What has green hair, can live underwater for some months at a time, and likes mud and insects? The Venus Flytrap! This unusual carnivorous plant would make an excellent pet plant for the children to look after. They are easily grown. All they require is humidity, wet feet and the odd insect to keep them happy.
An old fish tank or terrarium - or any glass container with a small opening, is the ideal place to grow the Venus Flytrap. Plant it in an acidic soil mix that contains sphagnum moss and sand and don't add any fertilizer. Since it derives its nourishment from roots and the air, as well as insects, it will do best if the soil is rather poor.
Make sure it is not left in summer sun for more than about two hours, or the temperature inside that glass could become too hot. Winter is a cinch. Cover it at night to retain the warmth and moisture. It will become dormant in the middle of winter, so needs fewer hours of daylight.
To plant your pet plant outside, place it in a pot inside a bucket partly covered with a clear sheet of glass or plexi-glass. You need to leave an opening so that the air can circulate. It doesn't matter if the bucket gets full of water during a rainy spell as these plants can live underwater quite happily for several months.
If grown outside, your plant will catch its own food. If it is a house pet, you'll have to feed it on a medium sized slug or two houseflies per month. Make sure its prey is still wiggling or the trap won't shut completely. This will allow bacteria to enter, causing decay and rot to the trap so that it will eventually drop off. Don't give it food from the table either, or it will die.
If the insect you feed it is dead, you need to squeeze the trap and move the insect around so that it seems like it's moving.
When the Venus Flytrap matures, it will send up a flower much higher than its "trap". This is to make sure the insects attracted to the flower don't get eaten before they've done their work of pollinating the flower. The seeds that form will be as small as a pencil dot. Plant them immediately, or store them in the fridge.
Count the leaves on your pet. If it has more than seven that means it has reproduced via the rhizome-like bulb. Try pulling a leaf off and planting it. After a while, the leaf will die, but tiny new ones should appear at the base of it. Have fun with your plant pet!
you dont even mention they need special water! they cannot be grown inside by a beginner, and they do best outside with NO TERRARiUM thing in the USA! they are native to the US for gods sake!
i realize you are trying to help, but just like 8 out of ten other people who talk about carnivorous plants, you are wrong.