Introducing me!

[Kerry1968]

Thanks for that again John. The frogs hide ALL the time! The only time I see them out is when I disturb them by moving stuff in the tank etc. I have an underground tunnel made from a PVC pipe and they spend most their time in there. I have some pieces of wood and a bit of moss in there and they'll hide under this too. One of them is more outgoing and is the first to poke his (her) nose out if anything's going on, the other one I hardly see and have to check every couple of days it's still alive!

[John]

Thanks for that again John. The frogs hide ALL the time! The only time I see them out is when I disturb them by moving stuff in the tank etc. I have an underground tunnel made from a PVC pipe and they spend most their time in there. I have some pieces of wood and a bit of moss in there and they'll hide under this too. One of them is more outgoing and is the first to poke his (her) nose out if anything's going on, the other one I hardly see and have to check every couple of days it's still alive!

How long have you had them? A lot of wild caught anurans never really tame down very well but your Kassinas seem particularly shy. Have you tried hand feeding them and do they show any interest?

[Kerry1968]

I'm not sure how long I've had them, a couple of months I should think. I've never tried hand feeding them, I just put 6 or so crickets in the tank every few days. I've managed to hold the less shy one a couple of times and he actually doesn't seem too panicked by this, perhaps I should just build on this and get them more used to people?

Oh, the way I know which is which (they're called Bert and Ernie) is that he less shy one (Ernie) is much skinnier. I've actually seen him eat, so I'm not to worried, but I wondered if the difference in body shape might show a difference in gender? I've never heard them call.

[John]

perhaps I should just build on this and get them more used to people?

Well the key is to get them to associate you with food, so persistent hand feeding should hopefully pay off, although like I said, some anurans never tame down.

I wondered if the difference in body shape might show a difference in gender? I've never heard them call.

In most anurans the males are either slightly smaller or much smaller than females; they tend to eat less than females and it's hard to get them to put on weight (so they always look skinny in comparison). In Kassinas, both sexes are usually the same size so this leaves you with the latter method. As for calling, some Kassinas only call from in or near water - I don't know if this is the case with your species but it might explain why you haven't heard anything.

[Kerry1968]

Thanks for all your help John. I'm off to bed now, it's late for me! See you on the forums soon!

[John]

You're welcome. I hope we see you soon.