Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do they need them, or are vitamins ok?

I believe most animals require at least a bit of UV here and there. Bull frogs yes. Just feed them a huge variety of bugs, no vitamin suppliments required.

That doesn't mean anything...bugs dont come gutloaded and gutloading doesn't necessarily help. You need supplements. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

no vitamin suppliments required.

WHERE are you getting this ground breaking scientific research from? Every other reptile and amphibian except for snakes require nutritional supplementation, why are African bullfrogs exempted from this???
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes

No, tehy don't need Uv rays, and yes they do need vitamin suppliments. Take it from me, I own quite a few frogs. No metabolic bone disease in mine.

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http://joshmilliken.tripod.com/

I wouldn't neccessarly say they do need a lot but they do need some. They're hiding in the day because it is probably too hot, not because they don't need UV.

You think they get vitamin suppliments in the wild? You think it automatically falls out of the sky for them? They obtain it from the bugs they eat, you don't see wild frogs needing "vitamin suppliments". It won't harm them, but its like overdosing, its useless or not very affective. They get what they need from the bugs, if you want gut load the bugs.

It is up to you really, won't matter to me.

There is currently no evidence to support that most amphibians NEED UV-B, however I personally feel it should be provided whenever possible. We have no idea how full spectrum lighting influences BEHAVIOR.

>>You think they get vitamin suppliments in the wild? You think it automatically falls out of the sky for them? They obtain it from the bugs they eat, you don't see wild frogs needing "vitamin suppliments". It won't harm them, but its like overdosing, its useless or not very affective. They get what they need from the bugs, if you want gut load the bugs.

There are fundamental flaws to your reasoning here, which usually happens when people rely on making analogies between wild and captive herps. Captive frogs usually only get one or two species of insect prey, this does not come anywhere close the diversity of prey available to wild frogs. Those inverts are also feeding on other natural wild foods, pulling from a wide variety of natural resources. Do wild frogs get supplements? No, and they do not meet them. Are the same prey available to captive frogs? No, and they do need supplements! If wild frogs do not need supplements, does that mean that captive frogs don't need them either? Heck NO. The nutritional analyses that I have seen for captive insects are rather poor, and even worse when compared to wild insects. There is no comparison between what a wild frogs gets in the wild, and what a captive frogs gets in captivity.

To make the claim that captive frogs do not need vitamin supplements flies in the face of accepted husbandry protocols across the entire industry. Quite honestly, I am completely blown away, where do you get your information? Also, gut loading has been shown to not be as effective at delivering the calcium and other nutrients as well as dusting. If you have any doubts, check out the Amphibians Medicine and Captive Husbandry Book.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes

What ever frog i do get, i do have a monitor lizard, and i feel the same way, no metabolic bone disease, so i give him PLENTY of vitamins, so i guess that will help with getting a frog, im all ready used to giving an animal plenty of vitamins, How often do you need to change a big frogs substrate if you spot clean it?

I dust my frog's food every second meal, which is smaller than the first... it's confusing. But anyway, frogs out in the wild aren't restricted to only insects. Many frogs eat fish, other frogs, and other invertabrates. Also, how do you know that frogs are getting their nutrients in the wild?