# Frogs & Toads > Tomato Frogs, Painted Frogs & Microhylids >  New tomato frogs

## abc123

I just got 2 tomato frogs today, one is about 2" and the other is about 1 1/2". I think the larger one is a female because it's brighter in color than the other one, although both have nice colors (I'll post some pics later). I have them in a 50 gallon tank, with coco fiber as a substrate. I'm thinking of putting in some sphagnum moss on top of it too, would that be good for them? I have a compact uvb light and a low wattage heat lamp on one side of the tank. Would it be ok to have silkworms as the frogs staple food instead of crickets? I would also add in other worms once in a while and crickets every so often as well (maybe once every other week). Should I dust multivitamin on the insects every other feeding? I was also thinking of getting another tomato frog to go with them. Any tips or advice for caring for tomato frogs would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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## Sherry

Do you have pics? I love pics!! Also, silkworms are the most nutritious feeder you can get, but everyone likes variety! :Smile:

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## abc123

I'll post some pictures tomorrow morning i guess

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## Colleen/Jerrod

I believe silkworms have alot of cholesterol and if fed to some frogs in large quantities can cause blindness because of the fat and cholesterol building up behind the eyes, but it does take an aweful lot of them to cause this so i believe youre fine. Tbe buildup i believe is cause by over feeding them with silkworms. Other than this they are one of the most nutritious feeders you can use like Sunshine said.

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## abc123

I think my frogs are adults, so should I feed them every other day? If I feed them silkworms each feeding except one feeding a week (where I would feed them crickets), would that be alright? So Saturday crickets, Sunday a few silkworms, Tuesday silkworms, Thursday silkworms, Saturday crickets... and so on. Would that be a good feeding schedule? And every few months would it be okay to feed them a little feeder guppy each? And would substituting silkworms for mealworms every so often be alright? And how often should I dust multivitamin on the food, and which multivitamin would you recommend for tomato frogs? Thanks for the replies

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## Pluke

When you post the picture can you have a quarter in it for size reference? You positive they are adults? Mine are probably 1- 2 inches right now but they will barely eat anything other than crickets. Have you actually fed them silkworms yet? These frogs tend to be very picky and will give up trying to eat something if they fail to get it after a couple licks, I think they prefer the small prey like crickets and little roaches, quick moving bugs. I've tried giving mine nightcrawler chunks and they just lick at it a couple times than give up, although they did like young hornworms. You could probably feed them guppies if they'll take it, worth a shot I suppose, I just don't trust fish in general because I'm afraid of parasites. 

I dust my frogs food with "Repashy Calcium Plus" every feeding, which is about 4-5 days a week. That's a caclium/multivitamin mix. They have grown real fast and are forming some nice colors, I have a thread with pictures of them in it. Maybe you can get an idea of how old yours are by looking at mine. There is a quarter there for size reference, mine are about 4 months old.

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## abc123

Here is the bigger one beside a quarter. I didn't want to disturb them much since I just got them yesterday, so the pictures aren't that good.




I got some silkworms from the petstore but they only had 5 left, so I gave the bigger frog 3 and the smaller on 2. I just put the worms in front of their face and they ate it right away by just shooting out their tongs lol. I also got some crickets that I fed them after, they ate those too. Judging by the frog's size would you say it is an adult? Thanks for the help

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## Pluke

Yup, definitely adults. Glad to see that they like the silkworms, I have a hard time finding those around here for some reason. One of these days I'll get some. Your frogs look good.  :Smile:

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## abc123

Thanks, so that feeding schedule should be alright then? And about how many silkworms should I give them each in one feeding?

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## Pluke

I really don't have any experience with Silkworms, but if they're anything like Hornworms, I'd only give them one or two at a time depending on the size. Maybe twice a week while giving crickets for all other feedings.. this is just a guess though, like I said I have no experience with Silkworms. Your frogs are big enough to where you can offer nightcrawlers too. I've tried to give them to mine I just think they are too small or something.. I've seen videos on youtube of Tomato frogs inhaling nightcrawlers.

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## abc123

http://www.reptilechannel.com/images...Food10-500.jpg
Silkworms are much smaller than hornworms, and they have a lot less fat, but still a lot of nutrition. If I feed them 4 times a week, I think I will give silkworms two or three times a week and crickets one or two times. I will also add in some other random foods once in a while as well. The problem is I have to dump in the crickets right after I get them because my mom hates them and whenever I keep them in a container they always die quickly and some even jump out when I feed them and they run around the house.

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## Pluke

Ahh, I know what you mean. Crickets are kind of annoying. I just have a tub full of them at all times for my tomatos, that's just how I do it. I'd prefer to feed my tomatos something else but unfortunately crickets are the cheapest and most convenient thing.. I would use dubia's but they burrow and thats even more of a pain. I plan on breeding silkworms here sometime if I ever manage to get a hold of some..

