I just purchased three D. leucomelas and drove three hours with them to get home. I was worried that they might be stressed by the travel so I put them in a small plastic container with sphagnum and some pothos cuttings so I can monitor their eating better before putting them in the 29H vivarium that I have set up.
Well, now I am worried for another reason. As soon as I transferred the frogs to the plastic container I put in ten fruit flies with the intention of being able to count the flies to see if they had eaten. Well, within about 2 minutes all the flies were eaten. So I put in another 40 flies and those were quickly eaten also. Now I am wondering whether I need to control how much they eat, or just give them whatever they will consume. They are just about 1 month post-metamorphosis and maybe 1/2 inch long so about 15 flies each seemed like a lot for them to be eating. I would appreciate any comments, I figure this is better than them not eating, but I don't want to let them get into trouble by overeating.
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Do I need to worry about overeating?
Replies (2)
At this point, they should be eating as much as they want to or are interested in. Leucs do get a bit portly when they have an over-abundance of easy food as adults, so I cut down a bit when they tend to waddle rather than hop, then skip a day of feeding and make them work and exercise a bit by hunting stray flies, but I don't think there is a problem with froglets or juveniles. As long as they are active and hunting, there should be something there for them to hunt all the time. In my experience, darts don't tend to have true obesity problems from an overabundance of food choices.
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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
Thank you for the reassurance. It has been four days now and they are moderating in how much they eat. They are all still eating well, but not quite the gluttony that I saw on the first day. I wonder if they were just hungry from being without food for probably ten hours at the amphibian/reptile show I was at and then while I was driving back home. Anyway, they seem to be doing well now.
