open to let butterflies out,it gives a great opportunity for geckco's bee's ants and all sorts of cat eatting, stinging,giving dieases too things in.A design change of the cat house is in order.My next cat house will have alot of changes to it.

Great photos everyone!!! I like those big cat cages...but you always run the risk of letting an ant or some predator in and not being able to find it. I try to be very careful when I must put in a potted plant - there always seems to be some spider on the leaves or ants in the dirt that I don't want inside my cages.

Since I usually work the noon-8pm shift the butterflies eclose early in the morning. They are ready to be set free before I leave so I often open up the cage and let them crawl onto my hand. I then take them over to my duranta bush and set them on the blooming flowers. They can choose to nectar, hang out to finish drying or fly off :o)

As for the fermented fruit mixture only the fruit feasters will go for that...brushfoots like question marks, leafwings, admirals, emperors, snouts and such. Most butterflies are more interested in flying off first. Don't worry...they will come back around to check out the blooms in your yard :o)

~ Cat

Cat I didn't know that about fruit feaster butterflies.Wow I had thought I had made it wrong.I haven't seen but a very few of the butterflies you mentioned in my yard so now that explains it.Monarch's BST GF's Sulfurs just fly by the stuff and don't pay any attention to the stuff at all.Thanks Cat I've been scatching my bald head wondering why all this time. Don

Don--I tried that same recipe--but it didn't work for me either. I may try it again just because the stuff is fermenting in my garage.

I think the most challenging thing about raising cats is getting the cage right. I will never again put a pot inside the cage I got from insect lore, that was a mistake. I'm thinking a front opening terarrium for next year. I read where someone, Konkreteblond maybe, said juicy juice could be fed to butterflies after they emerge. I'm gonna try that and some gaterade over some rotting bananas on two seperate dishes and see if they go for either.

Maureen

Gatorade over bananas is a hit with the ones who eat like that. Gatorade on a cottonball or pad is great for ones that eclose and are either damaged or maybe the weather isn't right.

The paint bucket with net over it is actually a good idea because it's big and waterproof. We haven't had rain in months and the one time I have cats in my wooden cage I left it on the porch so they could have fresh air, and it poured. It's getting too out of shape from that happening. I have the plans that I used to make it but need to scan them. Maybe I can just take a pic of them with my camera..?

If a terrarium is going to be anything like an aquarium, I wouldn't like it. I guess that depends on what kind of cats you are raising. I need something tall to keep the milkweed upright in.

I've been desperately searching CVS pharmacies because they've had ads in the paper 2 times now for these pop up hampers with zipper lids but the stores say they weren't ever sent any! ugh! Anyone know where I can get a CHEAP one? (like less than $10)

This is the cage I usually use. It has 3 sides of screen and one side plexiglass. This side has a little hatch door for easy cleaning etc. There is actually a little shelf with a hole in it that is supposed to go in it but that just wasn't necessary.

This is the plexiglass side, which really is nice. It's getting a little beat up now.

I got my cages at live monarch ( a great site which tries to help the Monarch's!) They have 3 or 4 different sizes! Love them!! Mesh on 3 sides and clear plastic on the other. One of the mesh sides has a full door zipper.

http://www.livemonarch.com/store.php

Adrienne

This message was edited Jun 19, 2007 8:40 AM

Konkreteblond,

Your cage looks really good, I need a bigger one like that. Most of my struggle is keeping the cages in order and keeping smaller instars from bigger ones. My terarrium is a pain because it's hard to clean. I have different sized paint buckets but still fairly small and plan to move the chrysilis' to the bigger cage so I can let the butterflies have room to dry out and eat a little before they go. My terarrium is a pain because it's hard to clean. I can go with the gaterade over bananas for monarchs, right?

asafla,

I think you answered my cage search! Thanks for the link, I will probably order at least one. If I'm not mistaken, I probablly have another month of monarchs left at least, I think they stay here until October.

