Feeding Fruit flies to your frogs, how do you feed them out?

[Azurel]

How Do you feed out your fruit flies?

I will describe how I do it and would like to have others chime in on how they do it now compared to how they did it in the beginning if it has changed.

When I first started out I would put a piece of banana in a tall sided pill bottle lid and pour the flies on to or around the pill top with banana. What I soon found out after hours of watching the vivarium was that the frogs never seemed to come down to the feeding station. I never noticed them losing weight but I also never seen FF crawling about the viv for the frogs to eat nor frogs eating fruit flies. I have since then changed how I feed out FF.

What I do now is after dusting the FF I scoop some on to a plastic spoon or my hand and kinda fling them/ blow to differant parts of the viv. I should note that this viv is a 60g(24x24x24) and has quite a bit of space for 3 R. imitators 'varadero'. So now what I have noticed is the frogs (observed) eating more flies and actually hunting them down. I also still have a piece of banana in a pill top.

After a few hours I notice that the flies do seem to congregate to the banana. So as they travel through the viv from various locations there is a greater chance that they will cross paths of a frog willing to eat. The frogs I have noticed have kept weight or have added weight since being put into this viv 9 months ago.

How do you guys feed them out? I know the larger frogs are more willing to come to a feeding stations, but does your thumbs or pums? Does the size of the viv make a differance? In my case the viv seemed to be to big for them to be programed for a feeding stations either on the viv floor or higher up.

Let's hear how others do it.....

[Girlwithafrogtattoo]

When my azureus were froglets, I had a feeding station of banana in a soda bottle cap in the viv. I kept fresh banana in it every day, and after 2 weeks just stopped using the bottle cap. After that amount of time, and my feeding every day, that corner of the viv has become the feeding area. The 3 frogs now go to that area every morning after I mist and wait for food. I have gone down to feeding them every other day at this point though.

For the Leucs, Mints and Imis, I've just simply dusted the flies and dumped them in. My Azureus were very young when I got them compared to the other froglets I've brought home.

[D3monic]

all my frogs know the film cans as feeding stations. I will often find a frog sitting at the opening snacking on flies, maggots and the springs that congregate in, on, under or around the film cans. When I feed out flies i either just dump them or I will put some in my hand and blow them into the tank.

I let the banana stay in the film can until it is completly consumed by isos and springs (about a week)

This especially works well in my froglet containers.

[Philsuma]

Azurel....you want this thread entered into consideration for the current contest right ?

[Azurel]

Yea I didn't get a chance to post a link in the other thread....

[Azurel]

So does the method that we feed out our flies condition our frogs to feeding stations cause them to lose some of the natural traits such as hunting down prey. Could it over a long period of time do it to the point that they will wait at the feeding station for food and let the flies/other feeders roam the tank and be less likely to be eaten? I don't know the answer but thought of this as we have discussed the topic..... What other methods is there or could there be for feeding out feeders in a more natural state? Does some one have a real unique way of feeding their frogs? Has always seemed straight forward from the first time I read and practiced feeding. Just wondering what other creative ways there might be out there...

[Philsuma]

I think "Fat frog are Fat Frogs" whether they belly up to a feeding station or just eat too much any other way.

I don't use feeding stations except for froglets. I disperse flies into the viv in a highly random pattern - tapped from a dusting cup or blown off my hand into the viv.

[DKOOISTRA]

I tried dumping them in my hand once and blowing them in, wasnt pretty. but, I do like to "spread" them out, I always dump from the cup and try to do it in different locations...
Derek

[D3monic]

Even with the feeding stations (more to keep my wife from bitching about loose flies) frogs still hunt. I will often find frogs digging through the LL looking for snacks. For my My Retics I also put a small slice of Mushroom out in the open for springs to congregate to. More so because I am trying to condition them for breeding. They don't have much interest in flies and spit them out if they get one. They do love springs and maggots though.

[Azurel]

I tried dumping them in my hand once and blowing them in, wasnt pretty. but, I do like to "spread" them out, I always dump from the cup and try to do it in different locations...
Derek

Yea that is why I use a plastic spoon now, you can really flick them.....

[D3monic]

lol FF Catapult!

[Azurel]

Even with the feeding stations (more to keep my wife from bitching about loose flies) frogs still hunt. I will often find frogs digging through the LL looking for snacks. For my My Retics I also put a small slice of Mushroom out in the open for springs to congregate to. More so because I am trying to condition them for breeding. They don't have much interest in flies and spit them out if they get one. They do love springs and maggots though.

LOL.. They do fly....I was feeding the other night and had my first escapee was getting a spoonful and a Orange lamasi leaped right out at me from a brom it was sitting in I guess I took to long and he saw their chance and took it. Luckily he didn't get to far and went under the viv on the rack. I was quite nervous though with all the crap I haven't cleaned up in my basement yet if he would have got on the floor I would have lost him.

Luckily the way the vent is on my main viv there has been zero escapees and no bitching" although I have gotten sloppy a few times pouring flies into my dusting cups.Which in the living room they would go unnoticed if it wasn't for my daughter who is the bug/carpet police not even sure how she finds them .....

Not sure since I don't own any yet(key word yet) that the bigger frogs like tinctorius are more susceptible to being conditioned then thumbs. Just from what people have posted about the behaviors of the bigger frogs act like"begging behaviors" before and during feeding times. Where is it possible for thumbs, pumilio to be more hard wired into a lack of "begging behavior" and more of a hunt mentality even though at least in your situation and others I am sure to do both feeding stations and hunting? I don't know personally till I have both to compare... Just some thoughts I have had over the months trying to get these R. imitator 'varadero' to accept a feeding station with no success so I had to change my feeding methods.

I have thought about trying a small pill bottle filled with flies with a fine screen that has openings just being enough for the flies to get threw. Having them over time find there way out and into the viv for feeding. But have not tried it yet, I know there were some threads on the other board with some diagrams of this type of method for like going on vacation etc...

[DKOOISTRA]

They get that from their parents, they've gotten out on me more times....
When I mist that tank, I crack 1 door open about 1/2" and spray real fast the one side, then I open the other a crack and spray the other side...My tincs' door is wide open and I'm hozing it down. First time one popped out at home I scared my wife yelling for a tupperware bowl to catch it. I always keep 1 handy now, put the cup over top, slide a piece of paper underneath and its trapped. I'm careful when I open that tank, lamasis dont jump, they fly.
derek

Orange lamasi leaped right out at me from a brom it was sitting in I guess I took to long and he saw their chance and took it.

[Azurel]

They get that from their parents, they've gotten out on me more times....
When I mist that tank, I crack 1 door open about 1/2" and spray real fast the one side, then I open the other a crack and spray the other side...My tincs' door is wide open and I'm hozing it down. First time one popped out at home I scared my wife yelling for a tupperware bowl to catch it. I always keep 1 handy now, put the cup over top, slide a piece of paper underneath and its trapped. I'm careful when I open that tank, lamasis dont jump, they fly.
derek

Orange lamasi leaped right out at me from a brom it was sitting in I guess I took to long and he saw their chance and took it.

Yea lesson learned......Won't give them that chance again.

[D3monic]

I had one of the benedicta take a dive on me...I had a hell of a time catching that lil bastard. Talk about red headed rockets!