Collecting amphibians

[kueluck]

I don't get it. People think it's okay to just take a adult animal from the wild. Taking one adult reduces the population by hundreds, even thousands. The animal you just took beat the odds and made it to adulthood. PUT IT BACK!! Buy a c/b from a breeder or wait until you can find some tadpoles and raise them up yourself. Geez people, think before you take!! It's breeding season now, leave em' alone. Ok, I'm done.



p.s. and do your research & have your viv set up BEFORE you bring the animal home.

[flybyferns]

I don't get it. People think it's okay to just take a adult animal from the wild. Taking one adult reduces the population by hundreds, even thousands. The animal you just took beat the odds and made it to adulthood. PUT IT BACK!! Buy a c/b from a breeder or wait until you can find some tadpoles and raise them up yourself. Geez people, think before you take!! It's breeding season now, leave em' alone. Ok, I'm done.



p.s. and do your research & have your viv set up BEFORE you bring the animal home.

Go Girl !!!!! : encouragement:

[Kristen]

I agree so much!

[Heatheranne]

I agree also

[kueluck]

Some times it makes me wonder if humans are going to be the demises of frogs and toads before the chytrid fungus.

[Heatheranne]

I feel the same. It is saddening to hear some stories. Many stories actually. Thank goodness for the good ones .

I am thankful for the forum though, bc I have learned more here than anywhere else and I believe the education I've gathered here is why my frogs are doing so well .

I blame pet stores most for the lack of available care teaching. Being that they sell amphibians I think they should provide proper education sheets. They show off the pets and make people want to buy them, but then they don't provide what buyers need to know.

I also wish people would not impulse-buy and would do their research first.

Amphibians have specific care needs and people think they can just put them in a tank with dirt, water, and food and then they get sick or die. They come with responsibility, sometimes more than people anticipate. And I know our educated friends here dedicate a good amount of time to their frogs and toads.

Anyway....how do we teach people to research first? I wish I could buy-out all of the local pet stores and do it right. Not a likely wish though.

[kueluck]

Heather, people need to teach their kids responsibility, but then that’s a whole other forum. I guess we just hope and pray for the best. And as for pet stores…. I think it should be outlawed to sell live animals.

[Heatheranne]

Excellent point!

Hence the wanting to teach the 350 +/- kids at my daughter's school about preserving the natural outdoor habitats and frog and toad populations in the wild. It's something, anyway.

I am a big believer in saving wildlife.

My husband says I should have been a biologist/ conservationist/ vet . He's probably right .

[Kristen]

When I breed my frogs I always give twenty or so tadpoles to my little cousins school (she's in grade one) and they watch them grow and get feeding duties ect.to learn the responsibilities of haveing a frog. They always get really into it and always want to learn about how they can help frogs and how to make the frogs home as natural as possible. They learn why you shouldn't take frogs out of the wild and all, they really love it. They have made a pond out in the yard hoping to make a little frog habitat so they can see their natural environment. It's a reall great way for them to learn about it all

[kueluck]

That is awesome, and I hope more people take the time to do what you’re doing.

When I breed my frogs I always give twenty or so tadpoles to my little cousins school (she's in grade one) and they watch them grow and get feeding duties ect.to learn the responsibilities of haveing a frog. They always get really into it and always want to learn about how they can help frogs and how to make the frogs home as natural as possible. They learn why you shouldn't take frogs out of the wild and all, they really love it. They have made a pond out in the yard hoping to make a little frog habitat so they can see their natural environment. It's a reall great way for them to learn about it all

[NatureLady]

To add my two cents worth to this post...I am beyond glad to read this!!!!

One of my first posts to this site was on a thread about a person whom lives in a neighboring state that had an endangered species (in our two states) in his care. I asked him if he understood that his state was against any form of buying, selling, owning, or anything having to do with the species. He got all bent out of shape at me and I felt alone in caring about animals well being and natural populations.

I am an environmental conservationist who works at a state nature center...hence NatureLady. I have to have all sorts of state and federal liscences to keep and collect animals for displays and educational purposes. I have a vet that is contracted for my center and he does a vet check on all of my husbandary and general animal health bi-annually. Plus I can rush to his office and he will see me at any hour needed. I also worked at a vet's office during my college years as a vet tech, so I am trained in how to detect abnormalities in my animals. My work is not child's play, although I think that some see it as such. I teach each person (young or old) that walks through the door that animals are wild for a reason and why we do not keep them as pets. I don't even have wild natives in my home. I have a cb wtf and other domestic creatures, but not wild babies!!!

Education starts young...caring is built from understanding...keep true to your feelings and teach in a manner that makes the person drop the emotional asspect of why they WANT WANT WANT.

Sorry if my rant has mispellings...no time to spell check it first

[REDDEV1L]

I keep native species over here in the UK, and it's amazing how few people do it. (Alot think its illegal...which I suppose is a good thing)
although we have very few species compared to the states, so im sure that has something to do with it.

