Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am writing to ask how many arrow frog owners here regularly field sweep. I hvae been contemplating doing this myself and would like your opinions as to the pro and cons.
Thanks for any advice or opinions,
mark

I do a lot of insect netting in season. The frogs love the wild beasties that give them something interesting to chase. I mostly end up with leaf hoppers and small gnats. I also collect aphids for them--just pluck off the leaf and put it in the tank for the frogs to lick off like a frosting bowl.

I'm fortunate in having over 150 acres of meadow and pastures that have never been sprayed with anything and my nearest neighbors don't use insecticides or do any aerial spraying, so I can be relatively certain that nothing is contaminated. In many places however, one can't be certain about possible contamination. So finding a safe place to collect is the only problem I can see.

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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

Hi,

A few times a month I collect insects from outside to feed to my frogs. I place a handful of moist leaf compost in a fine screen strainer, place this on top of a large bucket and place a 60 watt light bulb over all of it. The little insects run from the heat and most end up on the bottom of the strainer. I then shake the strainer and end up with a few hundred tiny bugs. It works pretty well, I learned how to do this from the book Mantellas by Marc S. Talk to you later,

Devin
www.amphibiancare.com
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Devin
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com

Hi,
I ordered a heavy duty sweep net from Bioquip and made a bug bazooka,here's the link to the bazookahttp://www.konza.ksu.edu/~blbrock/bug_bazooka.htm
Give it a try, my frogs love something besides the fruit flies they usually get........Mark

Thanks for all the info. I was a little worried people would write back saying, "Are you crazy, there are bugs out there that will kill your frogs!" Maybe there are, but I usually remove spiders, and flying insects when I've done this with my whites and madagascar leaffrog.
I will try the bazooka. That screen keeps the bigger bugs out, I assume? I think that will be the biggest problem- seperating the big bugs from the little ones.
Best regards
markanthony

I just use an entomology (fine mesh butterfly type) net. The small things tend to collect on the bottom and the larger insects are able to just fly out while I'm concentrating the collection into the cone. Small spiderlings are O.K., too. They aren't going to hurt your frogs and the frogs love them. On the other hand, I let the spiders go because I happen to LIKE spiders. After collecting as much as I want, I shake the net down and hold it closed just above the bundle of insects. It's easy then to just turn this over a 1 quart deli cup (or container of choice), and invert the bottom portion of the net into it. I put a few pinches of reptile vitamin in the cup--not because wild prey needs further vitamins, but it makes it difficult for them to fly or crawl out while the lid is put in place.

What's a bazooka? I've never heard of it except as a military weapon.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

The bazooka was referred to by mark w a few posts above this one. Looks like a pretty good concept, as well as a versatile way to feed frogs. I am gonna try to make one next week.
Thanks again all.....I'll keep checking back to see if there are any more replies......
markanthony
Yooper, Michigan