[Jikkermancinni]

Hi there! I was just randomly browsing Dendroboard, and a thought occurred to me that I thought may be worth asking. I know that a lot of thumbnail darts are egg eaters, so do you think it would be at all plausible to supplement their diets with boiled chicken egg? I know this would not be necessary for frogs reared by the parents, but if it's possible it could be a good supplement (not necessarily staple) to hand-reared tads.
Has anyone tried this? Or are there things I'm missing? I do not currently have any frogs, but would love to get some Ranitomeyas in the future once my viv is complete and grown in.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

People used to do this to try to raise Oophaga tads artificially. It didn't work, AFAIK.

Given how sensitive tads/froglets are to developmental problems that stem from the diet of the parent frogs, I wouldn't guess that a chicken egg (especially any chicken egg that comes from a grocery; the box they come in is more nutritious and tasty) would do anything positive.

The Ranitomeya that are egg feeders do a great job of raising their tads, so 'supplementation' of those species' tads isn't needed.

 

[Chris S]

People used to do this to try to raise Oophaga tads artificially. It didn't work, AFAIK.

Given how sensitive tads/froglets are to developmental problems that stem from the diet of the parent frogs, I wouldn't guess that a chicken egg (especially any chicken egg that comes from a grocery; the box they come in is more nutritious and tasty) would do anything positive.

The Ranitomeya that are egg feeders do a great job of raising their tads, so 'supplementation' of those species' tads isn't needed.

In addition, I've never had any issues raising Ranitomeya as tadpoles using simple foods like fish pellets/Sera micro. No need for eggs as a supplement. The tads raised by the parents seem to morph larger and faster though.