Staple foods

[MonBon]

Hi everyone. Please don't get mad at me for asking a question like this.
So I've never kept frogs or amphibians before but I do have a bit of experience with reptiles. I should be getting an Australian (whites) tree frog. I can feed him crickets fine but earthworms are easier to get. So can I feed it mainly earthworms? Or are there any other staple diets I can use (no roaches please) Thanks!

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[Frogman1031]

Hi there and welcome to Frog Forum!

Earthworms/Nightcrawlers are actually the most nutritious option when it comes to food in my opinion. You will need to cut the earthworms into pieces about the length of the distance between your frogs eyes. Some herps are very picky about needing food that moves a lot to eat but with White's it shouldn't really be a problem. If necessary use tongs and wiggle the worm piece in front of the frog.

Also remember that all earthworms (or any feeder for that matter) should not be wild caught as they may harbor disease

good luck!

[MonBon]

Hi there and welcome to Frog Forum!

Earthworms/Nightcrawlers are actually the most nutritious option when it comes to food in my opinion. You will need to cut the earthworms into pieces about the length of the distance between your frogs eyes. Some herps are very picky about needing food that moves a lot to eat but with White's it shouldn't really be a problem. If necessary use tongs and wiggle the worm piece in front of the frog.

Also remember that all earthworms (or any feeder for that matter) should not be wild caught as they may harbor disease

good luck!

Thanks for the reply! Do I have to cut them in half? I've seen plenty of people give them whole and even the size of the frog! Are there any other staple foods I can use?
Cheers.

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[Frogman1031]

I always cut mine in pieces to be safe. I know that many people will feed their frogs larger pieces or even whole worms without a problem but I just don't like to take chances. It's up to you really although another rule of thumb people use is to cut to the length of the frog. Besides crickets, worms and dubia roaches i really can't think of many other readily availible feeders that are suitable to be a staple food

[elly]

Also it might be a good idea to make sure you have nightcrawlers and not red wrigglers/tiger worms. My frog refused to eat any more worms after tasting one tiger worm.

[Dace]

Hi there and welcome to Frog Forum!

Earthworms/Nightcrawlers are actually the most nutritious option when it comes to food in my opinion. You will need to cut the earthworms into pieces about the length of the distance between your frogs eyes. Some herps are very picky about needing food that moves a lot to eat but with White's it shouldn't really be a problem. If necessary use tongs and wiggle the worm piece in front of the frog.

Also remember that all earthworms (or any feeder for that matter) should not be wild caught as they may harbor disease

good luck!

I'm curious why you think the worm's length needs to be smaller than the distance between a frog's eyes. It's the width that matters, and even then it hardly matters with something soft like a worm. Frogs are also quite capable of safely swallowing things larger than the distance between their eyes, and there's no danger of a cloacal prolapse caused by passing feces from large prey with something like a worm that pretty much gets digested into diarrhea- like goo. Worms cut into such tiny pieces probably won't move enough to attract the attention of a frog that hasn't been trained to eat whatever you put in front of it.

[Frogman1031]

I'm curious why you think the worm's length needs to be smaller than the distance between a frog's eyes. It's the width that matters, and even then it hardly matters with something soft like a worm. Frogs are also quite capable of safely swallowing things larger than the distance between their eyes, and there's no danger of a cloacal prolapse caused by passing feces from large prey with something like a worm that pretty much gets digested into diarrhea- like goo. Worms cut into such tiny pieces probably won't move enough to attract the attention of a frog that hasn't been trained to eat whatever you put in front of it.

like i mentioned earlier, it's just a preference of mine. I know that frog's can handle larger things but i tend to worry about my frogs more than I should. And besides my frogs have often struggled with larger pieces. I just don't like to take chances. And most white's will not hesitate to take worm pieces even if they are cut small. It's up to the keeper to decide

MonBon,

first let me just say that's quite a whopper of a frog you have there if it's 6 inches ! Even 5 inches is impressive. Anyway I usually feed my frogs 5-10 crickets which are about the length of the distance between the frog's eyes (unlike with worms, there is no negotiating with crickets, they definitely need to be around that size). As for dusting what i do is i take a tall plastic container, drop some crickets in, drop some powder on top and swish around until they have a nice coating of dust.

[MonBon]

like i mentioned earlier, it's just a preference of mine. I know that frog's can handle larger things but i tend to worry about my frogs more than I should. And besides my frogs have often struggled with larger pieces. I just don't like to take chances. And most white's will not hesitate to take worm pieces even if they are cut small. It's up to the keeper to decide

MonBon,

first let me just say that's quite a whopper of a frog you have there if it's 6 inches ! Even 5 inches is impressive. Anyway I usually feed my frogs 5-10 crickets which are about the length of the distance between the frog's eyes (unlike with worms, there is no negotiating with crickets, they definitely need to be around that size). As for dusting what i do is i take a tall plastic container, drop some crickets in, drop some powder on top and swish around until they have a nice coating of dust.

I don't have the frog yet. I was just going 'worst' case scenario. Do you feed that amount of crickets a day? A week? Every other day?

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[Frogman1031]

I don't have the frog yet. I was just going 'worst' case scenario. Do you feed that amount of crickets a day? A week? Every other day?

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oh i see

it depends on the age of the frog
for babies 1-2 inches feed every day
decrease the frequency of feeding as your frog grows
for a frog 2-3 inches feed every other day
once the frog is full grown i feed 3-4 times a week
if your frog is full grown upon arrival simply feed 3-4 times a week right from the start

keep in mind that every frog is different and some may be full grown at a smaller size. Mine both maxed at around 3.5 inches you'll know when a frog is full grown when their growth slows

be careful of overfeeding. You can tell if your white's is overweight by looking at two fatty ridges over their tympanic membrane (ear drum). It should be pronounced, but not folded over the membrane.

Hope this helps!

[MonBon]

I found these Dendrobaena earthworms, do you think these will do?

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[elly]

Those are also called tiger worms. Your frogs might eat them, but some frogs seem to think they taste bad.

[MonBon]

Those are also called tiger worms. Your frogs might eat them, but some frogs seem to think they taste bad.

Are you sure? I tried looking them up and what came up was Dendrobaena veneta also called European nightcrawler and another source said that Dendrobaena were called willy worms.

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[elly]

Are you sure? I tried looking them up and what came up was Dendrobaena veneta also called European nightcrawler and another source said that Dendrobaena were called willy worms.

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You're right, I only did a short search and I'm not entirely sure but I did see them listed as being called tiger worms. But they may not be the same ones that give off the foul tasting slime.

[MonBon]

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while (about 2 days) but I don't want to start another thread. Does anyone know how many crickets to feed? Let's go 'worst' case scenario, how many crickets would a 6 inch female eat and how much should you dust.

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