# complete food, diversity of feeders



## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

Although I couldn`t find a definition of complete food, I can gleam a meaning from reading a few articles. Although ff`s may be close to a "complete" food, I don`t recommend using just ff`s and supplements to feed your frogs. Hemp seeds is close to a complete food too but I`d never try to live on hemp gruel and vitamins, solely. 

As for ff`s being a complete food and adding supplements to balance out the diet, this is extremely hard balance to maintain thru just using ff`s. I`ve tried it and the results were never as good as offering multiple food sources. Although it can be done, the frogs always suffer. You get a lower rate of fertilization, more tadpole deaths and failures to thrive and runted offspring which don`t do as well. Supplements are notoriously off on the content as to what they say is in there, making it even more difficult to predict what your animals need or may be lacking. I highly recommend feeding a diverse diet as this is what has worked well for me on the "hard to breed" frogs. I`ve often had people say to me "I`m having a hard time breeding x frogs". My first reply is "what are you feeding them?". The response is almost always dusted ff`s. I can`t remember how many times people tell me that they diversified their feeders and it worked, they are producing well now.

Although I`ve never written a paper about it, I have seen the same cycle numerous times in mine and others collections. It seems to me that if you stick w/ one regime, say ff`s every feeding, vits every other and calcium every other feeding, if there is too much or too little of anything it will expound over time. I`m no nutritionist but I have been feeding animals for over 15 years and I pay attention. I wouldn`t have had the success I`ve had or still be in business if I was wrong. Maybe it`s strictly the quality of the supplements I`ve been using, I don`t know for sure. I have switched them up and switched the frequency w/ which I use them but have never had the results I have w/ feeding a diverse diet.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Hey Aaron,

What does your "diverse" diet consist of? Are you still including dusted FFs in your frog's diet but just not to the extent that most of the rest of us probably do?


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## jig1 (Sep 7, 2008)

could you give us an example of a typical week how you feed like how often you feed what you feed when you supplement and what supplements you use? this thread could be very helpful I think


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

heres what I do when I have everything on this list available

So I feed fruit flies 4x a week usually. I alternate calcium and vitaminswith every feeding

Vivs are already seeded with isopods(dwarf temperate and dwarf white) and springtails (standard temperate white)

I add springs to every tank 1x a week undusted

I add isopods 2x a month. I do not dust these I have orange as well as the previously mentioned 2 and only feed out babies of these due to the larger size

I have a culture of unidentified mites I add them 2x a month (undusted)

When I have termites I feed 1 x a week I try to put 30 per frog in for leucs/auratus, and 15 per frog for my imis(undusted)

I occasionally feed rice flour beetles when Im inclined to deal with getting them out of the culture, this is completely random and depends only on my boredom level


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## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

I set up tanks w/ 2-3 types of springtails and 2-3 types of isopods that culture well in the tank. Dwarf white, some very small red and a striped type isopods and silver springs and white springs along w/ some small bulbous type springtail. The tropical springs don`t culture well in the tanks so I feed them to all the frogs once a month or more. Once a month I use termites. Once a week I try to use crickets. I use ff`s a couple times a week. I feed everyone wax worms about 2-4 times a month, depending on the species. Bean beetles I stay away from because of all the types of beans I grow. I don`t have the time to research what might be safe to use. There are also fungus gnats and some type of fly in some of my tanks. Some tanks have other types of isopods, red worms and various other mites and bugs in some tanks. I used to use flour beetles also.
I have gotten away w/ the tank bugs and ff`s and crickets. Generally I feed a couple types of lettuce, carrots, apples, hi quality dog food and assorted table and garden scraps for the crickets. I believe this diversifies the diet because I`m able to see different colored crickets w/ the carrots, black fish food or red beets showing thru the abdomen, although I guess this has not been proven, I can only assume that the gut contents are diversifying the diet because I don`t think there has been a paper written on it yet Although I have seen different results in the health of offspring when I don`t feed the crickets well beforehand. This is observational and hasn`t been published and peer reviewed though, so use at your own risk. 
I use vits or mins most every time I feed ff`s, I use no set schedule. So I probably dust 1x a week w/ vits and 2 x w/ minerals on avg. I feed generally 6 days a week. 

Sorry for the sarcasm as I`ve become much more intolerant since I`ve tried to quit smoking.
Which is one reason I try to stay away from forums.


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## Omead (Mar 21, 2009)

Thanks for the info!

I also agree about feeding more than just dusted ffs. I don't know if its just me but ever since I started to feed my frogs different foods I've noticed a change in their behavior as well. I'm feeding Melanogaster about 2 or 3 times a week and this is the only food I dust (which is heavily). My tanks are seeded with tropical springtails that they pick at all the time and I add more whenever I think about it. I feed termites when I can find them and aphids occasionally. There are various insects in my tanks as well including fungus gnats and some type of round mini ladybug looking things that appeared a few weeks after adding split pods which I haven't seen much of anymore. I've also ordered some rice flour beetles that I will be adding to the menu soon as well as possibly some ants I was thinking of experimenting with in spring but I'm unsure of them.

I like to buy the packs of small grape wood pieces from petco and use them in my tanks for the springtails. I've had better luck keeping the tropical ones with this wood because of the mold and rot. They are loaded in all the holes and cracks of a bigger piece I have but nowhere else that I can see in a grow out tank I have waiting for some froglets.


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## chadbandman (Dec 3, 2007)

Aaron what size wax worms? Do you breed your own?


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## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

whatever size they`ll take. I do breed my own from time to time.


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