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## abc123

I found my tomato frog with a chunk of coco fiber in his mouth and I think it was because he was shedding. They eat their shed skin right? Please give me some advice, thanks

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## Pluke

Yeah, they shed. They open and close their mouths like any other frogs would and whatever is stuck to their skin has the tendancy to be ingested. Nothing to worry about my tomatos eat bits of eco earth all the time and they're fine. They aren't exactly sharp-shooters when it comes to eating, sometimes just dropping food in the container they'll start lashing out at nothing in front of them and eat dirt, lol.

When I blow up a brick of eco earth I just skim through it and make sure there isn't any sticks/rocks/matter that will cause impactions.

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## abc123

I was thinking about putting sphagnum moss on half of the tank as the top layer over the coco fiber to help keep in the humidity. Would that be detrimental to the frog's health? I have heard both good things and bad things about sphagnum moss.

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## Pluke

I don't think it's as much of an issue as it would be with pacman frogs, but I don't use it. I just have eco earth and fake plants in my tank. I have a glass lid and only need to mist like once every 2 days.. I stir the soil around and mist. Always make sure you check little burrows they're not using anymore for feces, when they go to find a new spot to burrow it's normally cause there is a big turd in their last spot. At least that's what I've come to notice.

I suppose you could use sphagnum moss if you really wanted, I see people do it a lot with Tomato frogs. I'm just too afraid they'd ingest it and don't have trouble keeping humidity. What kind of lid do you have on the enclosure, screen?

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## abc123

Half the lid is screen and half is glass. They are in a 50 gallon tank right now because I'm thinking of getting some more tomato frogs and putting them together. I'm going to get an automatic mister so it is easier to keep the humidity in there. I might also get some live plants to go in there too.

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## Pluke

You could also cover up some of the screened part with plastic wrap to help hold in humidity in the mean time. Live plants will definitely help as well, they do like to dig them up though so make sure you choose the right kinds. I hear Pothos are good for tomato frog tanks.

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## T3RR1B1L15

Tomato frogs are beautiful creatures. They produce glue when threatened...you might not want to agitate them for that simple reason.
Nonetheless their colours are amazing, they're quite simple to breed, and their froglets are adorable. Not to mention they make great display pets.

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## abc123

The pupil of one of my tomato frogs is really small and dilated, and it doesn't look like the other one's or what it used to look like before. Anyone heard of this before?

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## Pluke

I'm not sure what this problem could be.. I've seen it in frogs before, just not sure what causes it. Are your frogs wild caught? If they are wild caught, there is a good chance that the frogs have parasites and this may be a symptom of that. It also could be because he had a bright light in one eye and not the other.. but I have a feeling that's not the case.

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## abc123

They may be wild caught since I got them from Pj's pet store, I didn't think about it at the time. The pupil is small in both eyes. If the frog does have parasites then what could I do to get rid of them. Thanks

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## Pluke

If both eyes on one frog is dialated I'm not sure what the problem is.. I know pacman frog pupils tend to get really small and dialated sometimes, usually when they are sleep mode. Maybe this is what the tomato frog is doing. As far as treating parasites goes.. I really don't know what you could do other than take it to a vet, for most worms I think they prescribe Panacur powder, but you shouldn't take my word for it, I have no experience in the matter. You can't even be sure if they have parasites, it's just a chance. Check the feces for abnormalities.. usually if there are parasites you'll see signs of them in the feces. Hopefully someone else will dime in on the subject.

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## abc123

Thanks a lot for your help. I'll check her out at night when she's hopping around to see if the eyes are dilated. I hope she is ok, what would I be looking for in the feces, it looks normal to me, and she moves burrows like every night or so. Do frogs close their eyes when they are sleeping? She sorta closes them I think. And another thinge, how often should I change the substrate? Thanks

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## Pluke

Look for white wormy things, little bugs, stuff like that I guess. I've never had that problem so I've never actually seen it myself just going by things I've read on the forums. Frogs never close there eyes to sleep, atleast none of mine do. They do tend to dialate them a bit and their pupils get real small. I'd change the substrate once a month as long as you spot clean and pick out any ****. Since you have a big 50 gallon tank, you could probably do it less than that if you be sure to spot check and stir the soil while adding some fresh spring water while stirring once a week, that's usually what I do. I have a 20 gallon long and change it around once a month.

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## sschind

> I was thinking about putting sphagnum moss on half of the tank as the top layer over the coco fiber to help keep in the humidity. Would that be detrimental to the frog's health? I have heard both good things and bad things about sphagnum moss.



I use only long fiber sphagnum with my tomatoes (no coco fiber) and I have not seen any problems.  I've been keepingthem on it for many years.  They are much more precise feeders than pac man frogs and rarely get a mouthful.  I just make sure that after I wet the moss down I pack it very tightly.  This seems to keep the loose strands from poking up.

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