# Vacation Feeding?



## WntrMute2 (Mar 3, 2005)

What do you folks do about feeding while away for a week or 2? I don't have access to a human replacement at least not at this point.
Thanks

Dave


----------



## jbeetle (Feb 8, 2004)

Check this post by Ben Green: Fatten frogs and travel


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

2 weeks might be a long time.


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Two weeks with no human intervention is a long time! I would be more worried about everything drying out including dehydration of the frogs. I guess you could leave a bowl of water with the stem of a plant hanging into it.


----------



## WntrMute2 (Mar 3, 2005)

I have a large drip wall and the false bottom holds about 4 gallons of water. With the lid closed I think the plans will survive. The frogs...?


----------



## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

Two weeks is a long time? That's nothing. You can easily vacation feed your frogs for two weeks. And you may find them fatter when you return than when you left. I know lots of people who have done this and some even longer.


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Brent,

Don't you want to qualify that statement with certain guidelines and parameters? The last thing we need is a bunch of newbies (me included) running around with the idea that they barely need to do anything to sustain their frogs on extended 2-3 week vacations. What concerns should be considered or looked after? Also, in your opinion, how important would the humidity level be? Would you need to maintain this humidity by minimizing ventilation? How would you go about misting the tank and how important is water during this time?


----------



## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

And what about feeding?! Is just placing a culture in the viv enough? 

Luke


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Luke,

Did you check out the thread below? Put in a FF culture that is just starting to produce larvae with a porous screen on top to allow the larvae to escape and be eaten by the frogs. It's a very interesting thread.



jbeetle said:


> Check this post by Ben Green: Fatten frogs and travel


----------



## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Must have missed it, thanks 

Luke


----------



## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

dmartin72 said:


> Brent,
> 
> Don't you want to qualify that statement with certain guidelines and parameters? The last thing we need is a bunch of newbies (me included) running around with the idea that they barely need to do anything to sustain their frogs on extended 2-3 week vacations. What concerns should be considered or looked after? Also, in your opinion, how important would the humidity level be? Would you need to maintain this humidity by minimizing ventilation? How would you go about misting the tank and how important is water during this time?


Good points. I will make some qualification. My opinion is that if you are having to frequently mist to maintain humidity and moisture levels, then you have too much ventilation regardless if whether you are on vacation. I would want any vivarium to be able to maintain moisture levels for at least a month without additional water being added. By adequate moisture level, I mean that the substrate stays damp and the plants don't wilt. If the humidity drops during that time, it's okay because the frogs will just hunker down into moist spots just as they do during dry periods int he wild. This is pretty important because not all "vacations" are planned. Just this fall I had a serious family emergency and had to leave home for over a week within a few hour's notice. Had my vivaria not been designed to retain moisture for extended periods, all of my frogs would have died. As it was, I'll I had to do was throw a culture in each viv and walk away.

So my qualification for the previous statement is that the vivaria should already be designed to be able to require nothing other than food for the period of time you will be away. If that is taken care of, then using Ben's method will probably mean you need to put your frogs on a diet when you return from vacation.

To specifically answer some of your questions. Running water is mostly just aesthetic to make the vivarium pleasing to us. If a pump fails while you are away, it shouldn't cause a problem with the frogs. Misting and humidity are largely breeding triggers. As long as the frogs have moist refugia to hunker down in, they will survive. When I'm not trying to breed frogs, I often cut mist down to only once a week or less anyway.

So pack those bags and take those vacations!


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Brent,

Thanks for that! The amount of ventilation is a very important aspect. I'm going on vacation again in mid-August...this time with peace of mind.


----------



## RSines (Feb 15, 2004)

David,

I just left my frogs for 10 days. I covered up the vents on top of the tank and spaced out the timing on the automatic misters. I agree with brent, the humidity is far more important than feeding. That being said, I tried to fatten everyone before I left and made a couple min cultures 12 days before I left. I timed it so about midway through the vacation the flies would emerge and keep the frogs busy. I have left 7 days without feeding with no problems.

-Richard


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Thanks Richard. Are you coming to the meeting?


----------



## RSines (Feb 15, 2004)

I wouldn't miss it


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Just thought I’d report on how my frogs fared over vacation. I just returned from two weeks away, and my three juvenile leucs seem to have done very well. Here is what I did to help them out.

First, I made little fruit fly cultures to sit in their quarantine boxes. These consisted of three baby food bottles with a single hole nailed in the top. I started the cultures a little over a week before I left. To start the cultures I placed the three baby food jars, each with media and a folded index card (pupation site) inside a larger container. I added flies and covered the whole set-up with a paper towel and rubber-band. Just before I left, I removed the baby food jars from the larger container and added the jar tops. The single nailed hole (nailed form the outside in) allowed enough air for the culture and a place for the flies to emerge. One problem made itself evident right away. As soon as I added the little cultures to the quarantine boxes my largest froglett started striking the culture jar, trying to get at the flies within. I removed the cultures and placed electrical tape on the outside of each jar. This prevented the frogs from seeing the flies before they emerged.

I was able to come home in the middle of my vacation to clean their containers and check on how they were doing ( as well as to care for my fish and orchids). When I came home each of the frogletts was perched atop its personal fly culture waiting for the next victim to emerge.

Now after two weeks the fogs are in newly cleaned containers and appear to have grown. They all look fat and happy.


----------



## Guest (Mar 18, 2006)

Has anyone had CO2 problems with putting old FF cultures in a well sealed tank?


----------



## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

nana_enes said:


> Has anyone had CO2 problems with putting old FF cultures in a well sealed tank?


Haven't tried a culture in a tank, but it would most likely be safer to use an older culture than a fresher one, due to less fermentation taking place.

I wonder how it would work for a week or two, to just befor you leave, place just a bunch of maggots in the tank...the ones that got away would pupate, and then hatch (in theory) later....


----------

