How much should a fairly large Spring Peeper eat per week - if crickets?

[Bill B]

My Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer (recently caught), would probably eat one small cricket per day if I fed it one each day. I don't want over-feeding problems which has been demonstrated in Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor), such as fatty buildup in the eyes, leading to part of full blindness.

How many small crickets should I feed per week? I think crickets are a bit less expensive in the long run than flightless fruit flies.

Bill

[chudson05]

the crickets cannot be bigger than the distance between his eyes

[LilyPad]

In my experience, spring peepers will not overeat. As Chudson said, the crickets cannot be longer than the space between their eyes. My spring peepers, even as fully grown adults, always preferred flightless fruit flies over crickets. I did usually offer them a mix.

In all honesty though, I would release an adult wild caught spring peeper and try to catch a baby instead. Adults do not adjust well to captivity and usually die from the stress after a few months. A baby can also succumb to stress but is much more likely to adjust to the captive environment. I'd make sure you're keeping him in a very quiet and mostly unused room in a viv with plenty of hiding places if you do not intend to release him.

As for the amount...I'd give him as many as he'll eat overnight and bowl feed so they aren't causing him stress.