Thanks all,

Maureen

I like that mesh cage too but I just checked that site and they don't have it listed. They have socks but not the cage. :(

I'm not sure why you are wanting the Gatorade and bananas for the Monarch's? Oh, you are planning on keeping them indoors? I've never used it with Monarch's because I've usually released them within a day or so. Some butterflies don't normally feed like that so they might not take to it easily. ? Let us know.

I was thinking they might need to feed a little but I don't know, I'm guessing. I don't want to keep them too long, I plan to let them free after their wings harden good and I do have butterfly bushes in bloom right now.

About the mesh cage, I had to fish around on the site a bit but I found it here, if this is the right one:
http://www.livemonarch.com/castle.htm

As soon as I transfer some money to paypal, I'll probably order a large.

Maureen

Live Monarch does have the cages it's just confusing on their site. You have to follow a link for purchasing live monarchs and then all of their products are on that page. Here's the link....then just scroll down the page. :)

http://www.livemonarch.com/order-live-monarch.htms.

Adrienne

Maureen,
Brilliant minds think AND act alike!! :)

Adrienne

But of course! lol

Maureen

After reading this thread, I searched & found my Monarch cat, & set him up nice in his own cage. He is fairly large - it seems like it is getting late in the season.
I used a pot with some spent annuals in it, 4 bamboo stakes & a netting cinched at the bottom & top. I have some dried Yarrow sprigs to keep the netting off the milkweed (& the cat). The milkweed is in a glass of water. Is this an appropriate cage? Any input or suggestions?
Julie

Another question: I have a chrysalis in the garden... Is it best to leave it where it is, or place it in a cage? I don't know if the crysalis stage is a vulnerable time for the Monarch or not...

Julia,

That looks like a fine cage. My only suggestion is to consider putting a lid on the cup and poke holes through it. Cats don't swim well and they do fall sometimes.

Maggie

Good job Cat!
This is just what I needed to see. Tons of ideas for cat cages.
I attract so many birds to my yard and the Black Swallowtails don't have much of a chance to mature unless I cage them.

Thank you so much, I will probably be referring to this page a lot in the future! Excellent stuff!

~Debnes

Am glad everyone is showing off their cages. We can all learn so much from each other...and trial and error :o)

JRush...good idea for a cat cage. Just double check that no bugs are hiding out in the soil and please try using wet floral foam to hold your cuttings.

Must emphasize the iffiness of using dishes, vases or glasses of water to keep your cuttings moist - please, please try using wet floral foam if possible. It soaks up and hold water for several days and you can stick your twigs, leaves, cuttings into it and the caterpillars won't be in danger of drowning. The foam looks like the green styrofoam type used for flower arrangements but this kind is softer and retains water. You can toss it if it gets too dirty and put in a new chunk.

Meshed Pop Up Clothes Hampers: I found mine at H.E.B. which is a local grocery store chain. Have also seen them at Walmart so am assuming the more popular stores like Target and such would carry them too. They usually cost only about $9 to $12 dollars. No need to spend more plus shipping when you can find it locally!!!

I just find that those wandering cats like to crawl to the top to pupate and they usually pupate very close to the zipper tracks! Must be careful when opening the cover. Or try tempting them to pupate on twigs or wire - I often use a variety of decorative wire candle cups holders I got at the dollar store in some of my plastic cat cages. The cats will crawl on those to pupate. (I removed the glass cups)

Chrysalids outside: If you can clip the branch and put in in a cage it would be safer. Just stick the end into stryofoam or something that will hold it. I sometimes leave them outside if they are attached to a wire trellis or impossible to move...and have sadly found them completely missing - no empty chrysalis left like when the butterfly ecloses...but all gone - as in chomp chomp a lizard or rodent had a crunchy midnight snack. Have also found a chrysalis floating in the birdbath...maybe a rodent or bird plucked it and dropped it.

Ya'll keep posting photos of your cats cages.

~ Cat

This message was edited Sep 5, 2006 11:05 PM