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Thread: ADFs excessive mating?

  1. #1
    kathreen
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    Default ADFs excessive mating?

    So in the past two and a half weeks my frogs have released fertilized eggs four times. In the past six days, three times (every other day.) The first two times after frozen blood worms, third after a water change, and last after fed boring dry food in the hopes it would deter them (obviously no such luck.) On one of the off days, the male frog Timmy mounted the female Binga and held on for several hours. All Binga pretty much did was not move around too much. Binga is about 3-4 times the size of Timmy.

    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.)

    The tank I have is relatively small 3 gallons for the two of them. They have a heater and a light. They have a big cave and a terra cotta pot. I have the original thing they came in which is 4"x4"x4". I am a student on a tight budget and the 150 dollars that I had to spend when I got them as a gift (with everything wrong) was a bit much already.

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  3. #2
    Moderator tgampper's Avatar
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    I wouldn't worry too much about the mating. You may want to separate them for a while.
    Terry Gampper
    Nebraska Herpetological Society




    “If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.”
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  4. #3
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    Have you noticed Timmy chasing Binga or her trying to hide from him?

  5. #4
    Miss Blue
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    i had this trouble for the longest time too! they seem to go through periods of this and it is usually after a water change (they like the nice clean warm water!) and once i started feeding them bloodworms (they were on those boring pellets for a while before then). i find that having enough places for the female to hide seems to help, and since i never really noticed her tryingt o struggle or affect her appetite i didnt worry too much. i am however considering getting another female for the tank to try and take the pressure off her. hope this similar scenario helps alleviate your concerns, cross your fingers for tadpoles, so much fun!

  6. #5
    kathreen
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    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.)

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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    Quote Originally Posted by kathreen View Post
    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.
    Quote Originally Posted by kathreen View Post
    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

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  9. #7
    kathreen
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    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.

  10. #8
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    Default Re: ADFs excessive mating?

    Quote Originally Posted by kathreen View Post
    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.

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