Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do any of you feed your PDFs aphids?
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Clint

Gotfrogs?
3 D. leucomelas (3 more on the way!)
5 D. azureus

Oh yes! They love them in season, when collected from a pesticide free area. They are more like a dessert than a staple item, and no, they will not invade your vivarium. Aphids are generally pretty plant family specific, and the darts will get them before they invade, anyway. There are many species of aphids, although they all pretty much look a lot alike. The pea aphids that suck on legumes are different from those you find on cabbage (Brassica) relatives, and those on fruit tree leaves, are different, yet. I just find an aphid infected leaf and set it in the tank. The darts will gather around and lap them up. I find this just a bit strange, because darts usually go for moving prey, and aphids on a leaf don't really move much. But most of my darts seem to recognize a sweet treat when it is presented.

There has been a lot written on actually culturing aphids for dart food, recently. For a staple diet however, fruit flies are a heck of a lot easier. In a cold climate, like mine, I sure wouldn't deliberately try breed aphids in the house to feed the darts.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

Thanks Patty, I was thinking of trying to cultivate them.
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/biocon/plantscape/peaaphids.htm
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Clint

Gotfrogs?
2 D. leucomelas
2 D. azureus

That would be a lot of work and take up a lot of space to feed 4 dart frogs, and you'd need a lot more space than a few 32 ounce deli-cups and some fruit fly media plus some vitamin powder you can control their nutrition with by dusting the flightless fruit flies. You would need about 1000 times more space to grow the peas and aphids than your frogs take up, plus all the cultivation and work that goes with this. But whatever blows your skirt up, is worth trying, I guess. Just keep some fruit fly cultures on hand, just in case you get a lady but infestation.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris