Tadpoles: Bad question?

This is probably a stupid question being Caudata site and please don't shout at me if you think i am cruel, hense me asking in the first place but what would you think if i fed my newts some common garden frog tadpoles? its what newts eat in the wild.

its not unheard of but is considered risky due to the possibility of parasites. if the taddies are CB then its not as risky. if the newts eagerly eat common foods its not worth the effort

Hi Sarah.

Nobody can give you an authoritative answer on that, so ultimately it's your call to make. Certainly cases can be made for feeding or not feeding amphibians to amphibians.

As you say, newts feed on tadpoles in the wild, and seem to relish them. So one could argue that anything a newt eats in the wild is fair game.

But on the other hand, I think most caudate hobbyists would probably not consider it ethical (going by the standards of the hobby at least) to feed the larvae of one species of newt to other newt species, for example, which is probably why nobody has yet coined the expression "feeder larvae" yet By extension, many would probably not feed their newts tadpoles either on the similar grounds.

Having said that though, it occurs to me that tropical fish enthusiasts regularly feed goldfish and other "feeder fish" to their arowanas and other large, carnivorous fish, seemingly without sensing any ethnical dilemma. And I was recently shocked to witness people catching geckos from the wild to feed to their snakes...

Still, there might be other reasons for not feeding tadpoles to newts. For example, it might be the case that tadpoles of some exotic species of frogs that aren't part of the natural diet of the newts in question might not be healthy for them to eat. Cane toad larvae being fed to axoltls, for instance, might not be a wise idea. Also, it depends on the status in the wild of the frog species in question (is it endangered?) and where you're collecting from (is it legal?).

I once fed a few tadpoles of a common species to my newts, and by all appearances they loved the treat. But I felt immediately guilty and won't be doing it again

All things considered, one could ask: it is really necessary?

<font size="-2">(by the way, we do have a section that deals exclusively with food, so I'll be moving your post there once I see you've noticed this)
</font>

(Message edited by TJ on March 23, 2006)

Interesting....back when I first had two ribbed newts (both have since deceased) my son thought they needed a friend. So he caught a rather large tadpole and put it in the newt tank. Needless to say "frank" the tadpole was soon consumed,much to the shock of my son. A lesson learned. But newts certainly eat tadpoles in the wild..as everything eats everything.

Gord

I guess I'm not nearly so hamstrung by conscience. I'd have no issues with this aside from the possibiity of parasite introduction from wild caught food. If your newts are also WC and they are from a similar locale as the tadpoles, then they likely already have the same parasites as you might be introducing. I'm sure there are entomologists who are just as shocked and appalled about us feeding insects to our animals as we might get about feeding herps to other animals. Just my perspective.

Location would be my concern with it. I mean, I wouldn't feed tadpoles caught in West Virginia to my cynops orientalis, because the tadpoles I catch at home would never be found in her native land (at least, I would assume they wouldn't although I don't know that much about it.)

Other than that, I often have a problem with the facts of life (when I see animals eating animals, or dead animales on the side of the road, etc.) But, you know, I don't have any more of a problem giving tadpoles to my newts than I do cutting up nightcrawlers to feed to them.

So, if it's safe, legal, and the newts like it -- then it's free so why not?

There is the chance of parasites or other problems with the tadpoles, which I don't know that much about. That would be my main reason for not doing it.

well they are just ordinary common garden frogs, thats all we get here, i collected some spawn out of my pond and hatched them in a tank inside, they are now at a good size,
I know some people would be against it because they keep frogs as pets or whatever, some people say its not a wise idea and get kind of funny about feeding live creatures to them but it keeps the numbers down as our pond is over run and it would be just like me putting my newts in the pond, they're still gonna eat them aren't they?
thats why i don't really get people that get angry because of it, i understand it if it were a endangered or rare species because i love all animals and i would even think about doing it with an animal that was so important, and i wouldn't feed them tadpoles from a poisonous frog either as that carries its own risk,

Hatching the spawn in the house before its hatched, is that considered captive bred?

My newts do eat worms eagerly and any other food i offer but i also feel that giving them tadpoles gives them something to do, once the tadpoles suss it out they become very wary and fast, and it gives the newts something to do, chasing them around, and provides a snack if they get hungry as you can't leave dead animals in the tank because of decaying,

You all seem very helpful, i wasn't sure whether a lot of you would get angry or something but your all cool about it

ps. Tim now you can move it

(Message edited by sezzy5889 on March 23, 2006)