Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i currently have 1.1 leucs and 0.0.1 auratus
i just got a fruit fly culture and using it as the main food
source... also have springtail coming in soon... i started
another culture as soon as i got this 1 but do not seem 2 be getting enough fly from the first 2 feed my frogs...
should i look for more food??? get another culture???

Sam

For three frogs, I would make two cultures every time the cultures get their first hatch (around 10 days after they are started). So, every 10 days you need to make 2 cultures from your newest cultures.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

thanks josh i just used the first fruits's i got to start to more cultures... not many fly's left for the frogs tho...
i live way back in the woods of NC, can i get stuff from the woods (bugs and such) and feed them 2 my frogs?

you should be able to harvest some bugs. I think they call the bugs you get that way field plankton. Depending on how big your leucs are, you might be able to use crickets. If you can get pinhead crix, those are usually good for the small frogs.
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phflame

well they are an adult breeding pair seem to be about 1.25 inches in length... we have LOTS of woods all round us... not a house for at least 1/2 a mile in any direction...

An entomology net for collecting field plankton is a good investment for anyone who lives where collecting is safe from chemicals. A little "wild game" once in awhile seems to stimulate their activity as well as saving the day when fruit fly production is low. Even with as many as 30 cultures going at a time for my gang, sometimes production just slows or there are some failures with not enough flies to feed. The nets are easy to find on the internet, although I can't recall exactly where I got mine some years ago. You just sweep it back and forth over the tops of grass and foliage, let the big, angry stuff fly away. Then you can which the little stuff to the bottom, choke it off and reverse it into a collecting cup or jar. Even though vitamin dusting isn't necessary with wild caught insects, I use a little pinch of it in the collecting jars to subdue the fliers. It's kind of fun.
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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
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

thanks for the info... how important is it to feed them every day?? i do im just wondering y?

If you feed them a lot on a daily basis, skipping a day may just give them time to hunt up what they've missed and make them do some exercise. Leucs, which are eating machines, may become rather portly, so a fast day once in awhile won't harm them. Some of the more cruel of dart frog dieticians have even recommended skipping every other day with the greedy leucs and other of the more hefty darts. This is silly. I frankly prefer fat dart frogs to skinny ones, as long as they are active. There's no docummented proof that "obesity" in darts relates to any problems as it does with frogs such as White's and other "sit and wait" frogs. On the other hand, a plump frog can go a day or so without a plate of spaghetti. Don't skip with froglets in a nursery tank, or newly introduced frogs to a tank.
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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
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

well i have found that the fly culture i purchased is just not enough... i can wait till i see fly in it then in the cage they go... but i only see may b 40 a day from the culture.
and that culture i got smells sweet.. and the new cultures i started smell, for the lack of a better word, bad.
is there a reason that i dont hear of any people feeding fly larva???

People do feed fly larvae (just scrap the sides with a spoon). They are higher in fat than the flies, and don't live too long in the tank.

I feed all my frogs every other day except for froglets or new frogs. Tanks that have established themselves will include other bugs (even some we can't see) that your frogs will eat. Springtails will establish themselves to some degree in a tank if introduced beforehand. I have heard others feed springtails at night so they have time to hide from the frogs and have a better chance of establishing themselves in the tanks.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

They love termites also

thanks for all the help!!
look for another dumb question from me...lol...sorry guys but i
just don't want to mess anything up..

Sam

You might want to start a flour beetle larva culture, it is an inexpencive food sorce for your darts, we use them when we go away for a few days as to keep food for them, you put them in a plastic lid and for some reason they can not get out of it. They are not for everyday feeding because they will make your frogs chubby...lol.

how do i start a flour beetle larva culture??
hey i like my frogs a lil on the heavy side.. lol