Flies for FBTs - Any Probs??

[Paul Rust]

Seth, my comment was not a personal shot at you and we are getting awefully close the old (it's my frog I can do what I want) attitude. Are you suggesting that I don't know what I'm talking about? This is a great deal more to me than a hobby. I know that casual hobbyists, you may or may not be, don't have the Save the Rainforest attitude that I have, and that's fine. My only point is that if it could possibly cause a problem for the animal, why risk it when it is completely unnecessary? People asking questions need to hear all sides of an issue. A dabate is not even warranted on this subject, you will do what you want anyway. I have never expereinced one of my dart frogs being infected with parasites from keeping wild snails with them however, I am not about to throw a bunch of snails in the enclosure and compromise their health just to say I have witnessed it. We do a fecal exam on every animal we have every month and always have a normal amount of parasites, yes I know they have a healthy parasite load at all times! Why would I change that or suggest someone else try it when I can prove under a microscope that what we are doing is working and healthy? The best interest of the animal should be the first consideration using the available information. I simply gave some available information.

As far as documentation goes, we are accredited as Amphibian Stewards by TWI, as such we have to follow regulations and procedures for the animals that we have registered. Of course we apply these standards to all of our animals. Under the food supply section of the Procedures and Guidelines Manual it sets forth the order of precedence for food.

First consideration: Cultured Food Items.
Second consideration: Purchased food items.
Last resort: Wild caught food items.

And as a matter of fact the manual suggests borrowing food from another steward before resorting to any of the other methods.
I certainly hope this helps clear up my stand on this, I don't disagree with people just to argue with them, I do my best to help them!