Tadpoles as food

I know how this may sound to some people, but philosophical and moralistic questions aside, how practical is this?

I am again this year raising some Bufo japonicus eggs from a small, isolated inner city pond in which probably 1 millionth (wild guess, but probably accurate ) of the embryos make it to adulthood. I was thinking of raising some 40 embryos to the froglet stage for release back into the pond (as I did last year), and use some early hatchlings for newt food (knowing full well that once they hatch, I probably won't have the heart to go through with it...).

<u>But</u>... I have been warned that Bufo species, even the tadpoles, could be toxic to newts and salamanders, though C. pyrrhogaster, for example, is known to eat them without ill effects.

Does Ed or anybody else have any knowledge about the toxicity of tadpole larvae and their suitability or unsuitability as newt/salamander food?

Most Bufo tadpoles certainly appear to be distasteful to predators. Don't know specifically about B.japonicus.
With the associated disease risks, I wouldn't do it.

Tim
I fed some years ago bufo bufo tadpoles to my newts and I can tell you that as soon as I put the tads in the tank the newts went crazy. They absolutely loved them!

I'd suggest chopping up worms before feeding live vertebrates! Note also that a lot of anurans are also protected in many countries. This may not only involve conservational but also animal protection issues. In my opinion there really is no need to rely on such a potentially threatened resource, especially not with a bait shop around and the blessings of online ordering via internet.
Please consider thoroughly the suggestion of such feeding methods on a public forum.

I agree with you Ralf. My post didn't want to suggest it, I was just telling my experience from when I was 14-15. I haven't done it since. I just wanted to point out that yes bufo tadpoles may be toxic but those newts didn't have any problem at eating them!!!

Well, I agree it's probably not the best idea, given the uncertainties, the alternatives and the fact that this food source would only be briefly available in the spring.

Surely anything that is the natural prey of salamanders in the wild is fair game for discussion in a forum about live food. If it's a bad idea, then any balanced discussion would eventually bring that out. Advocacy is something else, especially if the species is threatened -- as a species or even just locally. As far as Bufo japonicus goes, this toad is abundant here in Tokyo, even in parks, gardens and yards of some larger homes in the central area of the city.

I have to admit though, that I get a creepy feeling about the idea of feeding amphibians to amphibians I brought up the topic as I've been discussing with fellow caudate keepers in Japan about alternative live food for newts or salamanders in their aquatic phase that won't take readily to non-live food like frozen bloodworm. What is readily available here is tubifex, live bloodworm from bait shops, various small shrimps, and minnows and other small fish. I've been using live bloodworm to date, but want to vary their diet. Some keepers seasonally collect tadpoles (though not Bufo, it seems). It just so happened that I collect and raise tadpoles from my local pond and release froglets, so I began to wonder...

Anyway, the tadpoles have hatched and are too cute to feed anyway. What I've settled on for now is a small species of feed shrimp used for tropical fish.

I can hardly see myself chopping up live worms

i have seen palmate newts chow down on even the largest frog or toad tadpoles without ill effect. having said that i have also seen tadpoles munch on palmate newts in a horrific "piranha" style feeding frenzy, it was horrific, the newt was presumably already dead as it had bloated up or was very large and the tadpoles were all over it and even inside it. i was shocked to the very core of my being and have never been quite the same since.

ewww!