The addiction

[LilyPad]

Is there a frogaholics anonymous anywhere??

I seriously am having trouble not getting more frogs, and I really don't have the space for more. Not to mention, I have 2 children, 3 special needs cats, and a 14 year old lab.

I saw a glass frog at the pet store the other day and that's all I can think about. This is starting to get out of control! And not just because I have so many frogs, but the costs of new vivs and other supplies.

How do you make yourself slow down and enjoy the frogs you have before you forget who is who and don't even know their personalities anymore???

I REALLY am struggling with this. I want darts, I want the glass frog, I want I want I want....

3 Months ago 0 amphibs...15 now. And that is after I got rid of 2 even!

[JeffX]

For me it's easy. I don't have the room to add on at the moment. But I can understand the urge.

[John]

How do you make yourself slow down and enjoy the frogs you have before you forget who is who and don't even know their personalities anymore???

You know, I wish there was an easy answer for this but I know exactly what you mean. I try to be "strong" but it's hard not to want to get new things every now and then. I sort of have a deal with myself that if I want something new I have to get rid of something I already have. So let's say I want a new kind of dart frog, that means selling a kind I already have. I was pretty good at doing this for the past year but in the last couple of months I've gotten 4 new species (ack), though 2 are thumbnails so the space requirements aren't that huge. I did move 2 kinds of thumbnails, so overall I've gone up 2 species. I've told myself no more for the time being, unless I move something else.

I try to concentrate on what I have. For example, I spend a lot of time watching my adult Phyllobates terribilis - the ones on FrogTV channel 2. They call a lot, they interact a lot, they are constantly laying eggs, and there's always something new to see. I've observed definite social interactions that I haven't seen documented before. For example, one male is definitely ahead of the other two in the social order. He's the one the females want to mate with. I never see any aggression between the males, but one is definitely superior to the others. I've never heard of this being documented before. Also, I have now heard females calling in response to males many times. I had heard of this happening, but no one has a recording of it (I do now). It seems to happen when the female is particularly receptive to laying eggs. I would never have been able to observe these wonderful behaviors if I had twice as many kinds of frogs. Knowing that, it helps stop me from going crazy with the frog numbers!

[BG]

Amy i'm the same way its like i want,want,want,and want theres no ending like today i went to my local pet store and i saw a beautiful fantasy frog for only 25 bucks and i had to live the store so i wouldn't buy it ill buy it tomorrow when i go to work you see it never ends and i'm so happy lol i'm in the hobby, also i would like to apologize to my brothers and sisters with the dart frog threads which i don't post cause i don't want to get into them not just yet cause theres so many types and expensive its like having salt water fish so there i feel you amy and everybody els with the same sweet addiction i just have too many pets for now im taking it slow and enjoying the freinds i have now

[BG]

The best part of my pets that get me going is there eating habits and there colors and personality

[LilyPad]

I think I need to get one more species of frogs...something that I can breed! All of my frogs are native to Wisconsin so you aren't supposed to have more than 5 at a time. The only reason I have 7 spring peepers is because I honestly didn't expect them all to make it this far. So it would be hard to find them all homes if I bred any of them...but breeding would give me something else to work with them on!

(see me go at justifying another breed of frogs in my house?)

[BG]

I'm not into breeding but in display btw what ever we into its always rewarding at the end Amy it could be worse so we should just lean back and enjoy the ride in these hard times i find comfort in my pets so its priceless

[bshmerlie]

About a year ago I thought about setting up a frog rack instead of having misc tanks all around the house. I planned where I was going to put it (in a closet in a spare room) and I figured out how many tanks I would be having on the rack. Then I started researching which types of frogs I've always wanted and have been slowly adding to fill the tanks that can fit on that one rack. Once I'm done and all the tanks on that rack are filled I will have to get rid of a species in order to add another one. That is the limitation that I have set on myself. You will find the longer you are in this hobby your interests will change. So for me I am going through an evolution...even since starting my frog rack. All of the tanks I have been buying are from CraigsList which saves me more money to spend on the actual frogs. You really should try some dart frogs... they are very facinating and although I still have a special place for my tree frogs I have also learned so much more by branching out and trying different types of frogs. One thing I have noticed is since I have increased my frog population is that I use to check in on each and every frog to make sure they are all eating and looking good and I would do that every day. Now if a frog is in hiding I don't have time to look around for him. I just have to hope I'll see him the next day. That's the downside. The upside is all the tank builds. I love it. You should also look for ways to make builds cheaper. Thats why I started doing some with clay and using different drainage layer materials. I have also been pulling cutlings from other tanks to use in the next ones. Things like that. Just set a limit for yourself, take it slow and have fun with it. If its not fun anymore stop doing it. If it is fun why not just enjoy the ride, have fun with your frogs and continue to learn.

[killerecho]

Amy, I feel your pain lol. This hobby has consumed all of my free time...as well as a good portion of my non-free time I'm constantly lurking on craiglist like a cyberstalker for cheap aquariums. And since I live in a cramped NYC apartment...with my parents...who are not terribly supportive of these endeavors, the biggest challenge for me is finding the space to fit new tanks where they would ideally escape notice or at least blend in as subtlely as possible so I wouldn't get harangued about it. Yes, we're talking about HIDING a large, well-lit glass habitat. I don't need more frogs...I need David Copperfield.

Right now I have 5 gray tree frogs in a 20 gallon vertical, 2 pacific chorus froglets due to go in a zoo med 18 x 12 x 12, a 30 gallon extra tall in the works for undecided species, another 20 gallon vertical on the way for a pair of red eyed; and a large cricket bin, all in my bedroom. Not to mention the stockpiles of driftwood, sphagnum, hydroton and other supplies. It's not my room anymore - it's the frogs' room - I'm just sleeping in it.

And I really want yellow-eyed leaf frogs, and darts, and, now that you mentioned it, glass frogs. So as a fellow frogaholic, I'm not really qualified to advise how to stop. I guess you just have to take an honest assessment of your priorities. If you in any way lack the time, energy and financial resources to devote to another species and ALL of your current charges, don't do it.


P.S. They sell glass frogs at your local pet shop? No fair! But seriously though, if they're not CB, I wouldn't encourage the practice of frognapping from the wild.

[Frog Mom]

I haven't felt the urge necessarily to get more different breeds of frogs, but I have definitely been absorbed in making my tank newer, bigger, and better. And looking at Don's pictures of his tank build last night got me all excited about possibilities for my frogs. I have already spent way too much money on them as it is, and their tank is perfectly adequate, but it is so tempting to want to get a bigger vivarium going and build it from scratch without feeling rushed to make them a place to stay. I may give myself a Christmas present of supplies to make a bigger vivarium, but for now I am having to limit myself to what's there already.

I completely sympathize with how addicting this hobby can be. Who knew?