The only reason I would remove a juvi/adult amphibian is if it was in need of help, couldn't properly fend for itself (injury/deformity) or was an albino which would be much more likely to be eaten by a predator.

The main reason for my current collection is due to raising some spawn which I thought would be nice for my little bro to learn about etc.
Unfortunately, I didn't have any proper info regarding supplements and lighting etc and many of them developed MBD and died. This is what brought me onto forums tryig to find out how to help etc... and luckily I still have two remaining toads who are now over 3 yrs old.
After learning more and more, and being more confident, I collected some frogspawn, and raised 3 frogs to adulthood. They bred last year, so I raised the tadpoles until close to metamorphosis, then released most but kept a few back. This year the adult trio bred again, so i'm partially raising the tadpoles, and once the weather settles down, EVERYTHING will be released back into the wild. (the adult trio, the 6 juvies and the tadpoles)

I have a MFF trio of common toads and next year intend to try & breed those, and if successfull will release the offspring (except a couple)

[FROGHUNTER]

I personally find no problem with taking adult animals out of the wild, especially during breeding season when they are easier to nab up.
I usually just find the biggest and loudest ones i can, lighter throat ones and peacefully use them to fill my belly.
God put animals on this earth to eat. i just see it as controlling or "limiting" the population so that we dont have an overrun of frogs in the near future.

[kueluck]

I’ve been told the same thing about choosing a profession, but if I were into any job that caused me to come in contact with some one who is teasing, abusing or killing animals, well I would end up in jail cause I would most likely cause them major bodily injuries.

Excellent point!

Hence the wanting to teach the 350 +/- kids at my daughter's school about preserving the natural outdoor habitats and frog and toad populations in the wild. It's something, anyway.

I am a big believer in saving wildlife.

My husband says I should have been a biologist/ conservationist/ vet . He's probably right .

[Heatheranne]

That's wonderful!

[ViperJr]

John, are you talking about non-native species? If so, I hope people are keeping the species separated, and also releasing only natives.

He's talking about both native and non-native. An individual person releasing (native) amphibians is potentionally a much worse crime against nature than collecting a few and keeping then until they die. Does not matter that much if they live in seperated enclosures or not, because that's not garantee of not spreading pathogens.
According to some articlea I've read, at least some scientiests belive that one of the problens with chytrid and its global prescence is that people have released native species they've kept, after they've been exposed to chytrid via theie more exotics pets.

[kueluck]

I guess I just don’t understand how captive, native amphibians can have pathogens that are bad, yet still be healthy and should not be release back from where they came from. Example: I have 14 toad tadpoles in hopes of having a few females to keep, then letting the others go (not for breeding purpose). I also have Cope’s Grays raised from tads last year, and 2 Fowler’s toads, raised from toadlets last year. So releasing any of these would be bad for the population?

[REDDEV1L]

Yup, I totally agree with you John.
That's why I keep everything seperate. The only thing they share with my 'collection' is food from the same sources.
The frogs are kept in the garage, all my exotics kept in my room upstairs.
All utensils (forceps, paintbrushes, sponges, basters, dusting tubs etc) are tank specific apart from the dusting tub was shared downstairs between the adult frogs, their offspring and two of my native toads (who live in the kitchen at the moment) who came from the same pond as the frogs.
The only downside to my set-up is the food is kept upstairs in my room but I expect I do alot more to stop contamination that some others.
(I even have disposable nitrile gloves which I use for single tank use only when cleaning out waterbowls and handling if needs be)

[kueluck]

Ok, back to the topic at hand. Can someone please explain the whole pathogens things with natives to me?

I guess I just don’t understand how captive, native amphibians can have pathogens that are bad, yet still be healthy and should not be release back from where they came from. Example: I have 14 toad tadpoles in hopes of having a few females to keep, then letting the others go (not for breeding purpose). I also have Cope’s Grays raised from tads last year, and 2 Fowler’s toads, raised from toadlets last year. So releasing any of these would be bad for the population?

[UncleChester]

I guess I just don’t understand how captive, native amphibians can have pathogens that are bad, yet still be healthy and should not be release back from where they came from. Example: I have 14 toad tadpoles in hopes of having a few females to keep, then letting the others go (not for breeding purpose). I also have Cope’s Grays raised from tads last year, and 2 Fowler’s toads, raised from toadlets last year. So releasing any of these would be bad for the population?

Consider a pacific chorus frog. You could collect from a disease free and healthy population. It gets exposed to chytrid from your Xenopus despite taking precautions. The chorus frog is visibly fine and can handle this. You release later back where you found it. Blammo.

This is how I understand it anyways. I don't know how many diseases out that can be spread around like this. Since I don't know, it's not something I would personally take a risk on.