Bean weevils

[brandongalea]

Does anyone has some nutritional information about bean weevils, right now I'm using them to feed my young Trachycephalus resinifictrix, since at the moment I don't find pinhead crickets very often, and fruit flies are out of the questions over here.

[ViperJr]

I feed (and breed) these to our mourning geckos. I do not have statistics of their nutrition value, but from what I've read, they're good. The problem (as with all beetles) is their hard exo-skelleton. I've never feed these to frogs, but people tend to agree on that using them as a staple diet can be hazardous for small frogs (or at least dart frogs, since that's what people mainly seem to use them with), since they are having a hard time to digest all the chitin (which can cause impaction). As an additional feeder to the diet, they're great though!

[ViperJr]

Found some reading for you, and it overall looks like I was right:

http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...n-weevils.html
http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...an-weevil.html
http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...n-weevils.html
http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...ood-frogs.html

[Niels D]

I've been told that they contain more fat than most beatles normally do, but I've never checked this info. I've got way too much beatles at this moment, but there's nobody in my neighbourhood that wants them. If they're hatched I offer them some sugary honey on a piece of towel paper. This way they can survive for more than 6 months.

[JeffreH]

I wonder how large the larvae are - if culturing it may be a more reasonable alternative to the adult beetle... Though I can only imagine it being a pain in the rear to actually harvest them lol.

[KingCam]

Where does one acquire bean weevils? I'd like to start a culture.

[JeffreH]

I just wanted a couple of things since your post seems to show concern for finding an alternative small prey item. In addition, there are small species of cockroach that produce very small offspring which may be an option - though it require a little extra effort on your part to obtain them due to your location. I know of some enthusiasts in Europe though none in Malta...

Another option may the Bombyx mori Silkworm species; they are cultured around the world for thier silk production though only feed on mulberry or special diets made with mulberry additive. They aren't overly difficult to breed but require a lot of time to tend to on top of their specific feeding needs: the 1st instar larval are incredibly small and very soft bodied. This would be something available anywhere in the world or eggs to be importted from distributors in China and the US.

[wesleybrouwer]

They can easily cause prolapse when feed to much, at least to smaller frogs.
I'm not sure how big the resinifictrix are at the moment, but when you're talking about pinhead crickets, i guess not older then around 3 months?
You might give the beanweevils to provide some variaty, but as a staple i would stick to fruitflies and pea aphids that you need to dust with some vitamine substance since they are rapid growers.


The crickets for you're resinifictrix can be easily bred by yourself.
Just get yourself some adult specimens, pick the females out, wich you easily recognize because of the appendage they use to put their eggs in the soil.
You may put them in some perforated plasic trays with some moist soil, like eco earth.
Leaf them in there for around 2-3 days.
You will see that the female laid here eggs in the soil, the eggs look like small rice grains.
Keep the soil a little moist and keep it somewhere warm.
When the eggs will hatch, you will have loads of pinheads from just one box of adult crickets.
It will take you a week or 2-3 before the crickets will hatch, depending on species and temperature, but you will have more then enough for a couple of young frogs

[brandongalea]

Wesleybrouwer Right now I am waiting for the cricket eggs to hatch, but thanks.

Jeff which roaches are you talking about, I can buy them from an online supplier, for which I'm a regular customer, but the problem is getting them the right size, which is the same for all other feeder, apart from fruit flies, which never survive the transport.

[JeffreH]

There are a variety of species that produce small enough nymphs to be fed to very small frogs - equivalent size to pinhead crickets. Your best bet is going to be the smaller species of roach; and those who lay ooths vs. live birth tend to produce smaller nymphs as well.

What species are available to you? I can suggest some additional ones that are less common, but a good start would be the Turkistan Roach (Blatta lateralis), also known as the Red Runner or Shelfordella lateralis. Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) also produce relatively small nymphs (~1/16" or less) but give live birth and are easier to culture; but climb glass and smooth surfaces. Blatta orientalis is another option though rarer to find, along with some other small species such as the Surinam Roach which is actually a parthenogenic species (Pycnoscelus surinamensis). Many of the "pest" species such as the American or German roach may also produce small, softer bodied nymphs. I fear the common larger roaches such as B. dubia and those in the Blaberus or Eublaberus genus would produce too large or nymphs for you and be far too impractical to rear...

You would basically have to breed them and collect/separate the babies, as most suppliers do not sell newborn nymphs as readily. But roaches are quite easy to culture and make for less hassle than breeding crickets, or provide more variety... The ootheca laying species like Blatta lateralis would make this simple, as you could separate egg cases out from the main culture and keep them in a hatching container or cup to have quantities of newborns. So I fear this suggestion isn't going to help in your current pinch, but can aid you in the future as an additional and reliable small prey supply.

[brandongalea]

There are a variety of species that produce small enough nymphs to be fed to very small frogs - equivalent size to pinhead crickets. Your best bet is going to be the smaller species of roach; and those who lay ooths vs. live birth tend to produce smaller nymphs as well.

