White's/dumpy amplexus

[Buck Rogers]

Hi there

I am really hoping you guys are going to be able to help me and please give me some advice.

I have 4 Whites Tree Frogs (Dumpies), 3 males 1 female. I cycled 2 of the males and the 1 female and had them out of hibernation for 5 weeks before I moved them into the rain chamber. The newest and youngest/smallest of the males I received towards the end of winter so it was too late to cycle him, so I kept him isolated for 2 months before introducing him to the colony.

Now I have had the colony in the rain chamber for 4 days (today is the 5th), and the first 2 days they were calling like crazy. We then had a cold snap and they stopped calling, but last night warmed up and I played a looped tape of mixed Dumpy calls and the youngest and smallest of the colony went crazy and started to try mount everyone. Eventually he was in amplexus with the female and I left them alone for 2 hours, over this time the calling stopped. After 2 hours they started calling again but they were no longer in amplexus.

I have been trying to see the females sides to see if I can spot eggs, but I don't want to disturb her or upset her. What advice can you give me to increase the chances? Is this normal to be in amplexus for such a short period?

It is really important for me to get them to breed, as nobody is breeding them in South Africa, a few were brought in a few years ago, and then they were banned for import so only a handful are left in the country. Its a responsibility for me to breed them.

Please any help will be appreciated.

Regards
Darryn

[Mentat]

Temperature drop in rain chamber might have damped the reproductive spirit. What periodicity are you using for the rainfall in the chamber? Have no idea why the male unmounted her. Is the female with eggs?

[Buck Rogers]

The temps in the rain chamber have been exactly the same as in their vivarium. I have also kept a looped CD with 3 different Whites Tree Frog calls which they respond well too and the rain cycle is from 4 - 8:30pm. The youngest and smallest male has been the most vocal and is almost distracting the other 2 males. Whenever the other males call he gets over excited and tries to mount them. He has tried several times with the female but she always makes a small soft croak to tell him to get off and then squirms away. I don't know why she is doing this, because it looks like she has eggs in her and he is the most vocal and most consistent caller of the group. I am wondering if I should take them out for a 2 week period and then put them back into the rain chamber. They have been in the rain chamber for 7 days now.

This is what I mean by him mounting the male:



And here is the female who seems to shy away from him, I also just 'circled' the area that I suspect to have eggs, it is a darker area and you can almost see the eggs on her flanks.




Sorry for the crappy photos, snapped them with the iPhone. Any advice from anyone to increase breeding chances would be greatly appreciated.

[Mentat]

White's can breed in captivity; but they require a preparation period and it's recommended they be at least 3 years old. Maybe you want to try removing the overenthusiastic young male and leave female with other two? It's pretty clear to me the female has rejected him. If you have not read it; this article might give some ideas to try: Breeding White's Tree Frog . Good luck !

[Buck Rogers]

That link has been my bible for the last 2 years, I spoke to Marcus over email to help with setting the dates for the Southern Hemisphere. Not even 30mins after I posted the pics, I went into my frog room and the males was trying his luck again. Same thing happened, she did this soft little croak and almost puffed up so he couldn't get a grip on her. It's so damn frustrating!

Ganna take the male out tomorrow.