Session #2009

To date, more than 7,500 species of anurans have been described. From this list, nearly 500 species are estimated to be maintained in captive settings such as zoological collections or in households as pets. However, due to their unique physiology and diverse ecology, our knowledge of amphibian nutrition for these captive anurans remains limited. Additionally, because it is hard to simulate the natural diets of this group, it is common to face medical concerns such as obesity, cachexia, nutritional deficiencies, and poor reproductive success with these animals. Proper husbandry, including a nutritionally complete diet, is essential to our success with caring for these animals in captivity. This requirement will only increase as climate change and other human activities force these animals out of their native ranges and into captivity. Currently, the most common feeding guide resources available for amphibians are based on subjective recommendations of amphibian breeders or research based on specific species that are extrapolated to other species. To ensure our long-term success with these animals, it is important for us to develop species-specific, or at minimal genus-specific, feeding recommendations. The objective of this study was to determine the daily food consumption rate (percentage body weight) of captive red-eye tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas). We hypothesized that the frogs would have variable food consumption rates and account for less than 3% of body weight/day. The results of the study confirmed our hypotheses that red-eye tree frogs’ daily maintenance requirements are not the 3% expected for most vertebrates.