Hello hero81,

A Flytrap that is rotting would stop growing and its leaves would begin to blacken. The only way to tell for certain though is to unpot the plant and check the roots. If the rhizome is, firm and white and red colored, it is fine. If the rhizome is brown, smells bad, and is mushy feeling, it is rotting.

Okay!

I did exactly as told and checked the roots. I don't know if you were talking about the bulb or the actual root itself (description: the tail part). Anyway, the root was a dark color, I don't know if that's healthy so I didn't do anything, but the bulb was mostly white but on a certain part was it a dull brownish spot forming.

It poked it and it was indeed mushy. I pushed it a little more to make sure and the mushy substance tore right off.

I still don't know if that's a good idea.

Anyway, I assumed I have over watered it (as impossible as that sounds) and it rotted.

There is still a rotting spot there because I didn't know what to do. Is that even a rotting spot at all?

Someone help me if you can.

On the side note:

With the assumption of overwatering, I drained a majority of the water from the dirt using my bare fists. Being as careful as I can, repotted it in its terrainium and put a small amount of water on the plant to make sure I won't dry it out. Then I set it in a bowl of water to keep the dirt damp.

If the spot was soft and brown, it sounds like it was the beginning stages of root rot. The rhizome on the Flytrap looks a lot like a bulb and is of white, sometimes with red streaks, firm material. It is the storage area of the plant for starches it saves up from sunlight, just like a carrot or onion (it is very distantly related to many garden edibles like spinach and cabbage actually).

I hear that using Consan on the rotting areas can help the plant get rid of the infection and start growing properly again. In any case, to reduce the risk of root rot, make sure the plant is in a container that allows for good drainage in the bottom and is only about 1/4 of the containers depth in water. Taller containers also help reduce overwatering (4-5 inch pots or larger). Top water to allow drainage of water through the soil, which will airate the roots and draw bacteria and contaminates out of the pot and into the tray. Root rot is caused by too much water in stagnant conditions, so moving the water and soil around with top watering a couple times or more a week helps out. If the soil smells bad, like a fishy odor, repot the plant in new fresh sphagnum moss and sand or perlite in 50/50 mix and make sure they are from dry plastic wrapped square bales as the small plastic bags are often fertilized (unless you get the premixed stuff from a carnivorous plant specialty nursery).

Now I know the dirt that the plant came in is not a good kind. It has wood and stuff to hold water and allows very poor drainage.

I've been quite busy trying to settled down in my new place. So I need an alternative to getting better drainage and rescuing my poor VFT.

Would making the holes in the bottom of the pot help?

Would mixing up the dirt to "loosen" it help?

As of right now I am having very poor hope on my plant. It is still growing leaves, I am thankful, but should new leaves start off in a yellow-green color?

Thanks much,
Hero81

Yellowing might just be from brighter light conditions. In any event, it sounds like whoever you bought it from was trying to grow it in Orchid medium, which might be OK for a Nepenthes, but wholly inadequate, and deadly, to Venus Flytraps. It should not have bark or other garbage in it, just brownish moss, either long fiber sphagnum or chopped sphagnum peat moss and either silica sand or perlite. nothing else should be in that soil mix. I have seen the effects of trying to grow Flytraps in media other than sphagnum peat or sphagnum moss and the results were not pretty. If the plants survived, they grew slowly and very small, barely even flowering if at all.

So the peat moss and sand is inevitable...

Could I pick that up in Home Depot?

Is there any hope for my poor rotting Venus Fly Trap?

Could I just cut off the rotted part or pull the rotting leaf off? It's only on ONE leaf.

It's rotting in about 2 spots, taking out several leaves.

Sometimes removing the rotting part will help, but without the correct soil it might continue rotting.

Usually hardware stores and nurseries have bales of dry Canadian sphagnum peat moss and dry plain perlite or horticultural silica sand that has no additives. Virtually anything by Miracle Grow is fertilized and most of the bags of stuff that says it is sphagnum moss might be toxic Spanish moss or anything but real sphagnum peat moss straight from the bog. Anything that says premium Canadian sphagnum peat should be the stuff you seek.