John Skillcorn
Below is some of the correspondence I have received over the time I have been running the BDG Website. Rather than dispose of it I thought it might serve a useful purpose to the now substantial numbers of site visitors we get each month. Therefore, at great trouble and expense, I have put these emails together on this page. May I make the point that I have taken great pains to ensure anonymity of each author. Except me, of course. I could hardly hide that. I have left in some (non-distinguishing) information but only where it might serve a useful purpose. |
List of
topics
[BDG enquiry] [Biax
Connectors] [Bocas del Toro] [Bullfrogs?]
[Cane Toad] [Costa
Rica] [Daphnia] [Dendrobates
imitator] [Dendrobates truncatus]
[Frog Exhibit] [Frog
Hormones] [Frogs] [Fruit
Fly Cultures] [Grasshoppers] [Join]
[Looking for Dendrobates frogs] [Mannophryne]
[Mantellas] [Nipagin]
[Number of species] [Orchid]
[Poison Dart Frog] [Setup
Cost] [Spindle Leg] [Spindle
Leg 2] [Stamps] [Supply]
[Tadpole Metamorphosis] [Tadpole
1] [Tadpole 2] [Tadpoles]
[Tadpole Study] [Vomerine
Teeth] [Water] [Waxmoth
larvae] [Waxworm Webs] [give
me] [Ludisia
discolor] [sick tadpoles] [springtails] [tadpole
food] [tadpoles] [vivarium]
Dear John,
Hello, my name is *** and my science class is doing a
dissection on frogs and I was wondering if you could answer one of my questions
that my teacher Mrs. *** said that you might be a good help so please help me
with this question: What is the function of the maxillary teeth? And what is the
function of the Vomerine teeth? Please help me I'm only in the 7th grade and I
cannot find information that can solve my question easily. Thank you very much
for all your help.
Date: 12 February 2002 08:55
Hi there,
Thank you for your questions about teeth in (I am assuming) frogs.
Frogs are not like most other vertebrates with regard to their teeth. They swallow their food whole, so they do not chew, tear or cut their food like we do. Therefore their 'teeth' are simple in structure.
However, having said that, they do have teeth of sorts:
Maxillary teeth. These are the tooth-like structures found in the maxilla (maxillary bone) or upper jawbone. There are (to the best of my knowledge) no teeth in the lower jaw. These teeth are used to hold on to prey animals prior to swallowing.
Vomerine teeth. In frogs these are usually two prominent, backward pointing 'bumps' on the roof of the mouth (the 'palate'). Along with the eyes they help in guiding and forcing the food items down into the gullet, so helping in swallowing. You might notice that when a frog or toad is swallowing food, its eyes are occasionally pulled inwards so forcing the food in the right direction. You might want to look at these Web pages:
http://www.ofsd.k12.wi.us/science/vomerine.htm
http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/teeth.html
I hope this information has helped you. Please get in touch if you feel I can help you further.
John Skillcorn
Subject: tadpole metamorphosis
Date: 26 May 2001 10:57
This year, for the first time since my children were small, I
found some frogspawn on a trip to the Scottish mainland and brought it back to
the Isle of Lewis. I kept them in pond water, changed as necessary (a commodity
not in short supply here) with moss and a large stone in it, feeding them on
fish flakes. Initially there were about 200 of them, and they grew and developed
rapidly, with the first ones losing their tails in about six weeks. However,
despite this encouraging start, as soon as they complete metamorphosis they die,
just the same as all my previous attempts at rearing, and the water rapidly
becomes toxic with corpses in it! I once enquired of the zoology dept. at
Glasgow University. and was told that metamorphosis is a stressful time, but I'm
not convinced this is the answer.
Any suggestions where I might be going wrong, preferably before the last 20 go
the same way as their siblings would be much appreciated.
Subject: Re: tadpole metamorphosis
Date: 26 May 2001 11:24
Hi there,
You seem to have problems!
The thing that strikes me as a bit odd is that this has happened before, and is
not just a one-off. This seems to indicate that it is either something to do
with the water, food and/or temperature.
Pond water is fraught with danger, unless the pond is actually in your own garden. It could be that at certain times of the year the local farmer uses a toxic chemical, and this happens to coincide with your tadpoles' critical developmental stages (a bit of a mouthful - sorry.) Another thing that springs to mind is that early and late in the year there are algal blooms (microscopic green plants) and that these might (just might, but not probable) be depleting the water of oxygen.
However, the fact that they are metamorphosing is significant. They are fine so long as they have the water for support.
Could you please answer these questions?
