What Do Small Pet Frogs Eat?

Frogs can make great pets and are lots of fun to feed. They eat almost anything; flies, tadpoles, aphids, crickets, brine shrimp, and worms are all potential options for the menu. It's important not to overfeed your frog, as overfeeding a frog can kill it. Also make sure that the pieces of food you're feeding are not too large to fit in your frog's mouth and stomach.

  1. Insects

    • Frogs will eat a number of insects; aphids, flies, beetles and crickets are all good choices. If you are adventurous you can raise or catch your own bugs, but it is easier to buy them at the pet store. Crickets are sold commercially for this purpose, and you can buy them prepackaged with food so it's easy to keep them alive. When feeding your frog insects, make sure that the size of the insect is smaller than the width of your frog's head.

    Worms

    • Feed your frog some worms for a special treat. For small frogs you will do best to stick with wax worms, silkworms and meal worms. Put the worms in a small dish and feed your frog at night when he is most likely to be hungry. Meal worms can bite, so you should crush their heads before feeding them to your frog. Because worms are high in fat and have exoskeletons that can be difficult to digest, make sure to feed worms sparingly.

    Water Creatures

    • Aquatic frogs need food that can be placed directly into the water, like bloodworms and brine shrimp. Both items can be purchased frozen at the pet store (and sometimes live). Place the bloodworms or shrimp directly in the water. The frog will smell the food and come after it. If you'd like to feed your frog by hand, suck the brine shrimp or bloodworms up into a turkey baster, squirt them out in front of the frog, and have a great time watching your frog eat dinner.

    Food Pellets

    • You can also go to the pet store and buy specially formulated frog pellets. These pellets contain ingredients like fish meal, shrimp and krill. Do your research and choose a popular brand that provides complete nutrition. Feeding your frog food pellets may not be as exciting as dropping live crickets into the terrarium, but they are nutritious, inexpensive, and easy to store.