A few Questions on firebelly feeding

[peeka]

Hi guys,

I'm doing some research on the feeding of fire bellies as I hope to get some for christmas.
It seems that most people here cultivate or breed their own live food however do you have to do it this way? can you buy food at the pet store or online that comes already gut loaded? I know my local pet store does sell mealies and crickets but I have no idea what kind they are. Is there a particular kind of crickets/mealies/worms that I should feed?

Also when you are feeding do you just feed them one type of food on that day like just crickets by themselves one day then the next just waxworms or can you say feed a waxworm and a mealie or waxworm and a cricket on the same day?

I'm totally new at this so any and all advice is welcomed and greatly appreciated

Thanks

Ally

[JeffX]

Most places feed the same food that you might feed your toads. However it's still a good idea to gutload your own food. I know most of the owners in my area and even though they still provide a good amount of food to their insects, I still gutload mine once I get home. Plus if you only have the chain stores they are hit and miss. From my experience working those places you might have people that fed them properly, but they usually get ignored.

I usually feed my Firebelly toads small crickets, and waxworms. I stay away from mealworms as I've had bad luck with them. But as a snack they are fine to use. I tend look for the ones that have just molted.

I tend to go with crickets for their main food and switch up with waxworms or phoenix worms when I get them. Variety is always good though. Waxworms just tend to be a bit too fatty so they are used as a snack.

[bshmerlie]

Hi Ally.. Fire bellies are a lot of fun and make great pets. They are great eaters and will always act hungry. They will eat anything small enough that moves that they can fit into their mouths. Their main diet should be the small size crickets and you can get those at any chain petstore or reptile shop. Usually people start culturing their own food when you start to own a lot of frogs and it becomes more cost effective to make your own. If you only have a couple of toads it is just easier to buy some crickets each week. Get a small critter keeper to keep your crickets in, buy some of the water gel stuff, some cricket food, and toss in some carrots or leafy greens in with the crickets in the container. They will eat as often as you put food in and it is okay to mix up different food items on a particular day although I usually only feed one or the other at a setting. They do get chubby so watch out how much you feed them because they won't stop. Little pigs! I feed mine a little each day but then sometimes skip a day or two when I'm busy or if they look like they're getting too chubby. I feed them a lot right before I go on vacation and then they don't eat the week that I'm gone. They've never starved yet....although they will always look at you with those big eyes and ask for more food. I dust my crickets once a week unless they are baby frogs then I would do it each time I feed them. They are great frogs for the new frog owner because they are awake day or night and sometimes even day AND night. I wonder if they actually do sleep. They males will make cute little faint barking sounds. They are very active frogs and they definately love the water. The water doesn't need to me more than a couple of inches deep and place a couple of boulders in it for stopping points. They will play and jump on each other often. If you use soil as the substrate cover it with moss because the frogs go in and out of the water often and they will dirty the water quickly. Take a look at some photo album pictures for ideas on a set up.

[peeka]

Thanks for the reply!

I currently buy mealworms from my local petsmart, the mealworms come in a little container with what I think is food or bedding, kind of looks like powdered oatmeal to me, i'm not really sure what it is. I then just hand feed those to my sugar gliders straight out of the container as a treat.
I have never bought their crickets or wax worms but I am assuming it would be the same kind of set up.
So I could buy their crickets and wax worms and then when I get home gut load them before feeding them to my toads, correct?

I'm not opposed to ordering online if anyone knows of a good site that sells them because I agree with you a chain store may not be the best place to get them.

Ally

[peeka]

Hi Ally.. Fire bellies are a lot of fun and make great pets. They are great eaters and will always act hungry. They will eat anything small enough that moves that they can fit into their mouths. Their main diet should be the small size crickets and you can get those at any chain petstore or reptile shop. Usually people start culturing their own food when you start to own a lot of frogs and it becomes more cost effective to make your own. If you only have a couple of toads it is just easier to buy some crickets each week. Get a small critter keeper to keep your crickets in, buy some of the water gel stuff, some cricket food, and toss in some carrots or leafy greens in with the crickets in the container. They will eat as often as you put food in and it is okay to mix up different food items on a particular day although I usually only feed one or the other at a setting. They do get chubby so watch out how much you feed them because they won't stop. Little pigs! I feed mine a little each day but then sometimes skip a day or two when I'm busy or if they look like they're getting too chubby. I feed them a lot right before I go on vacation and then they don't eat the week that I'm gone. They've never starved yet....although they will always look at you with those big eyes and ask for more food. I dust my crickets once a week unless they are baby frogs then I would do it each time I feed them. They are great frogs for the new frog owner because they are awake day or night and sometimes even day AND night. I wonder if they actually do sleep. They males will make cute little faint barking sounds. They are very active frogs and they definately love the water. The water doesn't need to me more than a couple of inches deep and place a couple of boulders in it for stopping points. They will play and jump on each other often. If you use soil as the substrate cover it with moss because the frogs go in and out of the water often and they will dirty the water quickly. Take a look at some photo album pictures for ideas on a set up.

Oh thank you thank you! You broke it down so wonderfully I was starting to think it was all seeming a bit complicated but it sound very manageable thank you!