Do they actually get to leave the water? Or -
Do they die before they make the change from water to land?
Are there any marks on the body caused by, for example, being attacked by
leeches etc. or perhaps there are jelly-like fungal masses?
Are there any signs of bleeding?
What size container are you using, and from what is it made?
A test of the pH of the water might prove something. pH is a
measure of the acidity of the water, and if you have been overfeeding (I'm not
suggesting anything here, mind!) it might be that the water has become very
acidic. This in turn might cause rapid depletion of the oxygen content of the
water as bacteria gain a foothold.
Also, 200 is a fairly large number of tadpoles to keep in one container, and
overcrowding could be the cause of failure in itself, apart from making it very
easy for disease organisms to take over.
I'm sorry to be so vague in my questioning, but normally these things
metamorphosis with very little trouble. In spite of what the university says
about it being a stressful time for these animals, it's something that has been
easily and successfully done in classrooms up and down the country for
generations, as I'm sure you're aware. Try and look closely at the conditions in
which the tadpoles are being reared. Get back to me as soon as you can with the
information I've requested, and see if we can sort the problem out.
But it does seem very significant that this is not the first time it's happened,
so the cause has something to do with technique of rearing somewhere along the
line.
As an immediate measure, I would transfer all remaining taddies to fresh TAP
water. It will do them no harm providing you match the temperature. Feed very
sparingly making sure they eat all you provide within, say, five or ten minutes.
Repeat this two or three times a day (the feeding that is, not the water
change.) Try to change the water as soon as it appears cloudy. Give the tadpoles
some hiding places such as aquatic plants (Canadian pondweed is available at
tropical fish shops.) Put some slate in the water but nothing with large amounts
of calcium in it. Put the container in the shade, never in full sun and keep the
temperature cool.
Best wishes for now,
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: tadpole metamorphosis
Date: 26 May 2001 12:31
John, thanks for your prompt reply.
Sadly, I know little of the Isle of Lewis, but I'm assuming it's just a little cooler than the rest of the British Isles!
It's certainly cooler. "Pond water" was just a euphemism for the general naturally occurring fresh water that covers a large proportion of the Island's so called surface. Most of it is in fact considerably more wholesome than comes out of London (for instance) taps, though it tends to be on the acid side. In an attempt to offset this I had added some cockleshells to the tank. The water is naturally populated with mosses and green algae. How do frogs feel about algae? Early and late in the year there are algal blooms (microscopic green plants) and that these might (just might, but not probable) be depleting the water of oxygen.
However, the fact that they are metamorphosing is significant.
They are fine so long as they have the water for support. I have noticed that while tadpoles are neutrally buoyant, when they get their front legs they become negatively buoyant for a time, presumably until their lungs inflate. After that they can effortlessly float on the surface. It's after this they start dying.
Could you please answer these questions? Do they actually get to leave the water?
Yes, only a few days ago I had a dozen sitting on top of the stone, sitting up and taking notice, and leaping into the water when disturbed.
Are there any marks on the body caused by, for example, being attacked by leeches etc. or perhaps there are jelly-like fungal masses? Are there any signs of bleeding?
No marks, just macerated and sometimes partly eaten corpses, but it's only the metamorphosed ones that succumb.
What size container are you using, and from what is it made?
The container is a transparent plastic aquarium about 18" x 9" with about 4" of water in it.
A test of the pH of the water might prove something. If you have been overfeeding it might be that the water has become very acidic. This in turn might cause rapid depletion of the oxygen content of the water as bacteria gain a foothold.
This could well be true.
But it does seem very significant that this is not the first time it's happened, so the cause has something to do with technique of rearing somewhere along the line.
I was wondering if in fact they are starving once they take to the land. What do you suggest for feeding the frogs? Perhaps they should be housed separately to prevent the tadpoles from pigging all the food before they get a look in.
As an immediate measure, I would transfer all remaining taddies to fresh TAP water.
This I have done.
Again many thanks for your concern.
Subject: Re: tadpole metamorphosis
Date: 26 May 2001 15:52
Hi there,
I have read your email and immediately one or two (or even three) things come to
mind.
First, if your estimates of 200 tadpoles and the size of the tank are accurate,
your tank is VERY overcrowded! In a tank of that size I would keep no more than
two dozen, but the fewer the better. They do occur in crowds in the wild, but
they usually have a much greater volume of water in which to swim and to
disperse their waste products.
Second. Although I don't like the idea of putting shells into the water, I
understand your logic. Even so, without checking the pH of the water regularly,
I would not add them. However, I don't think they are the cause of the problem.
