[aledr2004]

I posted the other day in a panic over my frogs behaviour so as you may have guessed these are my first frogs and I've not had them long.

So, This may be a daft question but here we go anyway. While feeding my frogs just now I was holding the culture pot over the viv and tapping flies in when I dropped the pot. I quickly grabbed it out but a big chunk of ff media had rolled out, maggots and all. Next thing I know the frogs are going crazy eating the maggots and ingesting big lumps of ff media along with them.

Is this ok? Will eating large amounts of ff media harm them? The stuff reeks so I expected them to spit it out or vomit but in fact they just ate more and seem untroubled by it so far. Has anyone else experienced this?

This is a stressful hobby.

 

[eldalote2]

Your frogs will be fine. They love the fruit fly maggots and the media won't hurt them if accidentally ingested.

Are you dusting your flies with a calcium and vitamin supplement? The supplement keeps the frogs healthy as the fruit flies do not have much nutritional value to them. Dusting is a must in this hobby and there are many great products out there to use. Just remember to replace them every 6 months as the contact with air and heat breaks the ingredients down so they are worthless.

To dust, simply tap a tiny amount of supplement into a clean plastic cup (clean so the fruit flies have a hard time crawling back up it), tap in some flies, swirl and then tap the flies out into the viv for your frogs to enjoy.

The hobby should not be stressful and will not remain stressful once you get the routine down! It is quite a rewarding hobby, just breathe deep and enjoy your frogs!

 

[B-NICE]

ewwww. LOL. I take it you did'nt/don't dust your ff's if this has happened. You should have 2 smaller containers you put the FF's in for dusting. 1 for multi vitamins and the other for calcium.

 

[aledr2004]

Thanks for the swift replies folks. I can breathe a sigh of relief now.

As for dusting, I have been doing so. It was just that I had guests over and just wanted to show them how the frogs hunt down the flies as I think It's amazing to watch.

On the subject of dusting though, I asked in my local pet shop if they had a suitable product and they gave me repashy calcium plus for tree frogs. I explained that I was keeping darts and the guy told me they would have very similar dietary requirements and the products for darts were more than likely identical to those for tree frogs just branded differently.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[eldalote2]

I do the same thing when people come over, no worries.

Those Repashy calcium products that are labeled Chameleon, Bearded Dragon, etc are all the same formula. All you have to do is look at the ingredients on the back. You are still going to need a vitamin supplement to use in rotation with your calcium. Repashy has great products on the market and has put a lot of dart frog related products into the hobby in the recent past.

Try to get a vitamin supplement with Vitamin A. Just look on the ingredients labeled on the back to see if one has it or not.

 

[tomh1972]

I do the same thing when people come over, no worries.

Those Repashy calcium products that are labeled Chameleon, Bearded Dragon, etc are all the same formula. All you have to do is look at the ingredients on the back. You are still going to need a vitamin supplement to use in rotation with your calcium. Repashy has great products on the market and has put a lot of dart frog related products into the hobby in the recent past.

Try to get a vitamin supplement with Vitamin A. Just look on the ingredients labeled on the back to see if one has it or not.

I believe that the Repashy Calc plus (the "newer" product) is an "all in one" supplement, that also contains vit A. Correct?

 

[aledr2004]

The repashy supplement I have says that it contains multi vitamins including vit a and d3. Do I still need to get another multivitamin? If so is there any particular brand you recommend?

Just a thought, but after seeing how much the frogs liked those maggots, would pinkie maggots (don't know what you call them in the states) ie fishing bait be suitable to feed to them? I'd be a bit wary I think seeing as they feed off meat but maybe the protein in them would be beneficial. What do you think?

 

[eldalote2]

I believe that the Repashy Calc plus (the "newer" product) is an "all in one" supplement, that also contains vit A. Correct?

Just looked at it and yes it is an "all in one" supplement.

Many people use different supplements to cover all the bases just in case one supplement doesn't have something and another one does. Just as long as it is without D3.

D3 causes them to retain too much calcium (binds) and they are unable to pass the excess naturally. Someone may need to confirm that.

I couldn't tell you yes or no on the fishing bait maggots. I would say no just to be safe. There are ways to harvest the maggots from your culture cups including putting a non vented lid on and letting them crawl up the container, scoop them out with a spoon, then replace the vented lid.

Remember, anything from outside could carry parasites that could harm your frogs. Better safe than sorry.

 

[B-NICE]

Repashy Calcium Plus (8 oz) - $11.99
VITAMIN AND CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT

Our “All-in-One” Insect Dusting Powder provides essential vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Featuring both Retinol and Carotenoids as sources of Vitamin A.

INFORMATION: Calcium Plus was developed to increase the nutritional value of insects as they are fed to all insectivores, transforming insects into a food item that has an optimal calcium/phosphorus ratio, as well as balanced levels of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

INGREDIENTS: Calcium Carbonate, Dried Kelp, Cellulose (as carrier), Brewer’s Yeast, RoseHips, Calendula Flower, Marigold Flower Extract, Phaffia Rhodozyma Yeast, Paprika Extract, Spirulina Algae, Turmeric, Salt, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Gluconate, Canthaxanthin, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as mold inhibitors), Natural Flavoring, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherols (as preservatives), Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement).

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein min. 2%, Crude Fat min. 0.2%, Crude Fat max. 0.6%, Crude Fiber max. 1%, Moisture max. 8%, Ash max. 35%, Calcium min. 17%, Calcium max. 20%, Phosphorus min. 0.6%, Vitamin E min. 2,000 IU/lb, Vitamin D min. 20,000 IU/lb, Vitamin A min. 200,000 IU/lb. Total Carotenoids min. 500 mg/lb.

DIRECTIONS: Use with every insect feeding. Best applied by placing insects in a plastic bag or container with Calcium Plus and shake to lightly coat insects. Feed insects to your reptiles shortly thereafter. To maximize the nutritional value of insects, use this product with Repashy’s SuperLoad and Repashy’s HydroLoad. Refrigeration will extend product life.

 

[antoniolugo]

I use repashy calcium plus every feeding and alternate with the herptivite and repcal. I read somewhere that the calcium plus also has some coloring agents to help with the yellow, orange and red colors. Sometimes I also dust with paprika, frogs seem to like it and it also helps with the colors.