Hello All,
I've recently retired from the herpetology dept at the Bronx Zoo and have some observations re mice as a food item for frogs. While African Bullfrogs and some species of Horned Frogs take a good deal of vertebrate prey at certain times of the year, the majority of this prey is other frogs. Rodents are an infrequent prey item for these and for other large frogs, incl Cane Toads, Col. River Toads. An extensive field study of cane toads in Venezuela found no rodents or other vertebrates in stomach contents (pub in Copeia, I believe); I worked in the same region...many rodents and small herps were present, but inverts were found in stomach contents. At the zoo, all dead animals are necropsied...we have seen numerous incidences of hair impaction in large frogs that consumed mice; also kidney, liver problems, as well as fat deposits in the eye (also occurs when insectivorous lizards and lg salamanders consume rodents). It should also be remembered that digestion etc does not always function the same in captivity when compared to wild situation...hydration, other food items, calcium levels, general health affect ability to digest and to expel feces (this may partially explain why substrate impactions are common in captivity), Calcium intake is very important, especially for growing frogs, but furred rodents should not be offered. An occasional pink mouse (1x month or less) is fine for most large frogs, but far better to rely upon a highly varied diet of inverts. Earthworms are simple to nutrient-load, and often have decent CA levels when collected. Fish can be used for some species, but see cautions re goldfish in article linked below.
Many keepers feed rodents seemingly w/o incident, but it is impt to bear in mind that longevity of 10-15 yrs are not impressive where most large frogs are concerned; Af Bullfrogs have exceeded 50 yrs of age in zoos, marine toads, Colorado River toads commonly live into their 20's and 30's, etc.
Please see following articles for more on rodents and frog diets in general, and pl let me know if you need more info.
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre...persus-part-1/
http://bit.ly/asjzz2
Best, Frank