Third. Tadpoles are extremely ravenous animals and without a doubt - and I think
this is the cause of your problem - they will not only eat each other, but they
will eat the newly metamorphosed froglets should these ever enter the water.
Part of their life cycle is of a carnivorous nature. This would happen
especially at night when the froglets are disorientated. I think 'floating
effortlessly' on the water surface, as you put it, is their downfall!! Imagine
Jaws coming up from below and latching onto a froglet with their sucker-like
mouth. There's no escape! Then, multiply that by however many hungry tadpoles
you might have in the tank and there's your problem. The remains of the frogs
begin to decompose, the water goes bad because of a huge build-up of bacteria
and the rest of the tadpoles suffocate due to lack of oxygen. It is reasonably
well documented that tadpoles have been the downfall of even large goldfish.
My advice is to immediately remove the surviving froglets as and when they first
come out of the water. Not only will this guarantee their survival, but will
also increase the prospects for the rest of their tadpole brethren. House them
separately in a similarly sized container to the one they were reared in, but
ensure that there is lots of food as detailed below. Have damp sphagnum moss (or
similar) as the substrate for them to sit on and hide in.
The froglets need live insects of a suitable size once they have metamorphosed,
but not ants that are very acidic because of the formic acid they give off.
Suitable food could be greenfly but, if you need large quantities - and I
suspect you will - you would have to culture fruitflies (see the BDG Website for
Drosophila.) They would not feed on the same food they ate while they were
tadpoles. However, they do gain quite a bit of nourishment from absorption of
the tail, so I don't think in this case their food is the problem. In view of
all this tedium, I would be tempted simply to either:
a) Release them into the wild/garden, wave them bye bye and wish them lots of
luck; or
b) Rig up some sort of open vivarium outside with planks of wood, sheets of
plastic etc. to hem them in but give access to wild food supplies. The
availability of food can be hugely increased by placing things like ripe bananas
into the vivarium to attract wild fruit flies and so forth, which the
toads will then readily hunt down and snap up.
I think I've solved your problem - perhaps a little too late for this year, but
should you attempt the same thing next year (supposing the kids don't grow out
of this sort of thing!) then I believe you'll have almost 100 percent success. I
hope it works. If it doesn't, I'm only too willing to rethink my ideas and come
up with something else. I'm not usually short on ideas!
All the best for now.
Date: 05 December 2001 04:10
Hi I caught some tadpoles in a pond next to my house and I have tried to feed them a lot of things and nothing has worked. I have tried fish food bread and nothing works. So I was wondering if you could tell me some things tadpoles eat and I don't know what kind they are if I find out I will send it to you.
Subject: Tadpoles
Date: 18 December 2001 08:16
Hi there,
With regard to your question on tadpoles, I cannot help you unless I know what
part of the world you live in.
If you would let me know this, then at least I could narrow my field of search
down! However, generally speaking, tadpoles feed on anything that can be
described as being edible. Some, though, are filter feeders and take tiny food
particles from the water. Perhaps your tadpoles are of this type? If they hang
in mid-water with their tails down, then it could be that they are filter
feeders. If they sit on the bottom most of the time, then chances are that they
a general feeders, and so should feed on flakes of fish food.
Filter feeders are more difficult to feed, but you can get special food at
tropical fish shops designed for feeding tiny, baby tropical fish. It is
available either in tube form (a little like watery toothpaste) or as very fine
powder.
I hope this information helps you.
Subject: Interest
Date: 06 March 2002 03:12
Hello John
I came across your web site and was interested in your adventures on Isla Popa.
I have the chance to purchase a small parcel of titled beach front land but the
poisonous snakes that are suppose to be there could be a problem, if they thick.
In travelling around how do you see this island, compared to say Isla
Bastimentos, which is about the same size?
Thanks for any information you can lend.
Subject: Re: Interest
Date: 06 March 2002 08:07
Hi
Thank you for your recent email.
Sorry to say this, but the page you mention was not written by me - in fact most
pages on the BDG Website are written by members of our group or are taken from
our past Newsletters.
However, I can pass on your email to someone who I know has visited the area you
ask about, and hopefully this will illicit a response - but don't hold your
breath!
Best wishes and good luck with your venture.
Subject: Bocas del Toro
Date: 08 March 2002 08:13
Below is a reply from one of our members who has had
experience of the area you enquired about. Not too promising, I'm afraid. I've
lived in Costa Rica for a couple of years, and I can tell you that if you're not
used to it, the humidity can sap all your energy and make life very
uncomfortable. The rainforest is not a nice place to live - honest! John
(Text follows below):
'Yes. I have made two expeditions to the Isla Popa. I do not think it is suitable for habitation, there is a small family of native Indians living on the island but it would not be suitable for people not borne to this kind of environment.
