Hello crylady, Mine is inside too, but I made sure that it was getting enough light to produce some red coloring in the traps, that it could fully close and digest prey, and that it's trap closure was less than a fraction of a second. That indicates that the plant has enough light to flower without exhausting itself, however; might still slow down in trap production. If the plant is healthy, it will resume trap production after flowering. You can repot the Flytrap virtually any time during the growing season, preferably in the spring or early summer so it has time to reestablish it's roots. You can wait till after it flowers to do that, just wait for the flowers to blacken and collect any seeds, then repot. If the soil is not old, you might just move the entire plant with soil to another, larger pot. That reduces any root stress. When repotting, you can just tap the sides of the old pot and press slightly in the sides to loosen the old soil, then turn it upside down with your hand cupped over the plant and soil. Some of the traps might get tripped, but that is almost unavoidable in some cases. Just repot, being careful not to snap any roots off, and make sure the new media is moist and of the proper acidic mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite or horticultural sand in a 50/50 mix. Make sure that none of the new soil has any fertilizers or mineral supplements in it. The moss you want is the bale of dry Canadian premium sphagnum moss in a plastic wrap, not the bags of fertilized stuff. Repot it into a 5-6 inch pot with drainage and place an oversized tray under it, like an inch or two wider than the pot. When you water it, let the excess drain into the tray up to an inch or so and let it dry over time, rewater when the tray runs too low or dries out. Never let the plant soil dry out. Thats pretty much it.

I've read that in some cases, because the leaf was not able to close fully when a part of the insect is outside, the leaf will usually turn black. However, that's not to say every bug that is partially outside will cause this for the leaf. I've seen some really soft things like caterpillars have some parts outside but the plant was able to close enough (probably because caterpillar body is squishy) and digest the part that was inside.

If these are small plants, then feeding them crickets is a mistake. Crickets are too large for the small traps, the insect has to be smaller then the trap so the trap can close totally around it and make a tight seal for digestion to begin. Otherwise, bacteria will rut the prey and cause the trap to die. Another thing, VFT requires energy to digest its meal, but plants sold at the stores are usually week from abuse and lack of light. The suffer trap closure during transportation and the bumping they experience. That is a waste of energy; reason why plants are in shock and any new traps it produces are smaller and sluggish in closing before recovering from the shock. And most likely they may have been watered with tap water high in minerals and chlorinated by the store clerks. Another thing, they are being kept in a high environment inside the infamous cubes-of-death or any other container enclosed with a cup on top. Exposing them in a drier environment will worsen the shock. Taking them out now will kill them for sure. First off, after buying VFTs. Leave them alone dont tease them by closing the traps for fun. That will expand their reserves and eventually kill the plant. I place them in a west or east facing window, these are sun-loving plants. Keep them in inside the container with a corner lifted a little. That way it can gradually get used to the drier environment in your house, giving it time to build the waxy coating all plants produce on their surface to protect them from low humidity environment. Bit by bit lift one corner more, checking always for wilting. Depending how abused your plants are, this may take a week or two. Use only distilled water; you can get those at any store for under a dollar. Next choice is rainwater, followed by R/O water. DonÂt water with tap water or drinking water, both have minerals that will build up in time and tap water may contain traces amount of chlorine and fluoride. I bought and was given a couple of store bought VFT, I would flush the plant with distilled water to remove any impurities, that way I donÂt have to transplant and further aggravate an already weakened plant by disturbing its roots. Just water the plant and let the water drain totally through the plant before putting it in a water dish. ItÂs not necessary to repot them for now, VFT have a weak root system so they can grow quite well in a small pot. Usually the best time to repot them is before the beginning of their growing season in early spring. Best media is 1 part perlite and one part sphagnum peat moss (donÂt use decorative moss or basket moss at all, will kill your plants!). Make sure these to ingredient contain no plant food, fertilizer and/or wetting agent. Both ingredients have to be pure with no additives or your will end up with dead plant. Reason some people may have plants that are growing fine for a few months then suddenly the crash. Sudden death of the plant. Place your plants in a water dish, make sure the media is moist but not water logged. Now if you want to grow pitcher plants next to your VFTs, make sure pitcher plants are North American Sarracenias and not tropical pitcher plants Nepenthes. Nepenthes require a different mixture of soil and their root will rut in a wetter growing media from the one your VFT are growing. Below is a pic of a typical Sarracenia hybrid and easy to grow and often sold at stores. This plant S. x 'Judith Hindle' like all Sarracenias, its pitcher are tubular and they can make a good companion with your VFT. Once you have well established plants and depending where you live, the can be put outdoors. Giving them the brilliant coloring to the pitcher plant and red inside the leave of the VFT. Hope that helps. Good Luck!

Venus Flytraps need a lot of light to make fully functional traps. Temperatures over 80 degrees also tends to help them with trap speed and closure. After opening, traps typically take a week of so to fully mature, so might close slowly at first. There are simply a host of variables that go into trap closure, so it is impossible to tell what could be affecting the plant at this juncture. So long as it gets as much light as can be supplied, full sun optimal, soft water, moderate temperatures, and no fertilized soil, it should be healthy and begin developing normally. If you just got the plant, it is likely that it is adapting to your new environment, so might be a bit off for a few weeks.