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Feeding Hyla versicolor metamorphs

jbherpin

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Aside from FFs, is there another easily obtained food source? I would prefer to not culture FFs as they will not need that small of prey too long at all. Will they accept worm tips? I was reluctant to offer this as they feed on insects found in/on the bark of trees in the wild.

All my thanks!

A few pics to follow for reference. The metamorphs are quite small at the moment, about pinky nail sized.

JBear
 

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Those froglets are looking cool!

The pinhead crickets available at most pet stores might work. They can be gutloaded and dusted with calcium powder or other nutrient powder appropriate for froglets. If the pinheads are too quick for the froglets, you can pinch off their hindmost legs to slow them down.

I did feed tiny silkworms to a couple of panda bear froglets (I got them from Mulberry Farms). They'd probably work for these gray tree frogs, too. I'm not sure how well the silkworms ship this time of year.

Some tiny mealworms now and then would probably be okay.

And then there's also netting tiny insects from tall grass or from a porch light at night. On the Fourth, we saw an adult gray tree frog feeding at our friend's porch light, which had attracted loads of insects--midges, mosquitoes, etc. A toad had come out from under the porch to feast, too.

I'm not sure if this would work with froglets, but adult gray tree frogs do seem to have a pretty aggressive feeding response to an insect's legs grasping their snout. I would hold a moth or butterfly or mealworm up to the tree frog and let the insect's legs grip the tree frog's mouth, and the tree frog would soon gobble the insect. Maybe this response helps the frogs feed in the dark, or feed on quick, flying things like moths? Perhaps the same technique could be used for the froglets using tweezers with very tiny tips to hold the small food items.

Good luck!
 

jbherpin

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Those froglets are looking cool!

The pinhead crickets available at most pet stores might work. They can be gutloaded and dusted with calcium powder or other nutrient powder appropriate for froglets. If the pinheads are too quick for the froglets, you can pinch off their hindmost legs to slow them down.

I did feed tiny silkworms to a couple of panda bear froglets (I got them from Mulberry Farms). They'd probably work for these gray tree frogs, too. I'm not sure how well the silkworms ship this time of year.

Some tiny mealworms now and then would probably be okay.

And then there's also netting tiny insects from tall grass or from a porch light at night. On the Fourth, we saw an adult gray tree frog feeding at our friend's porch light, which had attracted loads of insects--midges, mosquitoes, etc. A toad had come out from under the porch to feast, too.

I'm not sure if this would work with froglets, but adult gray tree frogs do seem to have a pretty aggressive feeding response to an insect's legs grasping their snout. I would hold a moth or butterfly or mealworm up to the tree frog and let the insect's legs grip the tree frog's mouth, and the tree frog would soon gobble the insect. Maybe this response helps the frogs feed in the dark, or feed on quick, flying things like moths? Perhaps the same technique could be used for the froglets using tweezers with very tiny tips to hold the small food items.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions, it is appreciated!

JBear
 

jbherpin

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...adult gray tree frogs do seem to have a pretty aggressive feeding response to an insect's legs grasping their snout. I would hold a moth or butterfly or mealworm up to the tree frog and let the insect's legs grip the tree frog's mouth, and the tree frog would soon gobble the insect.Good luck!

My adults have always hand fed when I rubbed their nose with food... Even when obtained from the wild as adults... They are very tame and docile frogs... Love them! When I was a child I would build towers for them to climb, and they would go to the top and simply perch.

JBear
 

Alex M

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I think you should bite the bullet and feed them fruit flies, a single well loaded tub will keep many youngsters fed for a week, plus I see no need to culture as they'll soon be able to take larger prey. I breed both versicolor and chrysoscelis, and start them on FF, springtails and micro crickets - not sure I'd have the patience nor ability to remove the hind legs from the latter as was suggested above, neither is it needed as your young Hyla are quite capable of catching fully mobile crickets.

Cheers
Al
 

jbherpin

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Some updates...

Any idea why the tad in pic 3 and 7 is so lightly colored? There are 2 like that...

JBear
 

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jbherpin

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A few more pics...

JBear
 

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ed_moyer

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Well, Jbear you know how long I've been breed things. an what I've found to be one of the best feeders an easiest to culture are little Kenyan roaches (Blaberidae sp. "Kenya")
 

jbherpin

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Well, Jbear you know how long I've been breed things. an what I've found to be one of the best feeders an easiest to culture are little Kenyan roaches (Blaberidae sp. "Kenya")

Ed!!! Great to hear from you!!! Thank you for the feedback! The tads were in a pool tarp covering their pool. The person was wanting to use their pool but didn't want to kill the tads. I took them on to raise until metamorphosis. I am keeping them in the garage in all new tubs to make sure there is no issues in transporting them back to the wild. I will keep a few, maybe 2. I started out with 31. Lost 1 to a gas bubble, the rest are morphing FAST... I just wanted to ensure the best health while they were in my care... I have been feeding them garden insects, to give them a good start prior to release.

JBear
 

jbherpin

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Update.

JBear
 

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Sith the turtle

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If you are keeping some, I reccomend pinheads. They are great, because they will grow at kind of the same pace, so they can be set for a while
 

jbherpin

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If you are keeping some, I reccomend pinheads. They are great, because they will grow at kind of the same pace, so they can be set for a while

Released all but 3. They were all well started with wild caught food. TY, the last set of pics were at the release point.

JBear
 
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