'The island itself is completely covered in rainforest with only a minimal area cleared by the Indians to reduce the immediate humidity around their dwelling houses, and to reduce the infestation of snakes and insects. There is no foreshore or beach other than small strips of sand with million of biting flies and other nasty insects. The island itself is mostly impenetrable jungle infested with poisonous snakes and spiders. As far as wild life is concerned it is an absolute wonderland. The temperature is always hot between 30 and 35; the humidity is at saturation point. The island is also a considerable distance from civilisation.
'The Isle of Bastimentos is almost identical as are all of the islands; there is a small community of afro-Caribbean decedents of people who worked on the Panama Canal. Bastimentos is only ten minutes by boat from Bocas del Toro the main town, which has reduced humidity owing to the fact it is built on a reclaimed mangrove and is not in the forest proper.
'In conclusion although the Bocas Islands are a truly wonderful place to visit for natural history, it is not a suitable environment to live in, the weather pattern is not Caribbean, it is wet and torrid all year round. It rains all day and every day in the wet season and almost every day in the dry season, not that there is really a dry season. !!'
> ***.
Subject: Re: Bocas del Toro
Date: 08 March 2002 23:27
Dear John
Thanks for the report by ***. You kindly ask him if he circled the whole island
of {Popa}
I was told that there were several large sandy beaches on the island that seem
to be different than ***s report. Also ***s report about the Bocas in general
and its humidity again seem to differ from the pitch of the Real Estate people,
they claim that with the Sea breezes one can with stand the conditions.
Again if *** can comment on their questions I would be grateful.
Regards
***
Subject: Re: Bocas del Toro
Date: 09 March 2002 08:58
Hi,
Thank you for your email.
I'm afraid I would believe *** way before I would believe someone who was trying
to sell me property! But then, perhaps I'm just being a British Sceptic!
However, what I can tell you is that in my experience climates of this nature
are very, very uncomfortable. It is tolerable for a week or two while you make a
visit to this or that, but thereafter it just becomes a tiresome unpleasant
fact.
When I was living in Costa Rica, most of the time I was living just outside San
Jose where the climate was bearable. But on occasion I had to venture out into
the rainforest, sometimes over to the Caribbean coast not a million miles from
Bocas del Toro and I can tell you that the climate there was like living in a
wet sponge. It's not so much the high temperatures I found uncomfortable - I've
lived in Cyprus, for example where it's very hot but dry - but the humidity,
which was almost 100 percent.
All I can suggest to you is - be very, very, VERY careful if you are seriously
considering buying property in the areas you have named. Personally, I would
not consider it under any circumstances. There are parts of Costa Rica where
I have
thought about buying land, but that was up in the beautiful (and cooler and
breezier) mountains of San Vito, near Panama.
Make absolutely sure you get an estate agent near to your present home who you
can trust, and who you know is working for you one hundred percent and will
genuinely work entirely on your behalf. I would dread to think what legal
loopholes are involved in buying property on the islands.
Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but don't say you've not been warned!
Good luck.
Subject: Mantella question
Date: 23 December 2001 19:39
I have a 125 set up for Mantellas. It has been doing well for
over 4 yrs now. The problem I have is that I have a single Golden male that
seems to maybe eat the other Goldens. Have you ever heard of this? I think he
eats them as I never find dead, and never smell them, but they disappear from a
tightly sealed tank (still has good air exchange).
One thing of note is that when I received this male, he was a wild caught of
unknown but mature age, and my brother owned him for 15 months before I got him.
So that makes him around 6 yrs old!
What is normal life span of these frogs??!!
I live in a rural community, and have been unable to acquire anymore frog, do
you have any Goldens available?
Thank you, and Happy Holidays!
Subject: Re: Mantella question
Date: 25 December 2001 09:17
***
I am no expert on Mantellas, but I'll put in my two-penny worth for what it'll
be worth!
I would think it unlikely that the frog in question would actually eat another
frog, but don't quote me on that. It is well known within Dendrobatids that some
male frogs will eat the spawn of other frogs, although I have never seen or had
experience of this myself. A friend of mine claims, though, that he has actually
seen this and I have to believe him.
If the frogs are dying, then look for scavengers in the vivarium such as worms,
snails, slugs etc. that could easily be hidden in the substrate. They would eat
a frog of Mantella size very quickly. Also, even if the frog did decompose I
doubt if there would be much in the way of a smell evident due to the very small
size of the animal in question. Had it not been for the fact that the frog
was/is a long-term captive and therefore unlikely to have introduced parasites
into your set-up (always a problem with newly wild-caught animals), I might have
suspected internal parasites as a possible cause.