Ally

[Han]

Hi Ally

Try to stay away from crickets and mealworms, put on
your boots and rainwear and catch your own frogfood,
to feed you darlings, earthworms: hard to find better (cheaper!) food.
Once out there, don't leave the small slugs, spiders, moths and occasional
grass-hopper behind!

regards, Han

[bshmerlie]

Thanks for the reply!

I currently buy mealworms from my local petsmart, the mealworms come in a little container with what I think is food or bedding, kind of looks like powdered oatmeal to me, i'm not really sure what it is. I then just hand feed those to my sugar gliders straight out of the container as a treat.
I have never bought their crickets or wax worms but I am assuming it would be the same kind of set up.
So I could buy their crickets and wax worms and then when I get home gut load them before feeding them to my toads, correct?

I'm not opposed to ordering online if anyone knows of a good site that sells them because I agree with you a chain store may not be the best place to get them.

Ally

Like I said the FB's eat pretty much anything. They aren't picky frogs which is also what makes them good pets. I've feed mine mealworms, wax worms and other creepy crawlers I get at the reptile shops. Variety with the diet is always the best way to feed any pet. For home use the crickets seem to be the most nutritional and in small quantities are very easy to keep. By feeding the crickets with enriched cricket food, carrots and leafy greens you are "gut loading" them for your frogs. Then by dusting them once a week with the calcium/vitamin powder you are making sure your frogs are getting all they need to stay healthy and they will live long and exciting lives. Every 6 months or so I do something just to change up their living quarters just so they don't get bored. Some species of frogs don't move and just exist but not these little guys. They will keep you entertained. At least get a couple of them as they seem to enjoy interacting with each other. The only problem with getting a large group of them is they do EAT A LOT. Then next thing you know your culturing your own food like the rest of us frog addicts. Also make sure you get an enclosure with a LOCKING lid. They are one of the best escape artists out there. They can and will squeeze through the smallest hole or push open what seemed like the heaviest lid. Keep them at room temperature and don't worry about humidity as they play in the water so much it won't be an issue. Some people just have a water dish for them but the bigger water area you have the more they will play in it and its fun to watch. I use a turtle filter to keep my water section clean but you can just change it weekly if you want to depending on the size water area that you have. They will be a very fun Christmas gift... I hope you have a good time with them. But watch out frogs are addicting...next thing you know you'll start looking around the forum and seeing what other species are out there. I started off with Fire Bellies and now my family of frogs includes Red Eye Leaf Frogs, a Clown Tree Frog, and now I'm looking at a rare dwarf PacMan type frog.

[peeka]

Thanks Hans and Cheri,

I'm very excited to become a froggy addict too! sign me up for froggy AA

Ally

[Jace]

Ah, another member of Froggy AA...we're going to have chapters all over North America at this rate!!

One thing to remember about collecting your own food: be absolutely certain that all food collected did not come into contact with an harmful chemicals, including pesticides, oil, fertilizer etc. Even a small amount can cause great harm to your frogs. If your unsure, stick with store bought food items.

As well, if you decide to throw in some fresh fruits and veggies for your crickets to ensure they are at their peak when they become frog poop, gutload them at least 12-24 hours in advance of them being given to your frogs. That way, they are an entire nutrious treat, from the crunchy outside to the chewy inside!!

[peeka]

Ah, another member of Froggy AA...we're going to have chapters all over North America at this rate!!

One thing to remember about collecting your own food: be absolutely certain that all food collected did not come into contact with an harmful chemicals, including pesticides, oil, fertilizer etc. Even a small amount can cause great harm to your frogs. If your unsure, stick with store bought food items.

As well, if you decide to throw in some fresh fruits and veggies for your crickets to ensure they are at their peak when they become frog poop, gutload them at least 12-24 hours in advance of them being given to your frogs. That way, they are an entire nutrious treat, from the crunchy outside to the chewy inside!!

If I lived in a rural area I might try to catch some myself sounds like fun! but I live in a residential area and people here do spray. Are there any online reptile stores that produce and sell their own live crickets, worms etc that way I would just order them and gut load them when they get here? can anyone suggest some?

Thanks

Ally

[bshmerlie]

I order 1000 crickets at a time on line and it is very cheap. But I share the cost with some friends because 1000 crickets is a lot of crickets if you only have a couple of frogs. You can order smaller batches but the cost of shipping really doesn't make it worth it in my opion. If I am going to a reptile show I collect other types of food items for variety and crickets are always really cheap at the shows. If you're only dealing with a couple of frogs Petsmart might be your best choice.

[Tony]

If I lived in a rural area I might try to catch some myself sounds like fun! but I live in a residential area and people here do spray. Are there any online reptile stores that produce and sell their own live crickets, worms etc that way I would just order them and gut load them when they get here? can anyone suggest some?

Thanks

Ally

Try Ghann's, they have great prices and shipping shouldn't be bad since they are in GA.

[peeka]

Thank you Tony I will check them out.

Ally

[Peakone]

any1 can say if this is a good product to buy? Thats the only product i found in my local pet shop (the terraristic is not very common in Bulgaria...) and i wanna know if its good enough or to order from internet.

"Full range of powdered vitamins and minerals for reptiles and amphibians with vitamin D3" it says