New arrivals.

[Kurt]

Thanks. Like I have said before, just got to get off my butt and away from this computer.

[Buck Rogers]

Hi Kurt, what age (or size) more or less are your banded rubber frogs? Mine are around 8 months old now and the largest female is 1.2inces (3cm) and I am under the impression that they need to be over a year to be able to breed, what are your thoughts on this?

They are really amazing frogs don't you think? I love how they always doing something, I have 5 and keeping them in a very simple enclosure (for now) and at night they are always out and about walking around and looking for food, and they have such a great apatite that they are a pleasure to work with.

[Kurt]

Truth be told, I have no idea how old they are. I got the first one at least two years ago. The others last spring. One of the new ones is huge, relatively speaking of course. Its got to be female.

They are fun to watch. The other night I went to feed them and my "oldest" popped his head out of the hide box and saw me. He then came running out, I think he has figured out where the food comes from. I have seen this in lizards, turtles, snakes, and tiger salamanders. Rarely have I seen it in frogs. I think my White's and fire-bellied toads have figured it out as well, but I am not 100 % sure.

[Buck Rogers]

Do you have photo's of the set-up you keeping them in or can you describe to me how you are housing them (trying to get different ideas). You know that trunking (sorry don't know if it is an international or South African word) that you use to house cables? I have being using that as a hide for them, its like a PVC tube except square and they love to all squeeze into that. But it amazes me how they come running out whenever I throw in some fruit flies.

Kurt have you heard any of them calling yet? They have a beautiful whistle when they call that is amazing.

[Kurt]

I have not heard any calling from them yet. I did have a listen to a WAV file of microps, so I am assuming bifasciatus may have similar call.
They are kept in a large critter keeper in which I have made a false bottom. (See my red-eye article on how to make a false bottom) The substrate is sphagnum over "hydro-balls" or LECA. They have a few plastic plants and a PVC cap with holes drilled it, it serves as a hide box, they barely use it these days. There is a water bowl with a fake plant in it. Thats pretty much it.

[Buck Rogers]

I have had trouble in the past with false bottoms, but in all fairness I did not construct it properly. This weekend I am putting their cage together, I am using a 2ft fish tank and will have perlite at the bottom with screen mesh over the perlite, then I will pile a mixture of local sands (sandy type soil) and peat moss together and pile it on top of the mesh, using a normal ceramic water bowl, and will add some water plants and a fern with some logs. I am not keen to add the logs as I fear they wil spend too much time buried under the logs but will try this for a week or so and see how it goes.

How does that sound to you?

[Kurt]

I would think it would work. I use shpagnum as a substrate, which is impossible for these frogs to swallow. I do have reservations about using any sand. If these frogs naturally occur in this type of soil, then I feel it should be ok for them in captivity.