Feeding with Xenopus

[Stefan-A]

I also had to use the dwarfs for the hognose as well and didn't see any real difference....they both went down and stayed down with out any worries. As far as Bombina...these guys are REALLY toxic, even to the point where I've heard of people who've handled them having a reaction to there secreations.....think the same can go for the (Cynops...think that's the species...not as good with newts)newts as well. Don't know if I'd risk it.
Roy

I wouldn't risk it either, but I hadn't heard of anybody getting reactions. I certainly didn't get any. People also say that you shouldn't keep Cynops with fish, because the secretions will kill them, but back in the day when I kept them together (didn't know any better), that certainly didn't happen.

I guess you really are supposed to avoid everything in nature that's red & black.

[sschind]

Since most of us here are into more than just snakes, why not set up an aquarium and breed your own xenopus. I have not looked into it but I think they are fairly easy to breed. Seems all they need is a temperature fluctuation to start the mating ritual. They you would have access to tadpoles and young frogs and you could probably sell off a few youngsters to the pet shops here and there. I have been given a half dozen adults and if I have a pair I am thinking about trying it myself. If anything comes of it I will keep you posted.

Steve

[Cazador]

Hi guys,

I was just reading through this interesting thread. I think the threat of parasites is going to be severely reduced if you keep them in captivity. You could also drop some Flagyl into the tanks with your brood stock. As Stefan's pointing out, Xenopus laevis gets pretty big pretty quickly, so any froglets that aren't fed in time could be frozen and saved for later. The smaller the meal, the easier and quick it would be swallowed. I'm also impressed at how large the tadpoles are, but they're definitely small enough to be eaten. If you choose to feed Xenopus, I'd do it sparingly, since garters and Xenopus haven't co-evolved, or adapted to one another's defenses, being geographically separated.

Rick

[Stefan-A]

I'm not sure, but I think sewage treatment usually includes chemical disinfection.

[hjelte]

yeah I´m guessing we have the same system in Sweden as you guys in Finland Stefan, so I don´t think that this should be an issue really.

[sschind]

I'm not sure, but I think sewage treatment usually includes chemical disinfection.

True, but there are those who may not dump their wastewater down the drain. I know several people who use there discarded fish tank water for their plants. Obviously you wouldn't want to do that with bleached water but the warning is still valid.

[adamanteus]

I'm sure this is also the case in the UK.

[hjelte]

yeah I would believe we follow the same EU directives but of course I´ll try and look it up.

[Stefan-A]

Indeed it is valid.