What species are available to you? I can suggest some additional ones that are less common, but a good start would be the Turkistan Roach (Blatta lateralis), also known as the Red Runner or Shelfordella lateralis. Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) also produce relatively small nymphs (~1/16" or less) but give live birth and are easier to culture; but climb glass and smooth surfaces. Blatta orientalis is another option though rarer to find, along with some other small species such as the Surinam Roach which is actually a parthenogenic species (Pycnoscelus surinamensis). Many of the "pest" species such as the American or German roach may also produce small, softer bodied nymphs. I fear the common larger roaches such as B. dubia and those in the Blaberus or Eublaberus genus would produce too large or nymphs for you and be far too impractical to rear...

You would basically have to breed them and collect/separate the babies, as most suppliers do not sell newborn nymphs as readily. But roaches are quite easy to culture and make for less hassle than breeding crickets, or provide more variety... The ootheca laying species like Blatta lateralis would make this simple, as you could separate egg cases out from the main culture and keep them in a hatching container or cup to have quantities of newborns. So I fear this suggestion isn't going to help in your current pinch, but can aid you in the future as an additional and reliable small prey supply.

Wow Jeff, thank buddy, right now I have some lobster roaches, but the person I got them from. said they might have mixed with the American roach, which I don't know if it can happen, but what I have are very small grower, I have had these roaches for at least 3 weeks, but I haven't got neither adults nor nymphs, and the size I got them wasn't small enough to feed my milks.

Yeah the lobster roaches can climb smooth surfaces, but that's OK, because they aren't fast.

The roaches that I can buy are: Dubia, Green banana and pallid.

I don't know the rules here, so I don't know if I can post links to my suppliers.

[JeffreH]

I'm actually intrigued they have Green banana and Pallid Roached - the Pallids would be a fantastic choice as they are like mini versions of lobster roaches and very efficient breeders.The Green banana roach (Panchlora nivea) is also great and on the smaller side but is fast, and climb AND fly.

You could also try culturing Springtails - extremely easy to culture, virtually effortless and very tiny for the tiniest of frogs = )

Most species of prolific roach still take 2-4 months from birth to reach adulthood in optimal conditions and generally have a 1 month gestation time. Don't worry, give them some more time and they will begin to flourish. Once they reach adulthood, give them 3-4 weeks and you will have babies out your ears and will continually be producing them.

[brandongalea]

I'm actually intrigued they have Green banana and Pallid Roached - the Pallids would be a fantastic choice as they are like mini versions of lobster roaches and very efficient breeders.The Green banana roach (Panchlora nivea) is also great and on the smaller side but is fast, and climb AND fly.

You could also try culturing Springtails - extremely easy to culture, virtually effortless and very tiny for the tiniest of frogs = )

Most species of prolific roach still take 2-4 months from birth to reach adulthood in optimal conditions and generally have a 1 month gestation time. Don't worry, give them some more time and they will begin to flourish. Once they reach adulthood, give them 3-4 weeks and you will have babies out your ears and will continually be producing them.

I'm afraid the springtails would not survive the transport, btw forgot to mention that I get all my feeders from Malta (when available), and mostly from the UK, I heard also there are some good feeder suppliers in Germany, but I'm afraid of the language barrier :/

[wesleybrouwer]

Ok,didn't know you're already waiting for the crickets to hatch.

How old/big are you're milk frogs at the moment ?
I've raised a decent amount from egg on.
Pinhead crickets and pea aphids work brilliant, varied with fruitflies and other small insect.
Dusting the food 2-3 times a week might be a good idea since they're rapid growers.

Another great food source is wild collected bugs, although you need to be careful not to catch them where pesticides are used for example.
They will be eating larger food items in no time.

I might provide you some addresses with high quality feeder insects if you like.
Not sure if there is more in stores here or in Germany tho.

[wesleybrouwer]

Springtails by the way will easily survive transport

[brandongalea]

Right now the milks are at approximately 1 inch.

wesleybrouwer it would be great if you can provide me with some suppliers in Europe.

[KingCam]

You would basically have to breed them and collect/separate the babies, as most suppliers do not sell newborn nymphs as readily.

I culture lobster roaches, and I found the easiest way to separate the tiny babies from the others is as follows:

Use cardboard tubes instead of egg flats. Get two containers that will rest inside each other with at least a 1" gap at the bottom. Drill small holes in the bottom of the inner (top) container. Take a cardboard tube that's full of roaches, place the end of it in your new homemade sifter, and shake it out. When all the roaches fall into the sifter continuously tap it with some force to knock the babies through the holes. When you're satisfied that you've got as many as you can, repeat with another cardboard tube until you have the desired amount of little babies. Note: The outside (bottom) container will need a vaseline barrier to prevent the babies from climbing back up. Leave the inner (top) container free of vaseline so that the bigger roaches can simply climb out after you stop tapping on the sifter.