Slugs as food? good or no?

i was reading the "select food items for captive caudates" article, and i realised that slugs are absent from the list. this is mainly what i feed my fire salamander (s. s. salamandra), and i was wondering how nutritious rthey are. he wont eat worms (ptss, read my other thread, "my fire salamander"), and slugs are readily availible in my yard. any help would be appreciated, thanks.

-brendan

PS-feel free to respond to my other thread and tell me if im on the right track, your guidance is needed. thanks

[Michael Shrom]

I use slugs but have read they can carry nematodes. I'm thinking of breeding slugs. Just thinking

my giant sals love bannana slugs- a normal part of their diet in the wild. i have used slugs before-but here in colorado they are not easy to come by. if they are from your back yard-you may wonder what they have been exposed to-alot of people buy chemicals to kill them-and those that didnt get enough to die would still be 'running' around.(my grandma just used beer!).the only way i can for sure collect slugs is to put an old dry (non greasy) bone in the yard-i will find slugs attached under it after a few days-especially if it has been damp.

i find them under rocks and logs from my backyard- its a bit of a second growth forest back there, just a bit. so i dont think that these slugs have anything in or on them, my sal seems fine. thanks for the help.

-brendan

Brendan:
about the fire salamander. I too have a fire salamander, and he loves slugs as well as crickets, pillbugs, etc.
He eats worms that I find outside, (not near contaminants, I am very careful about that.)
But he will not eat the "red wigglers" that pet stores sell. I believe they must be different species, so if you try small earthworms, (often called "leaf worms" at bait shops), he will probably eat them...
Another thing Ive noticed is that fire salamanders are a little bit shy with worms if the worm is very active. This seems to bother it, especially if I dangle the worm and it hits his face. On the other hand, if I put a half of a small worm that just wiggles a little bit, he'll usually eat it.

yea, the ones i use are the earthworms from my yard also. i tried last night, just for kicks, and he ate half of a worm, after he watched it squirm around for about 5 minutes (he usually eats the slugs as soon as he sees them). it was the only worm i had last night, so ill try again tonight. maybe he's over the trauma. about the dangling thing, thats the only way i got him to eat it last night: when it hit his face. oh well, to each his own. thanks again.

-brendan

good news- i tried to feed my fire sal a whole worm (about 3.5" long),and he ate it! i tried to feed him another of the same size, and he ate it! he ate all of the worms i had collected - 6! i fed him out of my hand because ive had experiences with worm escapees. the only down side, was that he accidentally bit me a few times. once, when he lunged for the worm, i accidentally dropped it, and he wasnt paying attention, so he thought that my finger was the worm, and he latched onto it. those things have teeth! well, not really, he had these sharp tooth-like structures in his mouth - maybe they were teeth? anyways, im okay and he's full, at least for now. just thought id share that

back to the slug topic... i was outside wandering around my yard tonight and noticed we have a ton of HUGE slugs this year. you all mention feeding them to salamanders but what about tree frogs? do slugs carry any sort of parasites?

I doubt tree frogs would like them.


For breeding slugs, I think that would be quite simple. Critter keeper or large rubbermaid...potting mix, bark and dry leaves and slugs. Feed them on romaine lettuce and other greens. I assume you could "gut load" them as well.

I was questioning that as well. I imagine my big fat toad would like them though. He eats the largest crickets like they're little bites.

My fire sals prefer slugs to any other food, but I have been warned about parasites. I have to say that i have not had any problems so far.

I tried breeding slugs (small grey ones, species unknown, possibly Deroceras reticulatum). Put a bunch in a large plastic storage container with damp mulch substrate, fed with rotting vegetation & cereal. Left them in a cool place for six months.
Nothing.
Gave up experiment on the basis that I would not become self-sufficient in slugs that way. I now practice slug ranching in my garden by keeping boards in various shady places, keeping them damp and adding the occasional sprinkle of cereal underneath. Gives me a fairly steady supply for about 10 months of the year.

i have one question when you say worms can be have parrasites and stuff well my axie eats loads and has not had a problam yet how would you no if they did have parrasites and stuff on them