snip "Hi Ed,
Just curious why D3 is missing from a captive diet in the first place. What do they eat in the wild that is so different from what we feed them that they need to be supplemented with D3 in order to prevent MBD?"endsnip

In the wild they have access to unfiltered UVB which allows them to convert provitamin D to D3. This is not that easy to supply in sufficient quantities in captivity at this time and UVB should be considered a back-up method of vitamin D3 supplementation.

snip " Is it just lack of UVB light?"endsnip

Yes (see above)

snip "Or mass produced insects that don't have the same nutrition value as wild insects?"endsnip

They do not have the same nutritional value as wild insects. For example mass produced insects tend to have a higher saturated fat profile (for one difference).

snip "I knew of someone that fed his horned frog nothing but calcium dusted fish, and the frog lived for 15 years! Is this just an anomaly, or perhaps the frog was wild caught and spent its preformative years soaking up the sun and eating the native food?"endsnip

It depends on the fish. Many fish have adequate supplies of D3 which would have met the frog's nutritional requirements.

snip "Maybe the MBD problems are more a symptom of overbreeding rather than lack of dietary vitamins?"endsnip

I have seen this mentioned in a couple of places but this isn't supported by the literature or the data. (see http://www.tracyhicks.com/MBD.htm for an older review of MBD).

Ed

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