# Anyone ever use blue bottle fly larvae?



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

I was just wondering if anyone ever used blue bottle fly larvae to feed larger frogs?I get the spikes to pupate (and a couple other species of pupae) for my mantids.I find that my daygeckos love the flies too.I haven't tried the maggots yet,but I'm sure they'll tear them up too if put them in a cup.Here is the nutritional info on them;

Blue Bottle Fly Larvae
Moisture 68.54
Ash 1.44
Protein 16.10
Fat 8.21
Calcium (ml/100 grs) 32.90

I guess what I want to know is,as far as frogs go, is there any reason not to feed them spikes? I even thought about clipping a wing off of some of the flies to see how well received they would be.


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Anyone ???


----------



## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

I see no reason why you can't feed them to your frogs. They seem a little more difficult to culture compared to FF's. Maybe thats why you don't see them use more often. It could be the fact that they are attracted to the smell of rotten meat.


----------



## bristles (Jan 19, 2011)

Isn't "blue bottle" the type of fly larvae that the coroner uses to determine time of death ?  LOL !


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

mongo77 said:


> I see no reason why you can't feed them to your frogs. They seem a little more difficult to culture compared to FF's. Maybe thats why you don't see them use more often. It could be the fact that they are attracted to the smell of rotten meat.


I actually buy them for about $10 a 1000 which to me is probably easier than culturing them.I've read up on them and they don't have to be raised on rotting meat.I wouldn't even think about it then.I also get house fly and stable fly pupae.I was thinking for my Terribillis and Amereega,that the larger flies might be good for them as they are a lot more fly than a Hydei.I fed a couple of larvae to them to see if they would eat them.The worms barely hit the ground.



bristles said:


> Isn't "blue bottle" the type of fly larvae that the coroner uses to determine time of death ?  LOL !


Haha,Yes I believe they are.These aren't wild caught,so they won't be full of evidence.

Another good thing is they are larger than lesser wax worms,but smaller than regular waxworms.Kind of in between.


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I know that flies whose larvae feed on dead bodies and rotting meat, such as Sarcophaga carnaria (used as bait in fishing), are not good as live food. It is better larvae of flies as so-called "curly winged". It is true that my infos are old, but I have some doubt about it.


----------



## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

I don't see why not add them to the food rotation.

When I had my glass frogs I was using house flies to feed them. Since I had more then my Mantids could eat....They really evoked a feeding response....I would try it....Flies and maggots if you have them....

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I'm always leery of using a number of the different commercially cultured maggots for use as a feeder in amphibians as there are records of both intestional myiasis and the passage of the maggots undigested through the GI tract. There is one questionable source stating that the hooks on the ends of the maggots have caused damage to the herps (Obst et al, The Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians, TFH publication). 

The curly wing flies mentioned earlier if I remember correctly are an unstable mutation of the wings of the house flies. The cultures were very prone to reverting to normal flies. 

Some comments 

Ed


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

You can look up on dirty jobs how these flies are reared commercially. It is far from sanitary.

I bet larger frogs might really enjoy the adults of house/bluebottle flies though. They do clean themselves off when they go through metamorphosis.


----------



## traveler13 (Sep 22, 2009)

I have used adult flies. I put them in my freezer to slow them down and then pulled wings. My terribllis loved them.


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Ed said:


> I'm always leery of using a number of the different commercially cultured maggots for use as a feeder in amphibians as there are records of both intestional myiasis and the passage of the maggots undigested through the GI tract. There is one questionable source stating that the hooks on the ends of the maggots have caused damage to the herps (Obst et al, The Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians, TFH publication).
> 
> The curly wing flies mentioned earlier if I remember correctly are an unstable mutation of the wings of the house flies. The cultures were very prone to reverting to normal flies.
> 
> ...


About necrophage larvae, the risk is just that you quote. For this I know it's better not to give maggots (Sacrophaga carnaria) as nourishment. 
The "curly winged" are mutations of houseflies, they aren't scavengers, so there is no risk. Here they are sold as food for reptiles.


----------



## Jeremy M (Oct 19, 2012)

rigel10 said:


> The "curly winged" are mutations of houseflies, they aren't scavengers, so there is no risk.


Could you elaborate on what you mean by this? Houseflies are quite content to take carrion, feces and garbage as a food source in the wild (just look at any barn stable). To say that they aren't scavengers would mean they would have to be primary or secondary consumers, or parasites, and I'm quite sure their main diet is dead organic matter, preferably rotted or fermented. Are you just saying they don't have access to their favorite, non-sterile foods in cultural conditions?


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

These "curley winged" are raised as fruit flies, with pabulum, excelsior, etc. They are not wild. Here they are sold as food for reptiles. I have never used these flies, or anything, nor do I care because I got only pums and ranitomeya.
I only reported what I know about the use of insect scavengers. But everyone does as he pleases.


----------



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

When I have fed large phoenix worms to my bombina, I punctured their skin before feeding with a nail so the frogs could digest them safely.


----------

