That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

Exposing frogs, toads and salamanders to an artificial “rainy season” is hands down the surest method of encouraging captive breeding in most species.  Fortunately, even someone with my limited building skills can easily construct a simple rain chamber.

Timing and Temperature

Before placing potential breeders into a rain chamber, it is important to research the species’ natural history, as timing, temperature and other factors are important considerations.  For example, Smoky Jungle Frogs (Leptodactylus pentadactylus) and certain other tropical Anurans have surprised me by breeding at nearly any time of the year, and without temperature manipulations, but Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica), Marbled  Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) and other temperate zone amphibians need a cooling-off period beforehand.  Read More »

Please see Part 1 of this article for information on the natural history, amazing reproductive biology (including terrestrial nesting) and captive breeding of the Smokey Jungle Frog (a/k/a South American Bullfrog, Leptodactylus pentadactylus).

Diet

The hefty, robust adults are capable of taking quite large prey, including small birds, snakes, other frogs, mice and other rodents, scorpions and tarantulas as well as earthworms, roaches, moths and other invertebrates.

Smokey Jungle Frogs they are one of the few animals known to consume the highly toxic Poison Frogs, Dendrobates spp.

I’ve had good success with a diet comprised largely of earthworms, roaches, crickets and wild-caught insects (please see my article on Collecting Feeder Insects).  I use shiners and crayfishes as a calcium source, but a pink mouse may be offered every 6-8 weeks if desired. Read More »

This article is one of a series in which I plan to provide a brief introduction to both popular and rarely-kept amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.  I’ll cover such topics as unique habits in the wild, common mistakes or concerns in captive care, pet pros and cons, little-known husbandry tips and so forth.  Detailed care articles will follow…until then, I would enjoy receiving your questions and comments.  Today we’ll take a look at the Red-Eyed Treefrog, Agalychnis callidryas.

Night Shows Only!

Ranging from southern Mexico to Panama, this striking beauty (its scientific name translates as “Beautiful Tree Nymph”) has become something of a “rain forest darling”, appearing on more calendars, book covers and travel brochures than any other amphibian.  Frog keepers, enamored of its huge, brilliant red eyes and lime-green skin, have taken to it as well.  Read More »

After decades of struggling to create makeshift land areas for semi-aquatic reptiles and amphibians, I was very happy when pre-formed Turtle Docks, Turtle Logs  and Turtle Banks became available.  Today I’d like to review the recently-introduced Penn Plax Turtle Pier, which eliminates certain drawbacks associated with the previously mentioned products.

Drawbacks and Advantages of Various Platforms

Since their introduction, I’ve put the first line of basking docks and platforms to good use in my collection and in several of the aquarium and museum exhibits I’ve designed (please see article below).  Their only limitations are that large turtles tend to sink them below the surface (which keeps the plastron from drying out completely) and robust individuals sometimes dislodge the platforms from the aquarium’s sides. Read More »

I’ve studied and cared-for a great many frog species in my time, but count the robust Smokey Jungle Frog, also known as the South American Bullfrog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus), as one of the most beautiful and mysterious of all.  I’ve been very fortunate in having bred this frog in captivity, and today will examine its natural history and reproduction.  I’ll move on to diet and its unique habits in Part 2.

Range

This frog occurs from Honduras and northern Nicaragua through Venezuela to French Guinea and south to southern Columbia, Ecuador, northern Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.  Due to its secretive nature, the southernmost limits of its range are not well known. Read More »