# how much food



## poison123 (Jul 10, 2012)

ok so i wanna know how much you guys feed your darts. lately all ive been doing is putting in a fare amount of fruit flies every 2-3 days. how often do you guys feed yours? thanks for helping.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/ge...g-split-beginners-discussion-3.html#post21533 

Search overfeeding.. there are a lot of threads on this topic. 

Ed


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## rahunt2 (Jan 4, 2009)

I am sure there is an ample supply of good info on Dendroboard better than I can give.
I like to tell pet sitters and newbies that they should start with a volume of fruit flies equal to the size of the frog's head each day. From that starting point you can tailor your feeding based on the frogs growth rate and/or body condition. If they are fat feed less, if they are skinny feed more.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

rahunt2 said:


> I am sure there is an ample supply of good info on Dendroboard better than I can give.
> I like to tell pet sitters and newbies that they should start with a volume of fruit flies equal to the size of the frog's head each day. From that starting point you can tailor your feeding based on the frogs growth rate and/or body condition. If they are fat feed less, if they are skinny feed more.


Where does the head of a frog end and the neck start? 

Ed


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## rahunt2 (Jan 4, 2009)

I have always considered them no-necked. I would have to do some review to know where the cervical and thoracic vertebrae occur.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

rahunt2 said:


> I have always considered them no-necked. I would have to do some review to know where the cervical and thoracic vertebrae occur.


Kind of makes it difficult for a novice to figure out what that means for the number of flies to offer doesn't it? 

Ed


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## rahunt2 (Jan 4, 2009)

I retract my previous statement.
I thought it was a nice way to give people a frame of reference but I suppose it is more confusing that enlightening.
I will have to read the post suggest above to further enlighten myself so that I may help those few novices who come to me for help.

I know that a frogs head cannot go past its supra-scapulae and since they have a nearly imperceptible neck I believe there head effectively ends at the point where their supra-scapulae protrude prominently from the skin of their back. However this description will either confuse or annoy novices so I will have to rethink what I tell people.

Refer to the link for better information. There are hundreds of people on Dendroboard who can provide better insight.


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## rahunt2 (Jan 4, 2009)

I read through the link above. I found there to be a lack of answers and an abundance of arguments and attacks. I did enjoy Ed's few posts citing actual numerical values regarding a dart frog's metabolic needs.


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## poison123 (Jul 10, 2012)

wow i didnt even know people were posting on here any more lol. and i get what you mean by the size of the head i have other frogs that move there head alone and not there hole body like darts do so i guess i could just imagine where there necks would be.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

why not use something like "size of a dime" or a nickle, or something that is a practical reference point?? I have pondered the same issue and would like a clearer description .... does it make any significant difference other than not having extra flies climbing over the frog's heads??? What about other foods like larvae, bean beetles, pinheads, etc.??? Should different species be fed different amounts??


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## rahunt2 (Jan 4, 2009)

The only reason I have previously used the head as a frame of reference point in stead of a dime or something is that it changes with the size of the frog. If you envision the head of the frog ends where the arms of the frog attach to the body you will get a rough idea of the frogs size and potential food needs. My goal with this is that when I have someone starting out with frogs it gives them a guideline so that they don't give 100 fruit flies two a single fresh metamorph and they don't give 4 flies to an adult breeding female. 

In reality feeding dart frogs is just as variable as feeding a human. If you eat double quarter pounders every day for a week and you put on 5 pounds then feed your self less the next week. I will constantly change how much I feed my frogs based on their body condition.

I personally only do fruit flies and springtails. I hope to branch into isopods when the weather is better. I will leave it to others with more experience to discuss other feeder insect species.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

rahunt2 said:


> The only reason I have previously used the head as a frame of reference point in stead of a dime or something is that it changes with the size of the frog. If you envision the head of the frog ends where the arms of the frog attach to the body you will get a rough idea of the frogs size and potential food needs. My goal with this is that when I have someone starting out with frogs it gives them a guideline so that they don't give 100 fruit flies two a single fresh metamorph and they don't give 4 flies to an adult breeding female.
> 
> In reality feeding dart frogs is just as variable as feeding a human. If you eat double quarter pounders every day for a week and you put on 5 pounds then feed your self less the next week. I will constantly change how much I feed my frogs based on their body condition.
> 
> I personally only do fruit flies and springtails. I hope to branch into isopods when the weather is better. I will leave it to others with more experience to discuss other feeder insect species.


I have no issues with modifying the amount fed based on the condition of the frogs. 

If they use feeding station(s), then a good method is to see how many flies are still roaming around in the bottom of the enclosure. If there are still a lot after a couple of days, cut back on the number of flies being dumped into the tank..... 

Ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

rahunt2 said:


> I read through the link above. I found there to be a lack of answers and an abundance of arguments and attacks. I did enjoy Ed's few posts citing actual numerical values regarding a dart frog's metabolic needs.


The thread from which it was split was fairly contentious...so I'm not surprised but there is the ability to use hard science to get an idea. 

This thread has more information 

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/9031-how-many-flies-mealtime.html


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

I feed based on body weight and whether it's breeding season or whether I'm trying to stop them from breeding.

Here's a frog that is a bit underweight. You can see the base of the skull.










The same frog a few months later (Notice the belly looks almost the same)


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## mlitton (Dec 14, 2008)

I agree that you always need to use body condition as your barometer. Also I feed growing and breeding frogs more than I would non breeding adults. Variety is truly the spice of life though. It's easy to fall into the habit of just using flies or pins but if you take the time to set up some bean beetles, springs or termite traps your frogs will thank you!


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