ADFs excessive mating?

[kathreen]

Binga will chill a lot in a corner of the tank or in a nook or cranny. Timmy will either be somewhere else or he will be chilling with her as well. Sometimes Binga will move away when she joins him. I've heard a few times where they have gotten scared (or accidentally tried to eat the other) and gone off in opposite directions, but no direct chasing. She seems to pay him no mind most of the time. She does also like to hang out in the front of the tank, where I come by.....she seems to know me/my voice or at least that is where her food shows up (whereas he is in his own world where I don't exist.)

Sounds like the best option if I am worried is to by another tank + heater, but they are probably fine otherwise. I just hope this doesn't go on for months, not sure what there normal mating cycle is. I live in cold Wisconsin but their temperature is 77-79. It is also interesting that they were/are (we will see tomorrow if it continues) on an every other day schedule, overlapping with food (because I didn't feed them the day after they mated since they ate all the eggs.) Thanks for the suggestions and I'd appreciate anymore....especially if I could get some numbers (I'm a scientist and I really like them.)

[Geoff]

Is this amount of mating normal? What is causing it? Should I be worried about Binga getting hurt (they do mate properly), but she seemed really exhausted after the third one recently (not too interested in eating the frog eggs.)

In my experience, when conditions are right, it's normal for them to repeatedly produce eggs. The only time I kept detailed records of their breeding activity was in 1986 when I recorded that a trio of frogs (1 male; 2 females) produced eggs on eight occasions between 29 September 1986 and 29 October 1986. At that time I induced them to breed by keeping them in a tank whose water depth did not exceed 10cm (4 inches). To stop them breeding I raised the water level above 20cm (8 inches). However, although it's normal for them to continue producing eggs once they start it's not desirable to let it continue because it can weaken the females.

Sounds like the best option if I am worried is to by another tank + heater, but they are probably fine otherwise. I just hope this doesn't go on for months, not sure what there normal mating cycle is. I live in cold Wisconsin but their temperature is 77-79.

There are several ways to get around the problem without the expense of getting another tank. As has already been suggested, you could provide more shelters for the female to seek refuge from the male if he continues harassing her. A method I've used in the past is to get small plastic plantpot saucers and cut two or three gaps in the sides of about 1.5cm (½ an inch approx.) then place them upside down in the tank with a pebble on top of each one to weigh it down.

Another simple method is to use an inert material like a sheet of glass or plastic (e.g.: a square food container lid) to divide the tank into two sections with a frog in each section. You could also immerse a small plastic container in your tank so that you have a tank within a tank and put one of the frogs in it but that might be more stressful for the relocated frog.

You've asked about the normal mating cycle. Hymenochirus frogs, unlike most Xenopus species, originate from tropical regions of Africa with fairly constant climatic conditions which means that they will breed at any time of the year providing conditions are right (such as fresh rainfall and abundance of food). You are clearly providing them with ideal conditions, which is to your credit as many people seem to struggle trying to keep them alive (although I suspect that might be largely due to animals that were inherently unhealthy when first acquired).

For anyone with a serious interest in these frogs the best document to read is: "On the behavior and breeding biology of the African pipid frog: Hymenochirus boettgeri" by George B. Rabb & Mary S. Rabb (1963). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 20(2), 215-241. 1963

[kathreen]

Thanks Geoff for your informative post. I"ll try and keep the water level a little higher. I think it is about 6/7 but could be 8". I'll try and procure some other small hiding places this weekend. In regards to the tupperware top, maybe I am paranoid but it has been washed before and exposed to soap. Isn't that possibly dangerous for them or did you procure a new one?

Also thanks for the article recommendation, I will definitely read it.

[Geoff]

In regards to the tupperware top, maybe I am paranoid but it has been washed before and exposed to soap. Isn't that possibly dangerous for them or did you procure a new one?

There's no obvious reason it should be dangerous if it's clean with no residues of soap or anything else. All I can tell you is that I've used plastic food containers (like margarine tubs) to temporarily accommodate fish and amphibians and to hatch fish eggs in without any problems.