Automatic Feeders Tongs & Other Feeding Tools

[findiviglio]

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo.
Today I’d like to highlight some interesting feeding tools, automatic feeders, live food dispensers and other products designed for herp and invertebrate keepers. Included are items that can lighten our work load, ensure safety when feeding aggressive creatures, and automatically provide meals in our absence. I especially favor products that dispense live insects at irregular intervals, and also those which force turtles, newts and aquatic frogs to work for their food. This concept, known as behavioral enrichment, became standard zoo-practice while I was working at the Bronx Zoo. In addition to encouraging exercise, such devices add greatly to the range of interesting behaviors we can observe among our pets. Read the rest of this article here Reptile, Amphibian, Scorpion and Tarantula Feeding | That Reptile Blog
Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj and Facebook http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog

Best Regards, Frank

[chibikaie]

I recently acquired a pacman frog, and have been mostly feeding with rubber-tipped tongs. A few times, the frog seems to have been successful in hunting crickets that were left to roam the enclosure. Because of the deep layer of ground coir substrate, I've been hesitant to leave worms for any length of time. They aren't favorite foods (he actually hates black soldier fly larvae, to my great dismay, and mealworms are barely tolerated). Do you think it's still worth trying a worm dispensing device in this case?

[findiviglio]

I recently acquired a pacman frog, and have been mostly feeding with rubber-tipped tongs. A few times, the frog seems to have been successful in hunting crickets that were left to roam the enclosure. Because of the deep layer of ground coir substrate, I've been hesitant to leave worms for any length of time. They aren't favorite foods (he actually hates black soldier fly larvae, to my great dismay, and mealworms are barely tolerated). Do you think it's still worth trying a worm dispensing device in this case?

Hi..I wouldn't...mealworms are fine as a treat, esp for lizards, but they tend to cause problems when fed regularly to amphibs, esp. intestinal blockages; they are hard to digest, lots of chitin, and not very good, nutritionally. Horned frogs do well on earthworms (tong feed or move animal to bare-bottomed feeding tank), roaches, some crickets. Minnows and shiners, and occasional pink mice, are impt as calcium sources..please see this article and let me know if you need anything, enjoy, Frank