Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how much of the stuff would i use to give to my frogs thru dusting. also would there be any sort i should use like fresh ground or some other.
i tried a "search" but couldn't find any info on this forum.
thanks
walt

Parika works for enhancing reds and yellows in frogs if supplemented, because it contains carotenes that are stored in the lipds of both the fat and skin cells and are colored. It is also a source of vitamin A, which unlike the other sources of vitamin A, are selectively extracted from carotenes only as needed in the gut, and can't be overdosed. The surplus carotenes are taken up and stored in lipids, imparting the color to them. I don't think it matters what kind of paprika you use. Whatever you sprinkle on deviled eggs will do. I use the cheapest, Hungarian- the Pride of Szegeo that I picked up, but you can use any kind. It's all from the same pepper plant that contains the carotenes. I even inadvertently dusted with cayenne instead, and the frogs seemed to really love it. Although cayenne has the same source of carotenes, I never deliberetly repeated this accident.

I'm not sure there have been any actual scientific studies done regarding feeding paprika to frogs, but it is a well known phenomenon in humans who drink an overabundance of V-8 or carrot juice carotenes that the skin becomes yellow or jaundiced. It is not pathological and is reversible. What happens in humans is not the same as the jaundice of liver damage or failure. There is no overdose of vitamin A associated with it.

My own experience is just that I just think it improves the coloration. I've never measured it, nor even attempted to prove it actually makes a difference.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
3 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
4 D. leukomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus pending

I use no more than 1/8 teaspoon of paprika for every teaspoon of herptivite/rep-cal. Sometimes as a product of convenience, I just add enough paprika to my supplement container to turn the herptivite/rep-cal mixture a light orange color.
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Randy

thanks for the replys.
do you think it would work if i gave carrots to my crickets instead of dusting with the paprika. it still would be carrotene.
thanks again
walt

No. It would be an inefficent way of doing it. Whether crickets handle carotene the same way as mammals and amphibians isn't even know, or if it is, remains unpublished. They may not even store them and don't have much fat to store them in. So at best, you are diluting the purpose of feeding paprika at all. It's just more simple to dust on paprika and hope it helps. It certainly doesn't harm.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
3 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
4 D. leukomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus pending