The minutiae of my collection

[Kurt]

Here's what going on lately for those who care to know.

The larval salamander I caught on the 4th of July in New Hampshire appears to be morphing. The gills are disappearing, the legs appear to be getting thicker, and the eyes are starting to bulge towards the top of it's head. In other words he/she is starting to look like an adult salamander. I have thrown a piece of Styrofoam tray in his/her critter keeper for him/her to climb out on to, but I fear that is not enough. I think I may have to lower the water before he/she drowns. Of course doing that will prevent the filter from working properly. What to do, what to do?

The greater hatchet-faced treefrog that I bought last April has finally begun to eat. Its amazing that he/she lasted all this time. He/she did lose a bit of weight, but still appears to be healthy. Too bad the other one didn't survive.

Recently, I have been kept awake by an unfamiliar call. It's a series of clicks and creaks When I first heard it, I thought it was something like a piece of furniture about to collapse, so I got out of bed and looked around. I went back to bed once I was satisfied that everything was ok. Since then it has been continuing every night. I think I have nailed down the culprit to my blue-webbed flying frog. He's awake every time I hear the call now. Unfortunately, I haven't caught him calling yet and I can't find any audio on what this species is supposed to sound like. So now I have four species calling there up in my room, the red-eyes, the fire-bellies, the tomatoes, and now the blue-webbed flying frog.

Speaking of tomatoes, I bought two more females last Tuesday night. I figure the ones I have now in with my male are blood relatives and I want to breed them, but I don't want to produce tadpoles that ride on the little bus to school. So that's why I bought the two new females. They are very nice and are eating like a fat man at an "all you can eat buffet".

My blotched tiger salamander continues to be treated for a respiratory infection, but it is eating and it fights me every time I have to medicate it. So I guess that's good news.

I am now up to 14 red-eye froglets which I have separated into two groups of seven. Even then they can be a handful to manage. As soon as I open the top they are all over the place. Not fun chasing little red-eyed leaf frogs all around. I still have quite a few tadpoles and I don't understand why they are morphing one at a time. Perhaps I am not changing the water enough.

I have been treating one of my red-banded rubber frogs for a spot on it's back. Unfortunately, I am out of amikacin and the vet is on vacation for the month of August (He deserves it big-time!). Of course it doesn't matter too much whether the vet is there or not. Last time I was there he was very short on the drug and told me that its no longer made. Bummer! The stuff works excellent for cleaning up infections.

I found a way to harvest bean weevils more efficiently from the beans. I found that this old cricket duster I have is perfect for this purpose. I just dump the entire culture into the duster shake it a little and the weevils drop into the lower chamber and while the beans stay in the upper. Before I did this I used to hand pick them out to feed them to the frogs and cave salamanders.

Last Thursday I did a presentation for the MSPCA on amphibians. I brought a cave salamander, the barred tiger salamander, a Mandarin crocodile newt, the Colorado River toad, a red-banded rubber frog, the blue-webbed flying frog, and a red-eyed leaf frog. It went well, the kids loved it, and I was able to teach them of the world amphibian extinction crisis. These kids left with an appreciation for a group of animals that are seriously in trouble. Hopefully they will spread the word.

Well that's it for now.

[John]

Wow. Well, with salamanders I generally keep those that are undergoing metamorphosis in shallow unfiltered aquaria (they can touch the bottom with their feet and at the same time reach the surface with their heads). I also provide a slope so they can exit the water, either by placing one end of the container on something or putting a pile of gravel at one end.

Amikacin is being made - it's probably the particular brand name he's buying that might not be available any more.

[SludgeMunkey]

I swear by cork bark floats for all my transitioning amphibians. I tried foam trays, but the little guys have traction issues on them it seems. A bit of sandpaper work solves the traction problem though.

Sounds like you have a busy house!

My friends all call my basement "The Swamp". And honestly, they are right, it sounds like a swamp in summer down there...LOL

[Kurt]

I will pass the news about amikacin to Greg Mertz. Do you have a source for this drug I can give him? If so e-mail it to me privately.

Thanks for the advice on the salamander.

[Kurt]

Mine is called the Zoo.

[John]

I will pass the news about amikacin to Greg Mertz. Do you have a source for this drug I can give him? If so e-mail it to me privately.

I don't have a source off the top of my head. Gentamicin is another commonly prescribed aminoglycoside with the same mode of action - does he have that?

[Billy]

Hey Kurt, you got alot going on right now it sounds like. Do you think the mystery frog calls might be coming from the Western Green Toad? My two guys sound like a creaky door when they call.

[Kurt]

I don't have a source off the top of my head. Gentamicin is another commonly prescribed aminoglycoside with the same mode of action - does he have that?

I will have to ask.

[Kurt]

Not likely, I have the western green toad on my iPod and it sounds nothing like the call I have been hearing.

Hear are some MP3's for Anaxyrus debilis insidior
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...11690&sr=301-2
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...11690&sr=301-2
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...11690&sr=301-2

[John]

Probably the Tomato frogs.

[adawinters]

I have to admit that I had to look up the hatchet faced tree frog. Wow! What a looker! I'm sorry that they didn't both make it.

I can't imagine how much time your daily husbandry must take. I suppose, though, that it's enjoyable, more often than not, to spend time with each enclosure. (The next time I'm whining about wiping down the sides of my tree frog tank, I'll re-read this thread to get some perspective and shut myself up!)

You are living the dream, man. I hope that my future is filled with a collection like this.

[John]

I don't know how he does it. If you look at my profile you'll see what I have - and that's too much for me.

[adawinters]

I hear ya. According to my work schedule, I have to wait until I have more free time more often before I can add to the collection. According to my husband, I have to wait until we're in a bigger place. According to me... I kind of want to give up the career and fill every inch with an enclosure... but the career pays for the enclosures... Ah, such a Catch-22.

[into]

You seem quite busy Kurt, in and out of the house. It's good to see people doing what they love for a living. My career started out as a hobby, but now it just feels like work. I wanted to take your advice so I've been thinking about joining the Maryland Herpetological Society. I'm not sure how active they are, I think they have monthly meetings in Baltimore and a quarterly newsletter. Hopefully they host some outdoor activities.

[lraulston]

Kurt, thanks for the updates! Sounds like busy times at your house!

[Kurt]

Probably the Tomato frogs.

Its not the tomatos. I have caught my male tomato singing and it songs distinctly different. You can hear his call here
http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphi...pecies=guineti

The call I am hearing is totally different.

[Kurt]

Yeah, I can be busy at times, the lawn is past do for mowing. For the most part its not as time consuming as one would think. I give the animals plenty of space and I am never in their faces for to long. Cricket feeding frogs get fed once a week on average, the crickets are always dusted. Of course by the time they eat the last one, it is free of dust. Fruit fly eating frogs are fed more often, every two to three days. Snakes are fed about once or twice a month. Things are cleaned as needed. Amphibians are misted daily. I am past due for some water changes, which I will do tonight.
It also helps that I have no life, no signifigant other. My social life is very limited. So maybe some of you guys shouldn't feel so jealous.

[adawinters]

When I'm immersed in work, I usually have a 5 day week of 12-14 hour days. I get too busy/burnt out for a social life, and that's without getting to spend much time playing with my pets. At least you have time for what you love. (I can't help but think of the proverb, "It could always be worse.")

[Kurt]

But you're married, that does make a big difference. No matter how much you think you're not being social, remember you're married and that is quite social. Unless you can't stand your husband or you are not currently living together.

[John]

Unless you can't stand your husband or you are not currently living together.

Subtle! LOL! Always after the ladies huh Kurt :P.