Feeding Question?

[andrew]

I'm a bit worried for this B. Orientalis I've bought... It's been about a week now, but he's yet to eat a thing. All the crickets we've dropped into his tank have just... remained untouched. Is it possible to feed them by hand or tweezer? If so, what's the best way to do it?

Is there any way in particular I can feed him or any specific type of cricket? I first tried the small pinheads, then tried the larger big crickets... he won't eat! I just want to figure out how to get him to feed. I HAVE been using live crickets, by the way.

I've heard they may not eat for a long time at first, as they're still adjusting or stressed. Could this be the case, you think?

The toad was the biggest they had at the store; very plump. Could it be that it's just genuinely not hungry? I doubt that, as it's been a week now, but... maybe so. Any advice you good people may have would be Greatly appreciated!

I'd love to have this toad, but I may have to take him back to the store if I can't get him to eat... I don't want to starve the little thing.

Thanks.

 

[reid]

Well, my tree frogs had eaten the first day I got them. So I think your toad may be a little stressed.

 

[andrew]

Hm... I've been advised to try some things...

1. Try offering the crickets via tweezers
2. Try giving him fruit flies with tweezers, if he still won't eat the crickets.
or, 3. Try bloodworms offered via a medicine dropper.

Guess I'll try that next.

Thanks for y'all's time.

 

[edward]

An adult fire bellied toad is too large to be feeding pinheads and fruit flies as its regular food source.
Do you mean to force feed the toad the bloodworms?

If you are messing with the toad and/or its cage on a daily basis (or even every other day) then you could be stressing the toad to the point it won't eat.
If you are worried about the toad, then weigh it and then again in about 10 days if it hasn't eaten (try a reasonably sized "small" cricket (between 14 and 18 days old" from the pet store) weigh it again. If it has lost 10% or more of its body weight consult a vet.

Ed

 

[han]

Hi

Bombina are voracious eaters and will try to eat almost anything anytime. Vivarium-conditions are nevertheless important: light-intensity (a lot),temps(air/water,20/18C), ventilation (a lot), a set-up that able's the toad to spot and catch the offered live-food) and proper food (get rid of the crickets, start feeding earth-worms and be amazed by her/his appetite).

Han.

(Message edited by Han on October 28, 2006)

 

[edward]

Han,

We have been over this before to some extent. Crickets are an acceptable feeder insect. Worms are a good food item but at least in American Bullfrogs a diet consisting solely of works resulting in muscle tissue issues with the frogs. Because of this I would be hesitant to recommend them as a sole diet for anurans.
(see Modzelewski, E.H.; Culley, D.D. Jr.; 1974, Growth responses of the bull frog, Rana catesbiana, fed various live foods; Herpetologica, 30(4): 396-405))
Ed

 

[joseph]

Ed,

How different are the nutritional requirements of caudates and anurans? In captivity those who keep anurans seem more strict about vitamin supplementing regimes while with caudates many see it as optional. They obviously eat differentn stuff in the wild w anurans consuming more insects than caudates I'd guess.

 

[edward]

I would suspect that most caudates have different vitamin D3 requirements than anurans (as caudates are mainly fossorial (excepting some aquatic species) and do not recieve much exposure to sunlight). (anurans have also been shown to be unable to metabolize calcium carbonate from gut loaded insects without a source of D3) In addition, earthworms that have been kept in a calcium rich soil (not the commercially available worm beddings) have a positive calcium to phosphorus ration (as long as the worms are fed to the caudates with the gut contents still in the worm) I suspect that people that fed these as the main diet to caudates are able to supply most of the calcium needs for terrestrial caudates (aquatic caudates can scavenge calcium ions from the water).

Personally I dust with a supplement for terrestrial caudates and all anurans.

Ed

 

[joseph]

Ed:

Interesting. Never would have guessed caudates could take in calcium from the water.

Where do Hyemnochirus and Xenopus fit into this picture?

 

[edward]

See http://www.springerlink.com/content/90m8td1qjglxgaev/

Ed

 

[heather]

Ed, can one purchase calcium rich soil, and if so where? I get my earthworms from my backyard, Petsmart, or Walmart and would be willing to switch out the bedding the purchased worms came in to a more nutritious soil if it would benefit my caudates. Thank you, Heather

 

[joseph]

Heather
I believe powdered limestone(calcium carbonate...their are some similar named products that will kill your worms so be careful)is what you want. It is used in gardening to "sweeten" soil and some worm people use it on worm bins.

Ed: Thanks for the link! It looks like for our caudates you could go so far as to say simply adding calcium to the water would do it as far as that mineral is concerned.

 

[edward]

Heather,
as Joseph mentioned you could add some calcium carbonate to the soil or you could just dust the worms with a good supplement.

Hi Joseph,
the point to remember that the channels can become saturated so it is still possible to get "MBD" even with calcium rich waters.
With respect to the frogs, they still need a source of D3 (which could be supplied with a decent pellet food).

Ed

 

[dylan]

Here is an idea:

1. Hold it in one hand and CAREFULLY open it's mouth with your finger.
2. Take a credit card/plastic bus pass and slip it into it's mouth.
3. Get the food and use the credit card as a "lever".
4.Put the food into the frogs mouth.
5. Remove card.

Hope I helped!