Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think I'm ready to get my frogs, the only thing I need to know is how to feed them.

How do you transfer the fruit flies from the culture to the tank? Do you just drop them in, or should you put them in a dish of some kind? How long should a culture last me, and should I try to set up new cultures on my own or just buy a new one when the old ones run out?

Any links/answers will be appreciated. Once I figure that out I'll go get my frogs.

I just tap the flies into a baggy with some calcium/multi-vitamin powder in there and then coat them thoroughly and then tap them into the tank. It works well you just want to be sure not to dump all of the powder in the tank along with the flies. I use a recipe using fresh fruit it seems to work well and I usually get about a month to a month and half life time out of the cultures. I also make new ones every two weeks so that way I always have fresh supply going because dart frogs eat tons of food! I have a total of 10 frogs and I would guess I would feed anywhere from 200-300 flies a day. So be prepared! That is probably the most difficult thing is just having a constant food supply for them. I would try to set-up your own cultures as well it will save you tons of money just purchased about 4 cultures from a place and then your on your way here are a couple links I have found to be helpful:

http://www.thebdg.org/library/feeding/fruity_fruitflies.htm

http://www.flyculture.com/

Hope this helps.
Good luck,
Josh

I raise my fruit flies in 1/2 qt. deli-cups with a media and protocol from Saurian. I restart a new culture every 2 or three days alternating between two different species of flies. D. melanogaster and D. hydei are different sizes, the melanogaster being smaller, more suitable for the thumbnails and the hydei fill up the larger frogs faster. But I have a lot of frogs, so you may not have to renew your cultures as often as this for a constant supply. Once in awhile cultures will crash for some reason, so I like to have extras on hand.

To feed, I just sprinkle a bit of vitamin powder and paprika (for the orange and yellow frogs) around the bottom of a clean deli-cup, then tap or "jump" the fruit flies from the culture into this, (off the edge of the culture cup at about a 40 degree angle,) swirl them around in the dust and feed. There are always fruit fly escapes, but you just get used to having them crawl in your ears at night. I like the deli-cups for feeding, because you can hold them at an angle to the tank, tap and maniupulate the dusted flies to the front to jump to their demise without dumping in the excess vitamin powder.

Everyone seems to have his own technique. You just get the feel of what works.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus