Favorite food for frogs

[Hoppity100]

I have 2 new fire belly frogs and read about their diet. I bought meal worms and crickets today. Already gave crickets finely shredded carrots and fruit, plus oatmeal. They are so small I tried to make their container screen lid tight but I would not be surprised if one finds a way out. Just wanted to know if meal worms are okay, too? Read today that some say they're fine, others say, not, because of their shell. I was going to buy a different kind of worm from the pet store that is soft. Is there any controversy about meal worms? Can also get some guppies, too. And, do frogs need moss? Mine have real plants and driftwood, plus smooth rocks and a treehouse. Land is pebbles, sand, and dry peat substrate for reptiles. They also have a slightly humid environment then I read somewhere they don't need to be warm. They appear as though they would like being warm because most of what I read said they do like warmth. Just wanted to know how other owners keep their frog habitat? Thanks!

[Jaba96]

No bad bad bad Mealworms can eat thru the frogs stomach if it's not killed and to many can cause an impaction(nightmarw) so NONONONO mealworms

[Hoppity100]

No bad bad bad Mealworms can eat thru the frogs stomach if it's not killed and to many can cause an impaction(nightmarw) so NONONONO mealworms

Well, I wondered if meal worms were ok, the store said that is what they feed them, but, stores may not always have the best advice. I did find out the stores carry a soft worm, forgot their name, but another store sells them, think I'll get those tomorrow. I have crickets with the carrot, fruit, and oatmeal food. I read on the internet some give meal worms and some don't. What I can do is pick thru my container and choose young worms.

[JeffreH]

This is actually false, as there have never been any documented cases of it ever happening to my knowledge (old wives tale):

No bad bad bad Mealworms can eat thru the frogs stomach if it's not killed

This is true:

and to many can cause an impaction(nightmarw)

Mealworms aren't the most nutritionally sound feeder out there... they are fairly high in fat, high in phosphorus, poor meat: shell ratio, and they have a lot chitin in their shell that, as mentioned by the previous poster, can be a hazard if fed in excess.

The key to any good diet is variety. A mealworm here and there isn't going to kill your frog as long as it is of appropriate size and your frog is healthy. I certainly wouldn't feed them exclusively because they are a poor feeder; so consider crickets, feeder roaches, silkworms, earthworms, and solider fly larvae as higher quality, more nutrional feeder alternatives.

You'll probably have better luck with your enclosure and setup questions if you ask them in the Firebelly Toad forum or enclosure forum = )

[Hoppity100]

Hi, I was going to give my frogs a variety in their diet. Just looked in their tank thismorning and they're fine, both had crickets and mealworms since I brought them home. I was not going to just feed them mealworms, I did buy crickets yesterday and they are so hard to catch I will figure out a better way to house them. I'm going to the pet store today to buy different worms and will look at canned insects I read about. I have been reading of controversy about mealworms. What the heck is it about cutting the head off the mealworm? Is this really true? I would rather feed my frogs earth worms because they are soft. Can buy meal worms at intervals plus crickets at intervals, too. Any advice is welcome!

[JeffreH]

You don't need to cut the heads off, the idea of mealworms being able to eat through an animal's stomach is an old wives tale that probably originated from death by impaction.

The hard part of an insect's exoskeleton is a structural, complex polysaccharide that is very similar in cellulose in plants. Just like cellulose, it cannot be digested by most of the animal kingdom and only very specialized organisms can break it down (Fungi and certain bacteria have the capacity to metabolize the polymer). Because chitin cannot be digested, it can potentially act as a blockage in the digestive tract of a herp if fed in excess... this is called impaction, The risk of impaction varies from species to species and individual to individual and is generally associated with particulate substrate ingestion, but it can occur if too many hard bodied insects are fed in the diet (i.e. mealworms).

Not to be confusing, but it worth noting that ALL insects have chitin in their exoskeleton. The hardness is dictated by the relationship of the polymer with scleretin protein residues and other protein components interweaved within the cuticle. This is probably useless jargon to you, but wanted to point that this is why mealworms are more hazardous to feed than say, a silkworm or soldier fly larvae who are soft bodied. Scleretin is probably the true culprit of impactions because it makes the cuticle less flexible and therefore less easily transported through the animal's digestive syem...but I digress.

The controversy behind mealworms is their overall poor nutritional quality [see previous post] and poor meat to shell ratio...which can lead to impaction if fed in excess or exclusively. You can feed them from time to time, just don't go overboard. Think of them like a treat.

So yes - crickets are good feeders and see if you can get an earthworm culture going as they are very easy to breed. You can also supplement the diet with solider grubs (calci-worms/phoenix worms), silkworms, and roaches. Roaches are a great feeder overall and lack the annoyances of crickets because they don't smell, chirp, or jump. Limit waxworms, trevo worms, mealworms, and appropriate sized superworms (zophobas) to treats. As far as variety goes, you don't need to be feeding a different prey item every single day... focus on your staple quality insects for that but just supplement the diet from time to time with other feeders = )

[Hoppity100]

You don't need to cut the heads off, the idea of mealworms being able to eat through an animal's stomach is an old wives tale that probably originated from death by impaction.

