Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi

I've been investigating and several people feed springtails (Collembola) to their dart frogs and mantella. Does anybody knows where to get a hold of a colony or has some info on the matter?

Thanks
Meme Cantu

springtails are used to supplement normal feeding with flies/pinheads/roach nymphs etc. I don't know of anybody using them as a staple. In very large enclosures it is possible to have enough micro fauna to sustain the frogs for long term, but in smaller tanks and not being fed anything else a population of frogs will quickly decimate a population of springtails. It is also exceedingly hard to supplement vitamins/calcium with springs

A professor at my university gave me a colony of xenylla pseudomaritima and I think you're right, if someone plans to just feed springtails to their frogs its going to be very hard, but what about as a supplement? The more diverse the better no? and besides springtails, crickets and fruit flies, what can be a supplemental food?

Meme Cantu

My leucs and red eft newts are loving extra small and small Phoenix worms. The wiggling makes them both go into a feeding frenzy. They are a good alternative to FF's and pinheads.

Shawn

To me there aren't really an alternatives to fruitflys. There are other critters that can be used for snacks but it would be a huge pain to raise frogs without using FFs. But if I had to go with an alternative I guess I would pick termites or aphids. Aphids can be cultured fairly easily from what I've read.