# Basti's



## Guest (Dec 11, 2005)

The color on my basti is slowing starting to fade away, is their any way to prevent this or rejuvinate the colors? I have heard mixed opions on whether to add paprika powder to the FF's or not?


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2005)

From all that I've read is that carotenoids Canthaxanthin and Apocarotinal are used to keep good color. You can usally find it in speicalty shops and mix it with the vitamin poder your using so they'll get a little more. I mix mine by weight. Though it could also be low UVB light causing the problem.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2005)

Really you think that the lighting could be effecting its fading? do you think that there is a place online to order that powder to mix?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

You need to be very careful about the caretaniods you use to suppliment your frogs - they are sensitive to vit. A (of which most caretaniods are a form of). I use peprika in my vitamin dust for bugs - it helps keep the color relatively bright, especially in orangish frogs, and is a safe form you can't overdose. Its also the cheapest and does a good job.

The consensus with supplimenting seems to be that not one, two, or three need to be supplimenting to get wild type coloration, or to keep coloration, but a whole group of them as is takes many to make up the colors in the frogs. There is still a lot of testing going on (I've work with beta carotine a lot in tricolor, some other have used other carotenes in species like pumilio).


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2005)

So it is a safe bet to go with the peprika?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Probibly the safest and easiest. 

I'm still very on the fence on if UV lighting has anything to do with it - I'm hoping to run some coloration tests with tricolor when I get some again, and UV is one of the things I want to look at.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2005)

That sounds good, i am ordering the 55 watt setup from ahsupply.com, they have wonderful lighting systems so once i finish my viv i wont have to worry about the lighting. Would you say only to put the peprika on the FF's twice a week?


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

Wait… it this the same frog that you posted in the beginners section that you just got or is it another?? If it is the frog that you just got, have you really noticed the color fading over a couple days or do you just want to enhance the color of the frog. The reason I am pointing this out is that if this is the frog that you just got and you have noticed a change in the color of the frog there may be something seriously wrong with the frog that paprika, caretaniods, beta carotine will not help. 

If you just want to color the frog up , I use paprika, Cyclopes-eze, and gut loaded pinheads for my tricolors once a week. I feed my bastis gut loaded pinheads too, but do not supplement for color otherwise. 

Ed


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## Guest (Dec 12, 2005)

Oh thank you very much, i purchased my basti from Bill who owns qualityexotics.com at the frog show in Inkster, and he had it for at least a year, i just want to preserve its beautiful colors. I am going to his house sometime to pick the other basti up which is the same age and is a male. Just wanted to know the best thing to use and how many times a week to do it?


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2005)

I guess I will add my two cents worth on this. First off I am not real keen on dusting my frog food with color enhancers but certainly the lack of proper light and natural carotenes in the diet of the frogs will usually cause them to fade. I breed falcons and we used to have the same problem if the diet is lacking in carotenes and plenty of sunlight is not available. In the case of my frogs I feed mostly FF and springtails. The fruit fly culture powder is mixed with carrot juice instead of water I add Finely ground Sweet Hungarian paprika and falcon vitamins which have a good mixture of red and yellow carotenoids in it. The fly culture is pretty much bright cherry red the flies thrive and come out quite colorful. For the springtails I also feed them a good bit of fine sweet paprika as well as tetramin flakes and finely ground fall maple leaves(among other things). The springtails come out looking pink and seem to really feed heavily on the paprika. In the warmer months I supplement with gleanings from my "mosquito Magnet" which consist of mostly bull knats (in bulk) and mosquitoes. This diet has worked well for me to keep the pumilios colored up as well as the other dendros I have. The Pumilio froglets come out very brightly colored. 
Jim


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

Nice information Jim - thanks for taking the time to write it up.

s


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2006)

Are you all referring to the spice "paprika".


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Yes, it is the spice.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

The color of the color "supplement" does not necessarily indicate its effectiveness in enhancing the color of the frog as many of the pigments are bound to different protien elements which modify the color and are cleaved from the carotenoid during digestion and absorbtion. Most of the color supplements used by people (such as carrots) are carotenoids that are mainly betacarotene derived and will affect yellow and oranges more than other colors or are metabolized into provitamin A. I would suggest avoiding canthoxanthin as this has been implicated with liver damage and is known to stimulate cholesterol release from the liver. 
I am not sure how appropriate the comparision to birds really is as many birds (unlike other vertebrates) actually modify the carotenoids to intensify the color (such as the yellow seen in canaries and goldfinches). 

This topic has been covered several times see these links for more details. 

see http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... staxanthin

see http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... staxanthin

see http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... staxanthin

Ed


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2006)

Has anyone used any of the enriched flax oils used to help color red factor canarys?
I know the stuff isnt cheap but i bet itd produce some nice colors.

Matt


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

As I mentioned above, I would not consider birds to be a good example as they can modify the carotenoids to modify and/or intensify the colors. For information see http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:bJX ... =clnk&cd=5

Ed


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2006)

I dont see waht this has to do with flax oil.

Matt


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

1) enriched flax seed oils are a source of carotenoids which are used by the red factor canaries you referenced as a red pigment source. 
2) the carotenoid deposition mechanism in the canaries and gold finches is very similar
3) the study shows that birds that demonstrate red feather pigmentation can metabolize yellow carotenoids as a source for red pigment but not at the same intesity.

Hence the fact that the red factors can use it as a source of red pigment does not mean that the frogs will be able to metabolize it to a red pigment (in fact modification of one carotenoid into another for color has not been detected in frogs to date. The frogs simply sequester the pigment into the xanthopores and do not modify it). 

That is what it had to do with flax seed oil.....


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2006)

Wow I didnt mean to get you all twisted up.Sorry.

Matt


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Not twisted up, just blunt... 

Ed


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2006)

Right on, I can respect that.

Matt


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