The hard part of an insect's exoskeleton is a structural, complex polysaccharide that is very similar in cellulose in plants. Just like cellulose, it cannot be digested by most of the animal kingdom and only very specialized organisms can break it down (Fungi and certain bacteria have the capacity to metabolize the polymer). Because chitin cannot be digested, it can potentially act as a blockage in the digestive tract of a herp if fed in excess... this is called impaction, The risk of impaction varies from species to species and individual to individual and is generally associated with particulate substrate ingestion, but it can occur if too many hard bodied insects are fed in the diet (i.e. mealworms).

Not to be confusing, but it worth noting that ALL insects have chitin in their exoskeleton. The hardness is dictated by the relationship of the polymer with scleretin protein residues and other protein components interweaved within the cuticle. This is probably useless jargon to you, but wanted to point that this is why mealworms are more hazardous to feed than say, a silkworm or soldier fly larvae who are soft bodied. Scleretin is probably the true culprit of impactions because it makes the cuticle less flexible and therefore less easily transported through the animal's digestive syem...but I digress.

The controversy behind mealworms is their overall poor nutritional quality [see previous post] and poor meat to shell ratio...which can lead to impaction if fed in excess or exclusively. You can feed them from time to time, just don't go overboard. Think of them like a treat.

So yes - crickets are good feeders and see if you can get an earthworm culture going as they are very easy to breed. You can also supplement the diet with solider grubs (calci-worms/phoenix worms), silkworms, and roaches. Roaches are a great feeder overall and lack the annoyances of crickets because they don't smell, chirp, or jump. Limit waxworms, trevo worms, mealworms, and appropriate sized superworms (zophobas) to treats. As far as variety goes, you don't need to be feeding a different prey item every single day... focus on your staple quality insects for that but just supplement the diet from time to time with other feeders = )

Hi and thanks for writing, you are very knowledgeable about this, and I got up early and was reading all kinds of info about frog diets and some sites mentioned cutting head off mealworms and some didn't. If anything got stuck inside a frog I would consider that a bowel obstruction! Thismorning I went to the pet store, bought some wax worms? they are whitish-yellow and I got home and found many black ones not moving. I went back to the store, they said the black ones were dead, gave me a new carton and we checked first to make sure worms were alive. When I bought them, there was no date and I asked if they were fresh and was told they were. Now I know why this store did not have good ratings on my computer, they also won't give their hamsters a wheel. Anyway, I got home, each frog got a worm and I cleaned their tank. It took way over an hour, had to set everything up first. I had an easy time transferring them to large container but was nervous getting them back, they really jump fast! The tank had sand in it and I got rid of that (I think it may have contributed to an odor when wet) and I had that peat moss you add water to for hermits. Mine was premixed last night and dry. Instead of sand, I put moss into flat plastic container and sure enough one frog/toad liked it.

I might try guppies next time I go to the store and I don't know yet what to put crickets into so I can catch them easier. If you can think of any other insect, I can try it. I like the idea of earthworms but need to read about breeding them, have never done this before. So, toads/frogs are happy and back in their cleaned tank. I keep hoping I will hear them chirp but they haven't yet. Any other tips are welcome and my tank looks better and I am happy it is, the driftwood, rocks, plants make it look natural, which I think the frogs appreciate. I am glad you wrote about mealworms, I needed to know if it was true about cutting them first. Since frogs are fine, guess like you said it must be old advice.

[Hoppity100]

Just wanted to know first: do you own fire bellies? If so, do you happen to know if they can eat and digest a cricket a little larger than usual? Mine just did, they are alright, but I wondered if you've had this experience before? I posted moments ago hoping someone would see it and write tonight or even tomorrow. I asked you because you knew about mealworms. Thought you may have heard of larger crickets given to these frogs? Thanks, and the mealworms I have are still alive but a few died in spite of adding a slice of apple, potato. I bought wax worms (the first batch I was given was dead, had to exchange them) and these are the fattest little worms I've ever seen! Frogs love them!

[Hoppity100]

An update on the above paragraph: my green frog twins answered my question: and that is: yes, they can eat a cricket larger than usual. They can also chase a cricket larger than usual. When crickets are eaten, the next day when they are sitting on driftwood or rock, looking bored and unloved, are there any "toys" I can provide? I have a wood bird ladder, a cat ball with jingle bell, plastic salamander that is yellow with red spots that just sits, oh and political ads they can jump from. Other than that, I can't always count on national geo having a reptile show. I guess frogs must be used to sitting and staring into outer space and occasionally jumping. I have heard them chirp in the evening. Anyway, just wanted to update my original question.