Froglet?

[Nunsoup]

It's froglet season at the moment, so a couple of questions really, if they're not too big can you feed one to a mantis? is it safe? and how do people generally feel about using 'cute' creatures as feeders, my daughter has said that there is no way we can feed ours butterflies! (Moths are fine though!)

 

[spotsy99]

I can't answer your frog question, but I'm with your daughter about the butterflies. It may be silly, but pretty moths are a no go either. 

Flies and roaches? No problem! 

Denise 

 

[Ranitomeya]

Remember that some froglets can eat things nearly as big as they are. Anything thinner than the width of their mouth can also be munched on, even if it is a bit longer than them--they'll just cram it into their mouths and down their stomach as best they can.

If you plan on feeding vertebrates, keep in mind that any uneaten bits need to be removed promptly or else you might find yourself with a foul-smelling enclosure.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

My advice, just don't do it. There is nothing special to gain from feeding your mantis vertebrates. Mantises don't kill their food before eating leaving something with the nervous system of a vertebrate to suffer considerably before they die.

 

[GingerC]

I don't see it as any more or less cruel than feeding them an insect; regardless of whether insects feel pain or not, there is some evidence in support of insect emotion, and losing your tail end down a mantis gullet is bound to cause some distress. All life has value, but it just so happens that mantids, like all other animals, eat other living things.

With that said, feeding them froglets seems like a rather messy endeavor. I'd stick to bugs, just to be safe.