Quote Originally Posted by NW Amphibian Rescue View Post
DO NOT FEED WC INSECTS. Is it really worth the health of your animals when you can so easily culture your own food? It is horribly bad husbandry to take a chance like that, IMO. They depend on you so do the right thing.
I am sorry, I am sure you mean well, but that is paranoia. That is usually how myths get started in the hobby, somebody says something that sounds plausible and others give dire warnings and repeat it as a undeniable truth without actually having had any first hand experience on the subject. If you have actually lost animals due to feeding wc insects feel free to correct me, but I strongly suspect you haven't and no offense, but I doubt Kurt has either. If not I would say blanket statement that it is unsafe to feed wc insects is one of those things that sounds good but in practice is not a serious issue as many long term amphibian keepers know. At one time cultured foods weren't as readily available as they often are now and almost everyone fed wc insects. It didn't cause problems then and it doesn't cause problems today. Indeed, the diversity of diet is often helpful by giving the frogs better rounded nutrition. Almost all wc amphibians have a certain amount of parasites, and quite often this is even true in captivity with CB frogs fed only cultured foods. They can pick up parasites from a number of things such as substrate etc. However very rarely do parasites cause a problem in captive amphibians. When they do it is generally only in stressed out individuals in poor health. If your caring for your frogs properly that isn't going to be the situation they are in. I have never experienced nor have I ever even heard of formerly healthy captive frogs being negatively affected due to parasites introduced by wc insects. Pesticides could theoretically be a danger, but in practice that danger is pretty small, particularly if your careful. Wild frogs and toads live in most most areas where pesticides are sprayed, they eat any bug that comes by, yet you don't see dead frogs all about or population dives after an area is sprayed. Rarely is there any effect at all. For example around the greater houston area I know of some subdivisions that are absolutely crawling with gulf coast toads come dusk. Many of the people in those subdivisions will put all all sorts of insecticides, fertilizers, and you name it on their lawns and of course the toads eat any insect they can catch. Does it hurt the toad population? Not a bit judging by their great abundance. In short, most frogs and toads are not super delicate or super easily poisoned by what may or may not be on or in wild insects. The tadpole stage is probably when frogs and toads are most susceptible to harm from pesticides. After that they are not nearly as likely to be affected.