Feeding Frogs?

[Stefan-A]

This requires a person being intelligent and familiar with local conservation issues. I would not for example recommend collecting mountain yellow legged frogs to feed to your pet T. atratus.

The problem is that not everybody is familiar with conservation issues and I don't see the point in assuming that people are.

Amphibian declines are caused by three things

1) Chitrid Fungus. Many north american species are resistant to this, either because the climate is not suitable for the fungus, or because the anti-fungal compounds in the frog's skin confer protection.

2)Invasive predators/competitors. Bullfrogs feed on and replace native frogs when introduced...

3) Habitat destruction. Need I say more?

Going by the IUCN red list of amphibians in Europe, the biggest threats here are habitat loss/degradation, pollution and climate change and in third place... harvesting (hunting/gathering). Invasive alien species, a category that includes chytridiomycosis and the American bullfrog, were deemed a smaller threat than all of these. Of course, this is just our situation, yours is still to be determined, it seems. However, judging only by what I've seen, harvesting is far more widespread and intensive over there, especially compared to Northern Europe, where it's practically unheard of.

Most of the species a person will encounter in their yard though are resistant to the later, because their habitat requirements are very broad. For example: Southern Leopard Frogs can be found anywhere from swamps to residential drainage canals. So long as there is water and vegetation, these frogs do fine and reproduce in large numbers.

Yeah, most species a person will encounter in their yard, already belong to a population subjected to habitat destruction or, at the very least, degradation. It's a basic problem with land development. However, that they manage to survive and presumably breed in drainage canals and ditches doesn't mean it's a healthy population or that it's safe to collect any. That they have to, is to me an indicator that it probably isn't.

One just needs to pay attention, and learn about the prey animals they catch.

And when in doubt, leave them as they are.

[Melmo]

Bullfrogs are such a big problem in the US. Living in a place where they are invasive, which is in a lot of places, I wouldn't be afraid to take smaller individuals or tadpoles to feed to captive garters. In fact, I know people who eat invasive Bullfrogs, to protect native population.

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

It's been a while...

I have 2 Coast Garters (I still call the Humboldt County populations Coasts, since this locality has anomalies that produced a lonely 3rd cladistic branch in the recentT. elegans study, where most terrestris were absorbed by the "Mountain" clade). I also have 1 infernalis and "Lefty", the one-eyed atratatus hydrophilus. All have fed on frogs that were derived from a single mating of 2 W/C Pacific Chorus Frogs; these were raised from egg to small adult in a small backyard pond (Our neighborhood is a cacophony of P. regilla in winter and spring). I also feed W/C CA Slender Salamanders to my Ring-neck and Sharp-tail; these come from the compost bin in my backyard.

There is always a feeling of reservation when I feed my W/C snakes W/C or W/C-bred prey. No, I do not really know the specific trends of all the surrounding populations; yes, they appear healthy... I do however believe that some of my own snake research may have to discontinue in the future due to the current plight of amphibians worldwide. In our county, they are plentiful; but for how long? Chytrid is getting close, as it has been found in the Trinity Alps east of us and is entering multiple watersheds. It's not an if, but a when. Please remember, an apparently healthy population of frogs could be wiped out in a very short time with the fungus. Perhaps the time has come to get the arks started, or just leave them alone; any numbers on their side may offer an edge.

I work in invasive weed management in Redwood National Park, and the problem with exotic invasives is relentless. I see, no matter how good our intentions may be, we are too late in addressing some of the invasions. Sudden oak death, Port Orford Cedar disease, Chytrid, New Zealand Mud Snails, Bullfrogs, Scotch Broom, Himalaya Berry, English Ivy, you name it! The neverending tug of war in funding projects that address these concerns often leads to bare containment... I mean like forget even trying to eradicate any one of these completely; the vectors are almost impossible to control (#1 vector: people, the most invasive species of them all! Try telling your average American what to do... Ha! ha! ha! Not funny! I mean, really, do we honestly think we can get every hiker or fisherman to sterilize his or her boots after every outing? How would that get policed?)

In the case of my Coasts and CA Red-sided, I have already fed some pinkies to the Coasts, and hope to turn these on to the infernalis. As for my atratus, Lefty gets trout filet and yes, the occasional frog... As for the parasites, that is a risk I have chosen to take in dealing with wild-caughts.
I will soon be co-authoring some scientific text for the herp journals regarding the dietary preferences of some of the W/C snakes I keep. Some of the info has never been documented before. None of the discoveries made would have occurred without taking that risk. Please believe me when I say I do actually love frogs as much as snakes....well... okay....

As for bullfrogs, if it's west of the Rockies, kill 'em, eat 'em, feed 'em, or donate them to science.

Also, I expect to see an increase in Pacific Chorus Frogs where their populations overlap with other species affected by chytrid. These frogs are immune. I saw possible evidence of this in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, where CA Chorus Frog tadpoles and metamorphs outnumbered Red-spotted Toad tadpoles about 99 to 1. I found no live toad metamorphs, only pools full of dead ones. This sighting was reported to Roland Knapp, who works with Mtn Yellow-legs in the Sierras; he wrote he would relay it to the USGS (pics may be seen on the main index of HumboldtHerps.com if you scroll down a bit.).

Will ramble again with you all soon. Hope to send the forum some new garter pics soon.

Steve