# Frogs & Toads > Fire Belly Toads (Bombina) >  Earthworms as staple?

## isu712

Do earthworms make a good staple?  If so, how do you feed them to your FBTs?  I'm assuming that a full earthworm would be too large for an FBT so they would need to be cut up.

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## inkrealm

I was told if you use them as the main food they'll get too many nutrients... I give mine each the equivalent of one full worm a week, sometimes two, no more though. 
you do cut them up, as you said, they'd be way too large for the little guys >< 
I use a plastic spoon, place one piece in it at a time, and feed them one piece at a time. just like with crickets, wait for them to swallow before you give them more >< 
they still wiggle, so it all works fine.. if they fight too much I just push one away carefully with a soft fish net or the smooth side of another plastic spoon, watching the legs, while I let the other eat, and then switch them and feed the other. 
just make sure if you get them yourself that you feed them EARTH WORMS, not the red ones, which are night crawlers; night crawlers are supposed to be harmful >< 
they're supposed to add a little extra nourishment, and they are convenient in a pinch since you can go out and get them pretty easily yourself if needed.. ^-^
and since I'm not sure how hard they are to digest, remember to keep them around the horizontal length between their eyes. smaller frogs might need smaller pieces, the last thing you want is for them to get caught in digestion ;-;

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## isu712

How is it that they can get too much nutrients?

Also, I know you say not to feed nightcrawlers, but what about red wigglers?  They are easy to raise and I could keep a colony.

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## Wormwood

Nightcrawlers, earthworms and red wigglers are fine.  I've never had any issue feeding them to FBT or any other frog/toad.

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## inkrealm

think wrigglers are the same ><
I haven't tried them or the night crawlers personally, but I was advised not too so I figured why push it, don't wanna test it on my frogs >< 
as for the nutrients question:
they're supposed to be really fattening, just like humans: some fatty food is good, but too much and you get unhealthy. same with calcium, some calcium is good, too much and messes up their bones or something. vitamins, everything, the same way humans can get too much of a good thing, so can frogs. another good explanation: you probably take vitamins, or at least took them when you were little. one was good for you, but if you ate more than one, or say a hand-full, you could get ill enough to have to go to the hospital. see?

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## isu712

I believe that they could get too much fat, but that shouldn't apply to calcium or many of the vitamins.  Vitamin A is really the only one that humans can get too much of, but I'm not sure about frogs.  I think I will give them a try and see how the frogs respond.

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## JSG

Guys, I can't see that in nature a frog would not go for a worm. If an opportunity present itself to grab a bite, I think they'll go for it. Just my 2 cents worth.

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## Leefrogs

my WTF will suck down a whole crawler without a problem. Most important, strip the poo out of the worm first. The dirt in the digestive tract will give your frog diareah. The only problem I see is maybe the head and tail parts would act like a parchute(possibly only with small frogs ) so split these.

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## Wormwood

I can't speak for most frog species, but as far as Toads (of all sizes) go I've never had any issues with any kind of worm and certinally no impaction problems over 20+ years raising them. If red wigglers/red worms are more fatty I don't see them being anymore harmful and fatty then dusted mealworms. I actually find that worms usually firm up the waste produced by them since they do carry some undigestable material in them.  I also can't belive that any feeder has enough Vit. A in it to do a frog harm.  If your over feeding your little friend that is where the issue is.

It's not good to rely on one feeder anyway. Mix it up with some crickets, pill-bugs, earthworms and once in a while (gasp, I know) meal worms. I won't belive the hype until I actually see a picture of a meal worm biting it's way out of a frog, or have one "croak" on me. Wild frogs and toads eat way nastier junk with tougher mandiables out in the wilds like grasshoppers, spiders, centapides and bettles.

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## inkrealm

appologize for the late reply, had some personal things to deal with, 
best wishes on the worms though ^-^

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## isu712

I think I'm going to get a colony of red wigglers going and use those as a staple.  I'll also use crickets or other worms to vary up the diet.

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## Fingerlink

Have you ever tried feeding them live bloodworms?
My two Firebelly's will eat live bloodworms, small crickets, and live flies, but they refuse to eat earthworms.

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