Anyone feeding ants to your darts?

thercman · #1 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 02:35 AM

As everyone knows ants are one of a dart frogs staple foods in the wild, so why not feed them ants in captivity? Ant farms are very inexpensive, require almost no maintenance and various starter colonies are readily available on-line. So long as there is a queen in the colony they could continue to produce for a while giving the frogs an additional and varied diet.

The plan: to build one using acrylic that will allow for personal options such as size and the ability to incorporate a small travel tube to make feeding the darts simpler.

Any thoughts?

jeffr · #2 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 02:41 AM

I was looking into the Ant Farms. The only problem is you don't get a queen. Some places were kind of pricey. Like $7 for 25 ants

Dean · #3 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 03:16 AM

I feed them the little black ones during the warmer months the frogs love them.

Boondoggle · #4 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 03:51 AM

I've seen it discussed, but never successfully accomplished. Just keep in mind that masses of ants can stress/kill a frog. I suspect that people who have tried it just eventually abandon it because fruit flys are just too easy.

thercman · #5 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 03:54 AM

So people are feeding with success.... That is good. I am going to start a colony and see what happens...

markbudde · #6 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 04:02 AM

if you can find a source of queen ants please let me know.
Thanks,
Mark

thercman · #7 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 05:46 AM

I sure will Mark...

Greg

Arrynia · #8 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 07:25 AM

In the summer months, you can place a couple crackers in a dry location near an ant colony outside. They will usually cover the crackers which makes harvesting quite easy. Just avoid feeding too many at a time as this can be hazardous to the frogs.

capitale · #9 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 02:49 PM

It's illegal to ship queens across state borders and very highly regulated. The only practical way to get a queen is via field collection.

Our European friends don't have the same problem; there are lots of people across the pond that keep really cool species. ie leaf cutters and other tropicals.

RarePlantBroker · #10 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 03:14 PM

Durng the "dry season" here in FL, we always end up with the small "sugar ants" in the house. I make a small "trap" with mango in a cup, and feed the ants to my PDF's. They seem to like the variation in the diet. Keep in mind that I don't use any pesticides in the house, and very few in the garden--and don't feed any field collected insects to any of my reptiles/amphibians within 1 month of spraying outdoors.