Would RETFs eat crickets using this method...

[ulyssis]

Currently i have 6 RETF in a non-living tank (fake plants). The tank is a nice size, Exo-Terra 24x18x36. I feed the RETFs by releasing crickets in the tank and letting them hunt on their own. It's been working out great for over a year now. Problem is I have to hunt around for dead crickets every couple of days or it starts to smell real bad in there. The crickets have their own water and food dish by the way.

I am planning on building a new living vivarium for them. Real plants, real moss, water fall etc. I was pondering the idea of putting a shallow glass tray (2"deep) on the ground as a feeder (glass because crickets can't climb and get loose). This will hopefully allow me to clean out dead crickets easier and get a rough idea on how much the frogs eat daily.

My question is, would this work? Would my frogs, who have been used to hunting around the tank for their meals for over a year now, adapt and get the crickets from their feeding tray? Or, should I just stick to what I have been doing and releasing the crickets to wander the tank?

[Diver]

I'd continue to release the crickets and let them wander so the frogs can hunt. As you are going natural (kudos on that btw!), why not go bio active? If you have springtails living in your substrate they eat any dead crickets as well as mould, faeces etc. It's the method I use in all my vivaria, highly recommend it!

[ulyssis]

I'd continue to release the crickets and let them wander so the frogs can hunt. As you are going natural (kudos on that btw!), why not go bio active? If you have springtails living in your substrate they eat any dead crickets as well as mould, faeces etc. It's the method I use in all my vivaria, highly recommend it!

Awesome thanks. I will have springtails and Isopods in there as well. If they feed off decaying matter as well, that is perfect then.

[LilyPad]

I've been able to "train" all my tree frogs to eat from a bowl. You should be able to do the same thing, if you wish. I prefer that method, less escaped crickets, no chance of them scooping up moss, substrate, or anything else they shouldn't, and I can see EXACTLY how much they're eating. It shouldn't be a problem if they die so long as you have microfauna such as springs and isos though.

[ulyssis]

I've been able to "train" all my tree frogs to eat from a bowl. You should be able to do the same thing, if you wish. I prefer that method, less escaped crickets, no chance of them scooping up moss, substrate, or anything else they shouldn't, and I can see EXACTLY how much they're eating. It shouldn't be a problem if they die so long as you have microfauna such as springs and isos though.

How long did it take for them to get trained in this feeding manner?

[LilyPad]

I feed all of my new frogs every night the first 2 weeks I do this. Usually, by the end of the first week, they have no problems. Just make sure the dish you use has a nice wide opening (wider than it is deep.) They do not like to have to crawl "into" anything to get their crickets.

[ulyssis]

Do they over shoot the jump and smash into the glass like birds into a skyscraper?

[LilyPad]

No, mine usually perch on the edge of it and reach in and grab them. Their back feet never leave the edge of the dish usually.

[ulyssis]

That's too bad. I guess I'll still do the other method.

[LilyPad]

Wow...I don't find it amusing for my animals to slam themselves into glass walls. I find it pretty sad that you'd choose one feeding method over another in hopes of them doing so.

[ulyssis]

Wow...I don't find it amusing for my animals to slam themselves into glass walls. I find it pretty sad that you'd choose one feeding method over another in hopes of them doing so.

Wow. Tough room.

[Diver]

Don't worry, I think most of us got that you were joking Incidentally with regards to natural vivaria vs more sterile types (and feeding methods), I was reading a paper not very long ago illustrating that frogs actually gain valuable dietary trace elements from the soil that they ingest along with their prey. Over here companies now supply ready-made bioactive substrates that take this into account as well as avoiding dangerous ingredients that could cause impaction. Worth a thought!

[LilyPad]

Diver - I have also read many things about frogs, particularly red eyed tree frogs, who have impaction issues and rectal prolapse from ingesting things in their soil, whether it's bark pieces, moss pieces or etc. I mod a red eyed tree frog group and have seen it over and over and over in the last couple
of years. I do not see any benefit into allowing your frog to ingest their vivaria substrate. This is why SUPPLEMENTS are important. I'm not sure if you're new to the hobby and that's why you're so particularly passionate of your specific way of doing things, or if you're old to the hobby and come from a time when supplements were not as refined as they are now. I have bioactive substrate in my vivariums and still would not condone allowing accidental ingestion of substrate. I still see bits and pieces of stuff that I would not want in my frogs' intestines. It's from stuff that helps to encourage drainage when planting a naturalistic vivarium. My darts do not get fed in a sterile method, but they do not take large mouthfuls of substrate as tree frogs do, they delicately snap up their prey.

You seem to think that "over there" you guys do things so much better and differently than we do in the states. Strangely enough, when talking to other people from Europe, particularly England but not only England, the hobby in your part of the world is not very different than over here.

Ulysses - I get that you were joking now, but we have had many members here in the past who would not be joking about that kind of stuff which is why I tend to take it a bit more seriously Hard to convey sarcasm through text.