Soldier Fly Larvae for WTFs? Lauric Acid?

[irThumper]

I read that these Soldier fly larvae are low in fat, high in calcium, and "high in lauric acid which helps battle diseases such as Coccidia"-- I definitely like the last part! Are they soft bodied? Could I feed them to sHEila, along with night crawlers and the occasional wax worm, to help counter the prolapse issues? Black Soldier Fly Larve - Live Feeder Crickets Dubia Roaches Superworms Mealworms, Wax Worms, Phoenix Worms Shipped

[LilyPad]

I have heard of people having issues with these because they are not easily digestible. Some people have had them come out of their frogs still alive. I guess they're more for animals that chew. I read that if you pierce their skin before you feed them, there is less of an issue, but that they die quickly and the frogs are uninterested as a result.

[Tongue Flicker]

Black soldier fly larvae are highly carnivorous by nature but the scary myths can be prevented by gutloading the larvae with raw meat preferrably lean beefheart or chicken fillet. I've used them for years as feeders but my previous treefrog doesn't seem to like it. My FBTs wanna destroy them but they're too big for them so no go lol

[LilyPad]

If you do a search of threads here, there have been some not so great experiences. I thought about trying them too, but eventually decided against it as a result of those threads. Not talking about the possibility that they'll chew through your frog (which I have no idea if that is founded or not,) but just the idea that they come out whole and even alive, which is experiences that I've read about on here.

[irThumper]

If you do a search of threads here, there have been some not so great experiences. I thought about trying them too, but eventually decided against it as a result of those threads. Not talking about the possibility that they'll chew through your frog (which I have no idea if that is founded or not,) but just the idea that they come out whole and even alive, which is experiences that I've read about on here.

I'm wondering if it has to do with the size or robustness of the frog? Here's the post I made on Frank Indiviglios blog and his response Frog Diets - Nutritious Foods for Popularly-Kept Frogs and Toads and here's the article on the larvae, interesting comments Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Calciworms) as Food for Reptiles and Amphibians

[irThumper]

Black soldier fly larvae are highly carnivorous by nature but the scary myths can be prevented by gutloading the larvae with raw meat preferrably lean beefheart or chicken fillet. I've used them for years as feeders but my previous treefrog doesn't seem to like it. My FBTs wanna destroy them but they're too big for them so no go lol

Oog...

Um, what is a FBT?

[LilyPad]

Oog...

Um, what is a FBT?

Fire Bellied Toad

[irThumper]

Fire Bellied Toad

Ah! Lol, a Bombina. I should have figured that out Thanks!

I just found a post on here by the same fella too. http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...ly-larvae.html

Now, what if you have a frog that will hand feed and take non-moving prey? Could they eat a poked Soldier fly larvae and digest it? Both Honey and Shirley have taken non-moving wax worms from my fingers on a couple of different occasions, so wondered if they'd to the same for these things? I'm not trying that with sHEila yet since he's on a fast for his prolapse, but I'm sure by the time he's done he'll want to gobble up everything! Actually I still need to medicate them on Sunday, so he'll be getting one wax worm then...

[Crunchy Frog]

Just wanted to add my experience with Phoenix worms. I just ordered some, thinking they would add some variety to my little Greys' diet. I tried feeding them last night. One of the tanks didn't touch them, but the other one emptied the dish, and all the frogs were very fat looking next morning. However, looking in the tank later in the day, it does look like they passed through them pretty much undigested, which I'm really unhappy about, since, on paper, they looked like a really good food source.

[irThumper]

Just wanted to add my experience with Phoenix worms. I just ordered some, thinking they would add some variety to my little Greys' diet. I tried feeding them last night. One of the tanks didn't touch them, but the other one emptied the dish, and all the frogs were very fat looking next morning. However, looking in the tank later in the day, it does look like they passed through them pretty much undigested, which I'm really unhappy about, since, on paper, they looked like a really good food source.

Do your frogs hand feed? I read that it was recommended to pierce the skin in a couple places to allow the digestive juices of the frog to do a better job breaking them down. Mine take wax worms by hand, and I have to stick those with a needle and inject them with medication before I feed them, so wondered if that would work for these other things? I also notices that wax worm skin seems to pass right through my guys... but they have loose stool due to the coccidiosis anyway so who knows.

[Crunchy Frog]

Mine don't hand feed. If yours do, then I'd think the poking holes in them thing might work. At least worth trying, and you can let the rest of us know how it works out.

just cleaned a bunch of stinky piles of undigested worms out of the one tank.

[irThumper]

Gross, yeah that wouldn't be a perk

Ok, I'll do that. I can get some without shipping, otherwise I wouldn't even try this as an experiment!

[irThumper]

Well...... I brought some home tonight. Some of them were quite small and lighter colored, the rest were about twice the size of the little ones and black. I decided to try them on Shirley and Honey, who fasted last night but looked so expectant this morning that I gave them just a few small crickets. Tonight they looked expectant again so decided to try some of these Soldier fly larvae. I used just the very small light colored ones and did not jab a hole in them. Dropped one in front of Shirley and NAB! Down the hatch it went. Dropped one in front of Honey and NAB..... blllllllllehhhh. His tongue dropped out, jaw agape, and I could have sworn he was having a metabolic fit! But nope, they get plenty of calcium, Vit D3 and other vits... he drew his tongue in and the grub was still on there so swallowed it, even though I think he didn't want to. I tossed Shirley another, CHOMP! GULP! Threw another at Honey, and he grabbed it, and the same thing happened-- slack jawed with tongue hanging out. This time the grub rolled off and he didn't make another go at it. Gave three more to Shirley who happily ate them all, for a total of 4-5 I believe. Guess we'll see if there's any undigested worm carcasses in the tank tomorrow! As for Honey, I know he's perfectly fine because I gave him a few little crickets to make up for the sucky bugs and LUNGE! POW! SNAP! GULP! ....lol. So we have one frog who, apparently, loves the things, and another who thinks they are gross-- would be the frog who needs the lauric acid the most, as Honey was the first to show the cocci symptoms, *rolls eyes* figures! So I guess we'll see what comes of the Soldier fly larvae after the fact... *coff*