---
title: "I need help with my son’s Venus flytrap!! He just got it before going…"
description: "I need help with my son’s Venus flytrap!! He just got it before going to stay with his grandparents for 2 weeks and will be devastated if it’s dead when he…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/nCqjNmswTlS-vtdufEldHw/LewcG4ypTWXB6zVe1XD55Q"
community: "Carnivorous Corner"
author: "TryingReallyHard"
published: "2026-07-26T18:28:53.156975Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/xBSgwQJY-T7cgsqTZTz-qKhGQoiAzv2Hj--P0rIlRCU/rlbqRrbjRPeW_7Ke5q2FGw.webp?size=large"
---

[Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Carnivorous Corner](https://getplanta.com/community/nCqjNmswTlS-vtdufEldHw.md)

# I need help with my son’s Venus flytrap!! He just got it before going…

_Posted by TryingReallyHard on 2026-07-26_

I need help with my son’s Venus flytrap!! He just got it before going to stay with his grandparents for 2 weeks and will be devastated if it’s dead when he returns!

Top left photo was when we got it 10 days ago.

Top right photo was 7 days ago, right after I repotted from the nursery pot. I repotted in a clay pot using Omitgoter brand “Premium Carnivorous Plant Soil”. The pot has been sitting in a shallow bowl of distilled water outside in full sun (zone 6b) since. I have since learned that clay pots are not ideal, but am hesitant to cause more transplant shock by repotting again.

The bottom photo was taken yesterday. The top of the soil is damp to the touch. The plant has caught 2 insects and the traps opened before digestion was complete. Both traps died. It currently has 2 closed traps. I believe I can see an insect in 1 when I shine a flashlight at the trap. I am uncertain if there is an insect in the other.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/xBSgwQJY-T7cgsqTZTz-qKhGQoiAzv2Hj--P0rIlRCU/rlbqRrbjRPeW_7Ke5q2FGw.webp?size=large)

## 16 comments

### plantgeek commented on 2026-07-26

this looks like light starvation to me. leggy, wide petioles and small deformed traps. what direction is it facing?

#### TryingReallyHard replied on 2026-07-26

It’s on the SE side of my house, outside, zone 7b. It’s getting at least 8 hours of direct sun

#### plantgeek replied on 2026-07-26

weird. must be the terracotta then. repot asap, terracotta holds on to minerals and releases it into the soil. these things don't really shock, mine never has.

_1 more reply in the app_

### Plantlover commented on 2026-07-26

Clay pots are really bad for them

#### TryingReallyHard replied on 2026-07-26

Should I re-pot now or give it a little more time to recover?

### Plantlover commented on 2026-07-27

Repot

### Plantlover commented on 2026-07-27

Here’s mine

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/TimZVzU8x22tOJf4zserFLAwByNqbeZKpFvc1vgKtcM/4udzR9CeQYW73a9ymfDitw.webp?size=large)

#### Brown Bear replied on 2026-07-27

And your slowly killing it. It has to be sitting in a plastic tray, terracotta leaches into the soil and will burn the roots

#### Plantlover replied on 2026-07-28

That is plastic. It just looks like terra-cotta.

### Waspinator commented on 2026-07-27

I don't know much about venus flytraps, but don't tease the traps. Closing those takes a lot of energy, so don't touch them unless it's feeding time

### Brown Bear commented on 2026-07-27

I would repot it immediately!!! In a plastic pot with spagnum moss instead of the soil. It will go through shock but will come back. I've saved a friend of mine who had the same situation

### Brown Bear commented on 2026-07-27

Here are some pictures of my babies

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y_xOp5aEiDOjiPecQLrGi7EJXCOWYCUKA79yzvP77LQ/8NjHkW-gTVilny86TZtPJw.webp?size=large)

### Brown Bear commented on 2026-07-27

Vtf

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y_xOp5aEiDOjiPecQLrGi7EJXCOWYCUKA79yzvP77LQ/p-IAvgZ5S8mTYrfYqK1Kxw.webp?size=large)

### Brown Bear commented on 2026-07-27

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y_xOp5aEiDOjiPecQLrGi7EJXCOWYCUKA79yzvP77LQ/nrLTwmrVSSSVvgQGCN7FEw.webp?size=large)

### Brown Bear commented on 2026-07-27

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y_xOp5aEiDOjiPecQLrGi7EJXCOWYCUKA79yzvP77LQ/Daw0NNChTv-ysRrnj86sYw.webp?size=large)

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