I don't think it works like that w/ the vitamins.....once the feeder insects ingest it, their bodies begin breaking it down and digesting it - gutloading works in unison w/ dusting, but you shouldn't sacrifice one for the other.....I would still do both just to be safe....the frogs will excrete anything their body does not utilize. If you see lots of white in the fecal matter, then it might be good to cut back on calcium, but I would start with mice, since the dust contain vital nutrients besides just calcium.
i agree (sorry maybe my rambling may have mixed it up lol ) you will need to dust any insects you feed to your frog but you can also dust the insect food as well, mammals and fish eaten should provided enough if its a regular routine. the miss conception isn't the amount the animal can digest its whether the rest of the components are there too. gut loading helps with a good varied diet the main problem is the production of Vit D3 needed to produce bone and growth. this process is normally helped by natural uv radiation produced by the sun, but a lot of amphibs try to avoid direct sunlight to stop dehydration. this can be helped in captivity with a low UV bulb 2.0 or maybe a 5.0, but its at risk. dusting helps because it much easier for the body to brake it down and be used. insects don't have much calcium in them anyway, dusting helps to prevent the need for lights and add the digestive track with the process. basking animals need to have lights and good UV radiation to help the process.
This certainly not the case, animals that require UVB, require UVB, even MORE when dusting and more nutrients come into play. Without UVB, there would be no point in dusting at all unless the animal is 100% Nocturnal. Diurnal and Crepuscular animals require the UVB to synthesize D3 which allows them to absorb calcium ; no D3, no Calcium = Metabolic Bone Disease. When dusting and feeding foods high in calcium, lack of UVB runs your animal the risk of overdosing. Use a 2.0 if you're concerned, but I have seen a variety of tropical Amphibians under 10.0 and 90F and the only thing I noticed different about them is increased appetite, and while I wouldn't by any means recommend it (when a 5.0 is more than enough at 12-18" away), African Bullfrogs are INCREDIBLY hardy and resilient so if anything could endure, they would be the ones.
be careful with this type of set-up.....I did one w/ a plastic critter-keeper similar to this for a juvenile Chinese Water Dragon and built a waterfall into it and he managed to wedge himself between the glass and the "Critter-Fall'' and ended up drowning, sadly.....this looks fine and he looks too FAT to have this issue but they may surprise you by squeezing into tight spots you'd never expect. Make sure the water level stays below his face just to be safe is my advice......JUST in case.
