That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

Click: Caring for Reptiles and Amphibians: Useful Products from the Aquarium Trade – Using Frozen and other Foods for Turtles, Aquatic Salamanders and Tadpoles – Part 1 to read the first part of this article.

Frozen Foods for Tadpoles

Tetramin Staple Diet Flakes  and spirulina flakes have long been used by hobbyists and zookeepers as foods for poison frog and other tadpoles.  However, frozen tropical fish foods have been largely over-looked as regards tadpole husbandry.

I have found a number of frozen foods to be well-accepted by a wide variety of tadpoles, including most poison frogs, tomato frogs, golden bell frogs, various flying frogs and native species such as bull, green and gray tree frogs, and Fowler’s and Colorado River toads.  The consistency of frozen foods renders them very palatable to tadpoles…by utilizing a few different types, it is a simple matter to formulate a healthy diet for many species.

Suggested Frozen Foods for Tadpoles

Cichlid Vegetable Food contains a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, while Emerald Entree has spinach and other vegetables along with animal protein derived from mysids and brine shrimp.   Spirulina is always a favorite and is a fine food for nearly all tadpoles.

The tadpoles of most frog and toad species, even those described in references as “grazing upon algae”, usually consume a good deal of animal matter in the form of Daphnia and other tiny invertebrates and carrion.  I suggest you provide a mix of several foods containing both plant and animal matter to most species.  Please write in information concerning individual species that you might be interested in rearing.

Freeze Dried Foods for Tadpoles

As mentioned earlier, Tetramin Staple Diet and Spirulina flakes are tadpole-rearing standbys, and I continue to rely upon both.  For most tadpoles, I also make liberal use of freeze dried fish foods.  Many of the fresh water invertebrates favored by small fishes, and available in freeze-dried form, are consumed by tadpoles as part of their natural diets.

Be sure to offer your tadpoles a variety of these highly nutritious foods, especially Cyclops, Daphnia, and bloodworms.

Tablets and Wafers for Tadpoles

Sinking tablets and wafers are especially useful when rearing tadpoles.  They are dense enough to keep the tadpoles of bullfrogs, smoky jungle frogs, marine toads and other large frogs busy, yet are palatable to even the smallest species (I have used algae tablets for the tiny tadpoles of wood frogs and spring peepers).

I usually raise tadpoles in bare-bottomed tanks, especially where large numbers are concerned.  This eases cleaning and allows for close observations.  However, in zoo and public aquarium exhibits, I am sometimes faced with the task of rearing tadpoles on gravel or other substrates (please see photo).  In these instances I find tablet and wafer type foods to be a great help in maintaining water quality, as most of the food stays above the gravel bed.  Also, in well-planted exhibits, it is easier to keep track of how much is being consumed when using tablets as opposed to flake or frozen tadpole foods.

Recommended Tablets and Wafers

Tetramin Tablets provide both animal and vegetable matter, and are a good choice as a dietary staple for many species.  Algae Eater Chips are quite unique in containing several types of algae, and should be fed to any frog or toad tadpole that will accept them (most do so readily).  As with frozen and flake products, spirulina discs are a good basic food item for most commonly-kept tadpoles.

Many items marketed for tropical fish are of great value to reptile and amphibian enthusiasts. Please see: Caring for Reptiles and Amphibians: Useful Foods, Medications and other Products from the Aquarium Trade – Introduction and Feeding Accessories for background information and notes on other products.

Frozen Foods for Turtles

Frozen silversides, krill, beef heart, sand eels, mussels and similar foods provide a convenient means of increasing dietary variety for many reptile and amphibian pets.  They are readily accepted by nearly all aquatic turtles, including soft-shells, sliders, cooters, map turtles, snake-necks and musk turtles.

Diamondback Terrapins – Estuarine Specialists

Marine foods, such as sand eels, should not be used as a dietary staple for freshwater turtles, but rather as a supplement each 7-14 days.  However, diamondback terrapins, which inhabit estuaries and other brackish environments, should be offered mussels, krill and other such foods at most meals.

These gorgeous, variably-patterned turtles have an undeserved reputation as difficult captives.  Indeed, when kept in what is the proper manner for, let’s say, a painted turtle, a diamondback will usually fail to thrive.  However, when kept in brackish water and fed shellfish, krill, marine fishes and other natural food items, they make active, long-lived pets.

Other Salt Marsh Turtles

Snapping turtles often enter brackish environments…indeed some populations are specifically adapted to such.  I have had good success in raising snapper hatchlings on diets composed of approximately 50% marine-based organisms.

The eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum) is another “freshwater” turtle that is often associated with estuarine environments.  In New York State, it occurs only on Long Island and Staten Island, where it is almost always found in salt marshes.  Mud turtles also fare well on a diet high in marine foods such as mussels and krill.

A Note Concerning Krill

Krill are shrimp-like creatures native to marine environments.  As such, I would normally recommend they be used in the diets of fresh water turtles on an occasional basis only (except for the estuarine species mentioned above).  However, some years ago a colleague raised a group of Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) hatchlings on a diet composed entirely of freeze dried krill and Reptomin Food Sticks.  The turtles grew quickly, matured into adults with perfectly-formed shells, and have, I believe, reproduced.

Since then, I have used frozen and freeze dried krill as a substantial part of the diet of spiny soft-shelled turtles, a number of Australian snake-necked turtle species, red-headed side-necked turtles, midland painted turtles, axolotls, tiger salamander larvae, red-spotted newts, sharp-ribbed newts, African clawed frogs and many others…with fine results in each case.  I heartily recommend that you include krill as part of the diets of your aquatic reptile and amphibian pets.

Frozen Foods for Large and Small Aquatic Salamanders

Amphiumas, mudpuppies and sirens will accept most of the aforementioned items, and newts of all types relish krill.

Beef heart was long used as a staple diet for laboratory colonies of Mexican axolotls and African clawed frogs, and countless generations were raised and bred on this food item alone.  Although I favor a more varied diet for these creatures, certainly frozen beef heart is a very useful food that should be offered regularly.

Click here to read the 2nd part of this article.