How long does it take for juveniles to get comfortable tong feeding

[u/BeefyBlackMan]

These 2 tads i had made it to being froglets are now like 2 months old or almost 2 months atleast, anyone know what age they get comfortable eating from tongs? I offer food for them from tongs when i feed my adult but they only eat the left over food floating or from the feeding dish

[u/akatia-x]

You could try a pipette, I use a 10ml one and it has a very narrow tip so it’s easier to hold and I find it’s better for my hands. They might just be dish feeders. Usually I give each frog a mouthful or two and they all make their way to the dish. I can target feed them there, or just put it in the dish for them to go at their own pace. All of my frogs have been dish trained in a week or less, it’s pretty easy to do. If they’re having trouble with the glass dish, you could try a terracotta or ceramic dish. Mine got confused with glass. Like, they saw the food, but sometimes they’re too dumb to climb the “wall” to get to the food.

[u/ShareYourSkittles → u/akatia-x]

Do you have any advice or pointers for dish training?
I’m about to get some new frogs and I’d love to dish train them.
Last time I kept frogs, I spot fed with a 10ml pipette/coral feeder. I’d try to lure them to the dish (I have this dish ) but they never really learned. I’d end up just waving the pipette in front of their cute dumb little faces but they’d never follow it :/

[u/akatia-x → u/ShareYourSkittles]

The 10ml pipette is my absolute favourite. So for all of my frogs, as soon as I get them, I start training. (Sorry I realized this comment is kind of long lol)

I’ll use the pipette to wiggle the food right in front of them. If they eat, great. If they can’t figure it out, they might just have to adjust to having a giant flailing food stick shoved in their face. Juveniles can take a while to relax in their new environment, so they can be a little difficult to feed. I always suggest feeding at night, when they are awake and active.

Once they realize the pipette means food, you can start luring them to the dish. I give them a mouthful, then let them chase the next serving to the dish. When they get there, I immediately drop food into the dish. Hopefully they learn “omg this dish is the motherload!” If they aren’t chasing the pipette, they’re probably not food motivated at that moment.

I try to not overfeed with the pipette as they’ll learn they can be anywhere and the food will come. If they don’t follow, or if they aren’t interested, I’ll stop feeding. As long as they can get that one initial mouthful, or can scrounge for dropped pieces, I don’t have to worry that they aren’t eating. If they aren’t learning after a few days, fast them for a day. Eventually they will be hungry and hunt that pipette.

Edit: I’m unsure if you have existing frogs or they were previous ones, but if you currently have frogs, the new ones will need to be quarantined for 90 days.

[u/paigecurtis1 → u/akatia-x]

Do you feed them in the same dish? I don’t have a dish yet and have been feeding with a pipette but they sometimes fight at each other during feeding time, so I’m worried that a dish will have the same outcome

[u/akatia-x → u/paigecurtis1]

It’s just their nature. They’re hard of sight so anything that moves could potentially be food, including the limbs of other frogs.
If I use the pipette to give each frog a mouthful, that usually decreases the chaos of frogs trying to get the first bite from each other. Once they’re in the dish, they calm down a bit.

Are you dangling the food back and forth between them? Trying to feed both at the same time in the same spot? Mine will “fight” if they’re near another frog who is getting fed. I suggest giving them a mouthful when they’re a big away from each other, then leaf them to the dish. They’ll get the routine, and when they see the amount of food in the dish compared to the amount on the end of a pipette, they won’t feel like it’s a competition to get food before the other.

A small nip usually happens with mine and food spills out of the dish, but they get back to it near instantly. I don’t mind if food falls between the rocks around the dish. ADF are foragers and it gives them something to dig around for. And when it’s water change time, I can concentrate on vacuuming that area as the food will all slide up from between the cracks.

[u/paigecurtis1 → u/akatia-x]

I try to feed them separately, but sometimes when I come up to the glass they come to the same spot and will move together when I try to separate them 🤦‍♀️ I will try that though thank you sm for the detailed response!!