So I fed the Crayfish (Video)

[Maharg]

Are you ignoring the advice that was given on the Crayfish?? DISEASE, HARD CHITIN SHELL, ETC??? Saying it wasn't safe for a Pacman also meant it isn't safe for ANY of your frogs/toads. They all are equally susceptible to diseases carried by the Crayfish.

Heres some advice I got from Ra in my original post, which backs the resesrch I did as well.

"Crustaceans are not the same thing as anthropods and their shells generally do not contain the same chitins. Isopods for instance, are land dwelling crustaceans the exoskeleton of which consists mostly of calcium. I have seen video of a Horned Fropg eating a crayfish and I have heard of them being fed as part of a varied diet to Horned frogs, Budgetts Frogs and Pyxie Frogs alike without any mention of a problem."

And nowhere did you, or anybody else mention anything about desease.

So I did indeed follow advice. Or does your over 5 thousand posts give you the authority and make all other advice moot?

[Maharg]

And why would they have desease? They are captive bred feeder crayfish.

[IrishRonin]

That's one good looking toad! Ok I have feed farm raised feeder crayfish to a few of my animals over the years and have seen no ill effects, of course its never been to frogs/toads. I think if you done your research and you know where your getting them from you should be ok, plus that little guy was well with in the size range of food for you big guy/girl.

[GrifTheGreat]

Ill mention it now then. DISEASES! CB does not mean disease free. It goes along the lines of Store bought feeder fish. You don't know whether its a clean viable source it not so the risk ultimately outweigh the benefit!!. About the Crustaceans and arthropods being the same? Nowhere did I say they were the same and just for the info. Crustacean shells may comprised of less calcium than that of arthropod, but their chitin is much harder. They must bear the pressure of water constantly pressing down on them for the majority or near all their lives. Air doesn't produce the same amount of pressure.

Anyone who buys pet store feeder fish risks the animal they feed them to, to disease exposure. Not to mention antibiotics that are added to the water source. They are your animals so do what you will, but I have now warned you and now you know.

I will not be posting here again in this thread.

[DVirginiana]

It's probably mostly safe to feed a crayfish to your frog. I've seen bullfrogs eat crayfish in the wild; I've also seen a lot of dead wild bullfrogs over the years. This just seems like one of those things that you can do a dozen times with no issue then suddenly have a very sick animal on your hands. I know a lot of people do stuff like this, but I've never understood why people feed reptiles a potentially dangerous food source especially when safer foods are cheaper and easier to come by.

On a different note; that toad is a monster. Very nice animal.

[Ra]

Heres some advice I got from Ra in my original post, which backs the resesrch I did as well.

"Crustaceans are not the same thing as anthropods and their shells generally do not contain the same chitins. Isopods for instance, are land dwelling crustaceans the exoskeleton of which consists mostly of calcium. I have seen video of a Horned Fropg eating a crayfish and I have heard of them being fed as part of a varied diet to Horned frogs, Budgetts Frogs and Pyxie Frogs alike without any mention of a problem."

And nowhere did you, or anybody else mention anything about desease.

So I did indeed follow advice. Or does your over 5 thousand posts give you the authority and make all other advice moot?

I wasnt giving it as advice, I was stating prior to that that I had wondered how well the shell would be digested or not in a frogs stomach. Also that I had heard of them being fed with no ill effect yes, but i was certainly not saying "yes go ahead do it its perfectly safe" because i myself have no idea if that is true or not. Though I highly doubt the occasional crawfish is going to be a problem, as I stated, I do not know how well the shell will be digested and whether it will cause difficulty in passing.
As far as diseases go, I have not read nor heard anything about crawfish having the same problems as feeder fish. Feeder fish come from crowded tanks and are often in poor health.

As far as not following Grif's advice, different people have different opinions (and different levels of experience caring for amphibians generally) and are going to read his advice and take it or leave it. I always find it funny when someone gets so highly offended that someone didnt take their advice from a forum.

How long ago did the toad eat the crustacean? did it pass? were there any shell pieces in the stool? If so, were they brittle, thin, partially digested? Hard, undigested? Details please!

[Maharg]

I wasnt giving it as advice, I was stating prior to that that I had wondered how well the shell would be digested or not in a frogs stomach. Also that I had heard of them being fed with no ill effect yes, but i was certainly not saying "yes go ahead do it its perfectly safe" because i myself have no idea if that is true or not. Though I highly doubt the occasional crawfish is going to be a problem, as I stated, I do not know how well the shell will be digested and whether it will cause difficulty in passing.
As far as diseases go, I have not read nor heard anything about crawfish having the same problems as feeder fish. Feeder fish come from crowded tanks and are often in poor health.

As far as not following Grif's advice, different people have different opinions (and different levels of experience caring for amphibians generally) and are going to read his advice and take it or leave it. I always find it funny when someone gets so highly offended that someone didnt take their advice from a forum.

How long ago did the toad eat the crustacean? did it pass? were there any shell pieces in the stool? If so, were they brittle, thin, partially digested? Hard, undigested? Details please!

She has passed a few stools since consuming the crawdad. I never checked the stool. Its always hard to tell cause she will go into her water bowl multiple times a day and just turn in BLACK. She eats a lot and poos a lot. I just dump it down the toilet without checking. She is in good spirits today as usual, and at 4 hornworms happily. Ill keep everyone updated, and if I was wrong and she becomes ill, I will swallow my pride, face the embarassment and tell everyone. But I doubt that will happen. I wouldnt have done it if it put her at risk.