Worms As Food: Poison Dart Frogs

"Hi! My name is Richard Reavis. I am co-owner of Black Jungle Terrarium Supply and on behalf of expertvillage.com, today we are discussing various ways of feeding and supplementing poison dart frogs. In this next group of insects are all larvae of one insect of other. The first one we will discuss is the Phoenix worm. These are actually the larvae form of the soldier fly. Relatively new to the hobby, they have several benefits over a variety of other type of grubs first of which they are very very high in calcium. Additionally, they also stay at the stage which is a great benefit if you don’t have a large number of animals to feed. Keeping them at room temperature sealed in their cups is all that you need to do to ensure a continuous steady supply of the insect. They are available in a variety of different sizes from extra small all the way through too large. The majority of dart frogs basically feed on the extra small to small size with the smalls being appropriate for most normal to average to larger dendrobates. The extra smalls work out well for some thumbnail species and other small species such as the dendrobates pumilios. Another type of grub that is sometimes cultured is the flower beetle larvae. Flower beetles are a little bit more challenging in culturing in that they like very very warm and very very dry conditions. They are a bit more challenging in cooler, more moisture areas of the country although they are almost effortless in the desert southwest. Culturing is basically just a matter of sifting on a regular schedule separating the larvae from the adults. Although some frogs will eat the adult beetles, it is typically the larvae that are taken more readily. One thing to keep in mind about the flower beetle larvae is that they are very high in fat so whereas they are very useful for breeding animals, they can lead to obesity if they are fed in excess. The last type of grub that is commonly fed are wax worms. Wax worms also are another excellent supplement especially to put weight on an animal as they are high in fat but the main drawback to them is their very very rapid growth rate. They can actually outgrow the size of most dart frogs in as little as a week or two so unless you are culturing them regularly or have a variety of animal sizes to feed too, they may not be worth the effort."