Comparative study of food preferences among male, females, adults, and

premature frogs affected to the food habits.

Khairunnisa 413 314 1041
Bilingual Biology education 2013 Medan State University

Abstract
Animals have their own food habits that of course different each othe.
Food preferences in animal affected their food habits. This mini-research used
four different types of sample which comparable each other, there are male
comparing with female and the adults comparing with the pre-mature one. The
ventricle were collected and observed for identifying the food preferences to the
food habits. As the result, the female sample eat the most and the last is the premature. The female prefer to eat plant while the male prefer to eat insect, the
premature and mature are prefer like plants than insect.
Keywords: Food preferences, food habits, frog.
Introduction
In nature most frogs are almost
totally insectivorous. In captivity the
tendency to use substitute foods is
one which must be avoided. The
most common dietary problems seen
in frogs are related to lack of calcium
or too much protein in the diet. Most
frogs have not evolved to cope with a
diet high in protein.
Adults will eat almost anything that
moves and fits in their mouth, they
should be offered about 10-20% of
their own body size. Poorly fed frogs
are susceptible to disease and
frequently resort to cannibalism
(eating younger bullfrogs and
tadpoles). Bullfrog tadpoles are
mainly vegetarians and will consume

most soft plant matter and some

animal feed.
Adult frogs feed exclusively on
moving animals, primarily small
insects. They generally refuse to eat
dead or at least non-moving food.
Japanese researchers reportedly have
been able to induce frogs to eat dead
silkworm pupae by using small
motorized trays that mechanically
roll the silkworms back and forth to
simulate live animal motions.
Preference to food is defined
as the degree to food likes and
dislikes and preferences will affect
the

food

consumption.

The

availability of food in a place is one

of the factors that influence food

The number of samples obtained in

preferences in animals.

this study amounted to 4 in which

According to Goethe and

Mead (1945), eating habits are the
ways an individual or group of
individuals to choose, consume, and
use of foods available that are based
on social factors and the culture in
which one lives.

one sample each representing one

category. All of the sample were
killed diretly at the field and then the
ventricle were separated from the
body and save in refrigerator. Then
the amount of prey were count. We
can collect the intact prey or in the
pieces.

Study method
Result and discussion

Fig. 1. Food Habits between Mature and premature Frogs

We can see the comparison of

consumption, it is equal for both of

food types between mature and

them. The red ants consumption, the

premature frog directly on the graph

mature is more than the pre-mature

above. The mature eats the flowers

one. And the last for the caterpillar

twice than the pre-mature and so

consumption, we got negative for

does for the seed consumption. For

both of those sample and for another

bark consumption, the premature is

consumption such beetle, insects,

more than the mature and so does for

and grass hopper are too.

the black ants consumption. In leaves

Fig. 2. Food habits between male and female frogs

The female prefer like leaves than
another, we can see by the amount of
leaves that is consumed on its
ventricle. We found 16 leaves while
in male we only got one. For the
flower and seed consumption is
equal which we find one in male and
nothing in female.
The bark and the red ants

Fig. 3. Food percentage between

consumption are also equal which we

male, female, mature, and pre-mature

found nothing for the male nor the

frog

female. The caterpillar and beetle

Here,

consumption is also the same in

result which we found one in the
female and nothing in the male. in
grasshopper consumption, the male
and female is equal which we got
one for each ventricle. And finally
for the insect consumption we find
more in the female than male.

the

female

frogs

food

precentage is the most and then

another if we see from how many the
percentage of their food that we have
got in their stomach. The mature
frogs food percentage is 44% , then
the male is 33%, the mature one is
12% and the last is the premature
with 11% of food percentage.

Based on the amount of food piece

that we found in each stomach of
sample between male and female, we
got that the female consume food
more than the male one. The female
food consumption is 57% while the
male only 43%.

Fig. 4. Food Percentage between

mature and premature frog
Based on the amount of food piece
that we found in each stomach of
sample between mature and premature, we got the same amount
between the mature and pre-mature
sample. There is 50% for each
sample.
Fig. 6. Percentage of insects as food
between mature, pre-mature, male,
and female frog
Insects is one of the food type that
we found in the samples ventricle.
We

found

different

amount

of

insects in different sample. In the

male ventricle we found many
insects with percentage 52%, then
the female with 33%, premature 9%
and the last is mature with 6%.
Fig. 5. Food Percentage between
male and female frog

Fig.

8.

Percentage

of

food

preferences between insects and

plants In female frog
The types of food that have been
consumed by those samples are
devided into two major groups there
are insects and plants. Between the
Fig. 7. Percentage of plant as food

insects and plants, we found different

between mature, pre-mature, male,

amount of them in all of the samples

and female frog

and we can got the percentage that

the plants are most favorite food for

Beside insects, plants pieces also

found in the samples ventricle as the
food type that have been consumed

the samples because it reach almost

60%. Just 1% to reach the 60%.
While the insects only 41%.

by samples. We have been observed

that those samples prefer like plants
than insects. And we found 57%
percentage of plants consumed by
female sample. Then 18% in mature
sample, 14% in pre-mature sample
and the last we found 11% in the
male.

Fig.

9.

Percentage

of

food

preferences between insects and

plants In male frog
In male frog, of course the amount
food that they have been consumed
different between insects and plants.

In the ventricle we only found plants

Fig.

11.

Percentage

of

food

for 15% and fantasticly for the

preferences between insects and

insects we found 85% there.

plants In pre-mature frog

In pre-mature frog, found a different
result between insects and plants. In
the ventricle we only found plants
for 45% and for the insects we found
57% there.
Conclusion
By the food analysis results
on four different types of frogs from
Unimed cam be concluded as follows
: 1) The main prey of those for types
food

of frogs is plants; 2) The pre-mature

preferences between insects and

frog has a little variation in type of

plants In mature frog

food compared with other third; 3)

Fig.

10.

Percentage

of

Mature frog prefer to eat insects

Based on our observation, the mature

rather than plants and vice versa the

frog prefer like plants than insects.

pre-mature frog prefer to eat plants

We got a fantastic result by finding

rather than insects; 4) The male frog

71% of plants and just 29% of

prefer to eat insects rather than plants

insects in the ventricle.

and vice versa the female frog prefer

to eat plants rather than insects; 4)
The female frog prefer to eat more
than male; 5) The mature frog prefer
to eat more than pre-mature.

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