Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a nice environment set up with live sphagnum, twigs, leaves and branches. I threw in some small crickets I had for the rest of my herps. I also keep a small spring peeper in the tank. He eats the crickets to. Do you think Im better of getting bark with insects in it already to let them pick em out?
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1.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Green Tree Frog
0.0.1 Northern Spring Peeper
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad
0.0.1 Northern Leopard Frog
0.0.1 Red Spotted Newt (Water Eft)
0.0.1 Bull Frog Tadpole
38 gal Reef Tank

The bark with insects in it?? Hmmmm...I'm sure that in the wild they get some of their food this way. Might be good in addition to crickets. The trick is s-m-a-l-l food as these guys are so delicate. Red Backeds are striking in their appearance, but I don't even try keeping them for fear that I won't find and be able to keep up with their small food source needs. I've offered them small pill bugs for variety, but even these are virtually impossible to come by in winter months for me.I would think that as long as you can maintain a Spring Peeper, then Red-Backeds should't really be a problem as both are small critters. Guess I'm used to bigger herps.

I tried to keep some, I had about 20 of them at one time but let them all go in Golden Gate park here in san francisco. They were too small to keep as pets. I could never find any food for them.

I should have tried wingless fruitflies or something. They have TINY mouths, so it's hard to feed them

>>The bark with insects in it?? Hmmmm...I'm sure that in the wild they get some of their food this way. Might be good in addition to crickets. The trick is s-m-a-l-l food as these guys are so delicate. Red Backeds are striking in their appearance, but I don't even try keeping them for fear that I won't find and be able to keep up with their small food source needs. I've offered them small pill bugs for variety, but even these are virtually impossible to come by in winter months for me.I would think that as long as you can maintain a Spring Peeper, then Red-Backeds should't really be a problem as both are small critters. Guess I'm used to bigger herps.

yeah Im used to bigger herps, I hate keeping bugs that can escape and climb into my bed or something. So Im skeptical about getting a log. I hate keeping crickets too, I drowned about 6 dozen last night in about 1/8 milimeter of water! Stupid little guys. Then about 5 escaped. Im just keeping the red backs because we are setting up a New Jersey Pine Barren Envriornment tank so they will be moved there once its finished.
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1.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Green Tree Frog
0.0.1 Northern Spring Peeper
0.0.1 Fire Belly Toad
0.0.1 Northern Leopard Frog
0.0.1 Red Spotted Newt (Water Eft)
0.0.1 Bull Frog Tadpole
38 gal Reef Tank

I have kept redbacks sucessfully before by feeding them chopped up pices of little worms and they did fine for a very long time. But i cannot stress the importance of tank care and making sure the lid is on tite. Mine died (3) of escape (2 of them) the third died because i hadnt cleaned the tank and a single maggot was in there. Before i caught it the redback ate it adn i thought no biggy. So i cleanded the tank but the next day i found the redback dead with a maggot eatin through his belly.

I've successfully kept and bred Red-Backed Salamanders in captivity, I fed them worms cut into pieces and baby crickets. I never really had them for a long period of time, just long enough so that my Ringneck Snakes could take out the whole colony.
Michael Fedzen
Email- Helmz614@aol.com

I have. I kept a few in a ten gal for a few weeks(found them).
I then leth them loose in th woods. I put in some small bugs.