Can i feed my Garter Frogs???

[Hazeldarc]

my husband found this parasite spray at the pet store and wanted me to find out if he bought a bottle of the parasite spray would it be ok to spray a W/C Frog down with it and give it to our W/C Garter because before i knew it was bad to feed him frogs i did feed them to him and he loved it ....

[PINJOHN]

being a spray to kill parasites probably means we are talking chemicals and i doubt the garter would be tempted by the taste, but just in case he was, then ingesting chemicals is unlikely to do him much good, and more probably do him more than a bit of damage

[guidofatherof5]

What product are you talking about here?

[Hazeldarc]

im not sure what the product is but he found it at the fish bowl in town .... he works in the oil field industry and where he goes to the rig sites there are frogs near by and i read another thread where someone was talking about freezing them for two weeks would kill the parasites does that really work and the blood parasite think if i was to freeze a frog then thaw it would it still be caring them

[d_virginiana]

I was under the impression that most of the parasites that a frog would pass to a snake were internal, in which case spraying the outside wouldn't do much good.
Also, I think there's a pretty high risk of the spray harming your snake.

Most snakes get enough enjoyment out of feeder fish for live prey. They're fairly cheap, and they're safe. It's better to avoid the wild frogs altogether IMO.

[Hazeldarc]

ok
yes he eats fish and worm but he is difficult alot of the time and wont eat either sometimes and i have tried so many times to get him to take a pinky but he wont we have just been trying to figure out how to maybe let him have something we knew he use to never turn away from... hummm.... so even if i froze the frogs for two weeks like the person was talkin about on the other form and said it kills parasites i shouldnt try it???

[Hazeldarc]

on the frog leg form there was a post that someone made saying that if they could find bull frogs farmed in the US they would use them all the time if i could find a frog farm that had bull frogs would that be ok or no???

[d_virginiana]

If your snake is used to wild frogs, then he might not take pre-killed frog legs. I don't really know since I've never given mine frog before, but I imagine there's a smell difference :p idk if they'd work the same way with a snake used to live, wild ones as with not-so-picky eaters looking for a treat (er.. hope that made sense). Could you try using a frog to scent the fish/worms/pinkies?
For long-term feeders it just isn't practical to use frogs. But yes, freezing should kill the parasites, so there wouldn't be any need for the spray after that.

Can you even tell what type/where they were farmed with grocery store frog-legs? I don't spend a lot of time in that section of the grocery store, so idk how they're labeled :rolleyes:

[Hazeldarc]

i gotcha and i dont really know if there is a difference in them i just dont have a clue but i was thinking of trying some thing to get him something different then just worms and fish i wish i could get him to take pinkies i have tried so many times he doesnt want anything to do with em tho...

[PINJOHN]

i would persist with the scenting don't just try once and give up, you say he really likes the frogs so i think scenting is definitely your best option.
rub the pinky thoroughly over the frog making sure that all parts of the pinky receive the frogs smell, you might also try wearing those surgeon type latex gloves to stop your scent being left on the pinky

EDIT JUST SPOTTED THE HOW DO YOU SCENT THREAD THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THERE

[Stefan-A]

my husband found this parasite spray at the pet store and wanted me to find out if he bought a bottle of the parasite spray would it be ok to spray a W/C Frog down with it and give it to our W/C Garter because before i knew it was bad to feed him frogs i did feed them to him and he loved it ....
No. It's not intended to be used that way and it's not intended to be ingested. Do not do it.

[Hazeldarc]

lol thank you all for the help i am just gonna stick with the fish and worms and continue to try and scent some pinkies

[ConcinusMan]

If this is a WC snake it is likely already carrying internal parasites. (worms) A spray sounds like it's for mites/ticks, etc. which are external parasites. If that is the case, definitely do not allow it to get into their water or be swallowed as it is probably insecticide. Follow the directions carefully. If doesn't say to spray it on their food, then don't! Don't even use it at all unless there is evidence that your snake has mites/ticks.

Anyway, if it's a WC snake it probably already has worms and feeding it frogs probably won't do any harm that hasn't already been done. I say if he won't eat any food known to be clean, then he's better off eating the frogs. At least that way, he's eating something. It's just that for long term health in captivity it's best to have your snake dewormed properly and feed it foods that don't carry worms to prevent reinfection. Short term captivity feeding it WC frogs is OK in my opinion, but not good for the long term.

IF he'll eat f/t fish and earthworms, then avoid the frogs. Permenently. Also, get him dewormed if you can. (oral prescription medicine to rid him of tapeworms, hookworms, internal parasites) He'll be healthier in the long term if you do that.

[Hazeldarc]

do i get the dewormer from the vet or the pet store?

[kibakiba]

Vet.

[Hazeldarc]

ty