Platies as feeders

[EightLeggedFrea]

I'd like like to try feeding my Budgett's frog platies when I get him, for calcium. The nearest vendor of these I have is Wal-Mart, that has a large supply of them. Are these safe feeders? They've also got nightcrawlers there.

 

[xchondrox]

They'll probably eat them along with anything else that moves for that matter. Might be easier for you to buy a bunch of of frozen mice and feed those.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Wal-mart is infamous for sickly animals in disgusting conditions, parasites, the whole deal. I wouldn't risk it.

 

[LeilaNami]

lost a snake to sick fish. Bought a couple feeders from PetCo to feed an garter and he ended up getting a septicemia infection from them. If you feed fish, as well as anything else, make sure they are SUPER healthy...Wal-Mart is already out of the running.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Agreed with the above sentiments. While livebearers are a much healthier choice of feeder fish for amphibians than goldfish and tuffies, fish are only as safe as their source. Many illnesses in fish are transmissable to amphibians, particularly the protozoal parasites they tend to be utterly infested with if kept in poor conditions (and Walmart generally classifies as poor conditions). You can get canned feeder fish much like you can get canned mealworms, caterpillars, etc. but for something attracted to movement it might not work. Honestly the safest and easiest way to add calcium to his diet is just to dust his feeders. Definitely try the nightcrawlers though; frogs love them and they are quite nutritious.

 

[Hedorah99]

The only time my horned frogs ever got worms were after they got feeder fish. Stick with frozen/thawed.

 

[EightLeggedFrea]

OK I guess I'll just use calcium dust and then mice when it gets big enough. Are the nightcrawlers safe, though?

 

[froggyman]

You could try raising platies from a reputable store and feeding it the offspring might be good to vary the diet with

 

[LeilaNami]

He might as well breed guppies or mollys then since they tend to be more...prolific.

Nightcrawlers are generally safe as they are usually kept in prepackaged containers and tossed in the fridge. Just make sure there's no mold in the dirt they come in. They are huge and will provide a lot of protein for your froggy.

 

[JohnEDove]

Ithe biggest problem wiith feeding fish or nightcrawlers is that they both pass through the system more quickly resulting in the need for more frequent feedings and more feces.
The best bet over all is, as someone else mentioned, feeding rodent prey. High in nutrients and they digest more slowly.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I disagree with rodents as a better nutrient source; high nutrient content and nutritious are not always directly correlated. Excessive calcium, fat-soluble vitamins, fat, etc. are all common flaws of rodent-heavy amphibian diets. Indeed diets high in mammalian protien have been implicated in numerous health problems for amphibian species that do not consume them as a predominant element of their natural diet, including vision problems, obesity, vitamin A excess, etc. Slow digestion is also not universally a positive; it increases the chance of constipation occuring and generally indicates something difficult for the animal to digest. Reducing bowel frequency may be appealing to the owner but it really isn't healthy for the animal.

Budgetts in the wild feed primarily on other frogs and invertebrates. Worms, invertebrates, and the odd fish or frog is much closer to their natural diet than mice. Mice can be fed, but sparingly at best.

 

[mitchrobot]

too many mice arent good for your frog. large roaches that have been gut loaded and have calcium area much better option. the calcium powder sticks to em pretty well, even under water (i tong fed my budgetts from so they never really got that wet either way). night crawlers are a good choice too, they are usually IMO well packaged and clean. i also fed my frog uncooked freshwater prawns that i stuffed with algea wafers or high quality pelleted fish food.

feeder fish (im aiming this mainly at goldfish) from most pet stores are treated with chemicals that have copper in them, it stays in the fish's system and isnt good for your animal. they are also not that nutritious (goldfish atleast), high in fat and usually not gutloaded.

raising your own mollies, guppies and platties is a much better idea. i raised them years ago outdoors in the summer with great success. i kept them in biggish kiddie pools, had crushed coral in the filtration (something about the hard water, i dont know why, makes them grow faster...atleast as far as i have seen). i had them filled with a lot of anacharis (cheap bunch plant) and water hyacinth. added around 40 adults (store near me sells em at a dirt cheap price) and let them do their thing for a few weeks. i fed them frozen foods and algea wafers, not too much though as they ate a lot of the algea that was growing in there anyway. i had an endless supply of clean feeders for the whole spring and summer season, and in the winter i just fed all of them to my fish. done and done.