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

Frogs and frog enthusiasts have much to celebrate these days.  The endangered Lake Titicaca Frog, Telmatobius culeus, has reproduced in captivity, and 6 Haitian frogs, lost to science for decades, have been found.

Lake Titicaca’s Aquatic Giant

The huge, skin-breathing, cold-adapted Lake Titicaca Frog ranks as one of the world’s strangest amphibians.  Known only from this lake, which straddles the Peru-Bolivia border at 12,500 feet above sea level, the unique creature is threatened by the food trade and pollution.

I had the good fortune to work with what was, at the time, the only Lake Titicaca Frogs in captivity.  Despite nearly 2 decades of trials, I and my co-workers failed to raise the few tadpoles that were produced (please see article below).  However, Peru’s Huachipa Zoo, in association with the Denver Zoo, has announced that 5 apparently healthy tadpoles are now being reared.  A museum in Bolivia has been successful in breeding a close relative, the equally-rare Water Frog, Telmatobius hintoni. Read More »

An article in the August, 2010 issue of Zootaxa announces that a recently discovered frog is the smallest species in the Eastern Hemisphere.  Known only as Microhyla nepenthicola, the minute native of Borneo is barely the size of a green pea!  Interestingly, specimens have been in museum collections for over 100 years, but they were believed to be immature individuals of other species.

A Pitcher Plant Specialist

The tiny amphibian breeds in a unique habitat – the water contained in the base of pitcher plants.  Pitcher “ponds”, which serve to drown insects that are digested by the plants, support miniature ecosystems inhabited by insect larvae, snails, crabs, algae and other organisms.  Read More »