[Frog723]

I'm just starting out and have done a lot of research and cannot find a reason as to why springtails cannot be used as a primary food source. All I ever see is a statement that it shouldn't be done. I undertsand that a PDF should have a varied diet, so why couldn't you have sprintails as the main course and fruit flies as the side dish? I'd like to do springtails instead because they seem easier to keep, not very smelly, can keep cultures directly in the viv and reproduce quickly. I'm planning on keeping leucs, by the way. I guess if they are too small you would have to feed a lot of them to keep the frogs healthy, is this the only reason? Thanks.

 

[Arklier]

The main drawback of springtails is that they cannot be dusted. You can combat this problem somewhat with gut loading, but not totally. Also, some darts get too big to eat springtails. Adult terribilis totally ignore them, for instance.

 

[geckguy]

It would be hard to culture enough springtails to feed larger frogs, even though leucs aren't as large as some others. I culture lots of springtails, I have about 20 76oz. colonies of various types, and it would probally take one colony to feed my 2.2 group of leucs per feeding, and that is without leaving enough to keep the culture going. You are also unable to supplement. IMO fruitflies are easy to culture, and if you only have a few leucs it will take only a few minutes a week to make cultures.

 

[amphibianfreak]

I think fruit flys are easier to culture, I always seem to have problems with springtails

 

[joshsfrogs]

No matter how lazy I get with my springtails, I can't kill them. I had one culture I didn't touch for two months that still was going when I opened it.

How do you gutload springtails? I'm interested in how you get calcium into them.

 

[Frog723]

So it sounds like the reason is because it would be hard to keep the frogs full and healthy with springtails since they are so small. I guess I'll just have to go for the fruit flys with some springtails. One thing I can't figure out is why do you make a new culture each week? Do you get new fruit flies to start it with or just use old ones?

 

[Blort]

You start multiple cultures so that you can have them at different points in their development. You can get multiple generations out of a culture given that there is enough medium, not too many dead flies, etc. Somebody said seven weeks from one, I still have production from one from late February (mela). That said, you also need some flies to start new cultures and there are different takes on which cultures to start new ones from (freshly hatched etc). At any rate, part of it goes back to the better to have and not need axiom. I start cultures every two weeks and have more flies than I need. I would keep a good amount of cultures and then scale back. Also, get your vivarium seeded with springtails well in advance of your frogs. I have a booming population in the vivarium, and even with the frogs doing there best to decimate them see good production in the LECA. I don't know about false bottoms, but my springtails breed like crazy in the LECA. So far I don't need to supplement from my springtail cultures, but have them going just in case.