# feeding black worms ?



## Guest (Aug 29, 2005)

I'm a newbie pd frog owner.....just wondering...

I have 2 red bellied newts which I feed live black worms to by winding them around the end of a chop stick and holding it in front of them. They're a pretty lively little worm and the newts gobble them up readily.

My question is....is there any reason I shouldn't give this method a try with my dart frogs ? I add a liquid vitamin to the water I keep them in in my fridge. It's a vitamin made for aquarium fish. 

I imagine the frogs would eventually get used to this form of feeding but I was wondering if there was any reason they shouldn't eat black worms. I am considering this because I have a nearby store that has a ready supply of these and they're fairly inexpensive. Also, I find them to be a very easy food to keep. All I have to do is change the water daily and add a few drops of vitamins. I never seem to run out of them either. 

I would feed the FF on a regular basis, but would these be ok to use if I have a problem with the flies and run out for one reason or another...sort of an emergency option if need be ?

Thanks


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2005)

anyone ?? :?


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Emg,

I’m not a frog expert, but I’ve been breeding fish for a long time. One problem with feeding black worms is that they are very high in protein and low in fiber. This kind of diet is hard on the kidneys and liver. I have often wondered about feeding red worms to my leucs. I don’t think that their natural diet consists of large quantities of worms, so if I try this, I will make it an occasional treat and not a staple. Insects offer a large quantity of fiber in the form of their exoskeleton. Since the natural diet of these frogs is often described as forest floor Arthropods, I would stick to insects for the primary diet of your frogs.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2005)

Thanks for the info Grassy...! I'm glad I asked because I had no idea about that kind of info concerning the foods they eat. But it certainly makes sense to me. 

There are types of worms that some feed their frogs listed in the food section. Is it just because these types aren't so high in protein content that they're better than the blackworms ?


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I would guess that most worms are very high in protein and low in fiber. Occasional feeding is probably fine, just make sure to feed insects at the same time. High protein will most certainly increase growth rates in juveniles. I would be careful not to over do it though. I plan on trying killifish fry as an alternate food source as soon as I have some appropriately sized ones.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2005)

OOOoO....what a good idea...!! I have a tank full of guppy fry....way more than I really want to keep.....hhmmm.........do you think if I plop a few of them in the small built in water dish I have in there....would the frogs eat them if they are underwater ?


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2005)

Try it, I had to put them out of the water so they would gain attention.


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