Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are small mice okay to feed bullfrogs? I'm looking to feed my frogs a new diet. I wonder, though, if mice might injure a frog or be too unclean.

Can BF's just about eat any living thing? I heard goldfish contain a lot of parasites, so I'm cautious. My diet for them as of now consists of earthworms, meal worms, and lots of crickets. They've even eaten some goldfish too.

I'm afraid of MBD of organ punctures. I good hobbyist might want to make a comment about feeding frogs the most nutritious foods. This food I've heard is crickets, but is one food item enough?

I have raised several bullfrogs.I started them on crickets, and when they got large enough mice.A full grown bullfrog will eat full grown mice with no problem. They tend to get real fat when fed on only mice though. TJ

Hey, thanks. But how do you vary their diet? How do you avoid MBD, give them sunlight, provide a suitable environment? I can't seem to find any websites pertaining to BF's and feel all on my own.

As far as I'm aware, MBD is not an issue with bullfrogs. As far as varying their diet...I feed mine feeder goldfish, mice, crickets, earthworms, and superworms. But I have heard from other sources(such as rana ranch) that adult bullfrogs can be fed a diet of just mice with no adverse effects. If you want more info on frogs, there is a website called allaboutfrogs.com that is pretty cool for frog lovers. Peace.

There has been a fair bit of discussion in the last year on the frog forum on rodent diets.
When compared on a kcal basis (usable energy) rodents are very similar to insects however rodents are more calorie dense. This makes it very easy to overfeed the frog when using rodents.

Bullfrogs can get MBD, there is a picture of this is Amphibian medicine and Captive Husbandry.

Sunlight has to be unfiltered to be of any benefit.

Ed

Thanks, I'll check that out. Was'nt aware....not trying to spread misinformation. I keep Bullfrogs alot and havent run into any MBD problems. Got to agree on the calorie thing though. When feeding them mice on a regular basis, they are very prone to obesity. I like my bullfrogs chubby though.

Can I assume that it is even more imperative to feed "prekilled" rodents with frogs than with reptiles? I've fed my pipa pipa uneaten snake food as an occasional treat. I just can't imagine what a mouse would do on soft amphibian skin.

I'd just like to add that MBD is usually avoided in rodent feeders, dusting crickets in Ca powder helps as well. UVB lights should have shaded areas as many amphibians avoid direct sunlight and prolonged exposure may damage the skin and eyes.