The commonly used and trusted plant fertilizer, DynaGro, has a component called EDTA which has a tendency to bond with trace minerals such as iron, zinc and others. These minerals are needed by animals to function properly. If ingested over an extended period of time, this could result in some type of mineral deficiency.
Maybe this explains SLS and the sudden 'floppy leg' syndrome despite calcium and vitamin supplementation....?
Ask anyone who has observed these problems with their frogs if they spray fertilizer on regularly, and return here to post your findings, if you would help me in this little research endeavor.
In the meantime, I'm switching to dried bat guano...
Susan,
Any plant fertilizer other than poop, dead FFs, and other naturally occurring viv stuff is totally un-needed and potential danger. Not just certain brands. Any plants should be fine without outside , added fertilizer.
Rich
Rich,
do you know if bat guano, adds any bacterial, or parasitic hazards?
One other thing I wonder about is, Dendromom, mentions 'ingesting' fertilizer. I'm curious how the frogs would 'ingest' the fertilizer? I could see where 'contact' with an area that has been fertilized would be a problem, but I'm wondering how the frogs would 'ingest' the fertilizer.
Any insight?
Hi Cindy,
I really don't know absolutely about any hazards of bat guano, but if frog poop is everywhere in the viv why add more outside poop? I can't see any up-side .I can't really see ingestion either, but enough could be absorbed to be a potential problem. Bottom line is if you have plants in need of extra fertilizer above and beyond that offered by a running viv, you are probably concentrating much more on the plants rather than the darts.
Rich
Well, that's kinda what I thought, but thanks for the confirmation!
I was wanting to use the ancient bat guano to set up plants that I am just putting into a new vivarium. Otherwise, it would not be a continual application once the frogs are in. I am going to let the tank 'settle' for a month before adding the frogs.
I never did use the bat guano in the viv---I put it on my potted plants in the house instead----just put in some silkworms and let them crawl around and turn into nitrites----thanks for the info.
RichFrye Wrote:Susan,
Any plant fertilizer other than poop, dead FFs, and other naturally occurring viv stuff is totally un-needed and potential danger. Not just certain brands. Any plants should be fine without outside , added fertilizer.
Rich
I tend to agree. Especially for those who are using spray-on fertilizer frequently in a breeding setup, there is a risk in particular of nitrates building up in the tad's water and harming them or killing them. If we are into conservation, we should really stick to the way it is in nature.