What I'm saying is, I haven't much idea what is happening to your frogs!
With regard to age, amazingly six years is not unusual in such small animals.
Captive bred Dendrobatid frogs have been known to continue to breed at
twelve-plus years which, considering their often tiny size, is quite
astonishing. But with strict regard to Mantellas, again I have to say I have no
idea.
My final suggestion is that you separate the male in question and see what
happens to the other frogs as a result of this action. If they continue to
disappear, then you know that it is not this male to blame, and you must look
for other causes.
Sorry I cannot be of more help. Let me know what you finally choose to do.
Subject:
Date: 11 April 2002 17:39
Looking for Dendrobates, please tell me what you have for
sale, prices for 5+ , 10 + , buying in bulk. Live in the uk any other details,
pictures, age etc,
Your links aren't working.
Many thanks
***
Subject: Purchase of Dendrobates frogs
Date: 11 April 2002 19:51
Dear ***
Thank you for your recent email concerning purchase of frogs.
I am afraid that I do not have any frogs that I am willing to sell at the
moment. This may change in the near future. There will be no special offer for
bulk purchase.
I can put an advert on the Website for you providing you are a private
individual and not a trader.
I have checked the Links page and have found it to be working normally, apart
from three old links that have clearly gone to the great Website in the sky.
Unfortunately, their owners don't always let me know that they have ceased to
exist!
Thank you for your interest in the BDG.
Subject: Cane Toad
Date: 23 May 2001 23:16
Hey, I just took in a baby cane toad. It's in the post
metamorphosis stage, and it's about 1 1/2 cm long. My question is how to feed
this creature, and what its housing should be like, currently I just have it in
an aquarium that has a small pool of water in it. The toad can choose whether he
wants to be wet or dry. That's it, just a pool of water. If you or anyone you
know can help me, I would greatly appreciate it.
***
Subject: Re: Cane Toad
Date: 24 May 2001 07:22
Hi there ***,
The Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) is a native of Central and South America,
and is usually an easy animal to keep. It will grow to over six inches (15cms)
in length, perhaps a bit more.
Food could be anything that moves and that will fit in its mouth! For a very
young animal, try flies, grasshoppers, caterpillars, worms or anything else like
that, so long as it is LIVING and MOVING. You could well be able to buy crickets
of a suitable size at your local pet shop. That would be the ideal food until it
gets a bit bigger.
The accommodation you are providing seems right, although simply a very damp
base of moss would suit it, without the water. Toads are not very aquatic so
long as they are kept damp.
Temperatures should be around 75°F (24°C). Provide these
conditions and I think you will find that your toad will grow very quickly.
In Australia where these toads have been introduced, people put out cat food at
night to feed the local Cane Toad population! But I don't recommend that and
fail to see what makes the toads eat it in the first place. Normally, it is the
fact that the food is alive and moving that triggers the feeding response.
Hope this solves your problems and answers some of your questions. Please get
back to me if you need any further information.
Good luck.
Subject: Re: Cane Toad
Date: 26 May 2001 02:04
Hey, thanks for the information. My problem is that he's (the supposed cane toad) just under a centimetre in length. I've offered him live bloodworms, and a few ants, but nothing seems to be sparking his interest. Do you have any suggestions?
Subject: Re: Cane Toad
Date: 26 May 2001 10:26
Hi there,
Thanks for letting me know the latest on your new toad.
The diet you are offering is a little 'strange'!! Could I ask a question or two?
Here in UK we understand 'bloodworms' to be the aquatic larvae of a type of
midge or fly. If this is the case where you live, then that food is
inappropriate because of its aquatic nature. The toad now needs terrestrial -
land living - food that moves, such as earthworms, caterpillars and so forth.
Ants are not an appropriate food in my opinion due to their extremely acidic
nature. They produce as a defence mechanism quantities of formic acid, which can
be an irritant. In fact, very few amphibia will eat most species of ant, with
only a few exceptions.
My advice - if you want to continue being a caring parent (!) to this toad - is
that you try insects such as flies, crickets and grasshoppers of a suitable
size, worms and small spiders (all living.) If the temperature is around the
72°F mark (about 22 - 24°C) then I'm sure the toad will eventually feed. They
are normally very greedy things, but the food offered must be alive and moving.
It will then start to grow at an alarming rate and will reach several inches in
its first year! Then your problems will really begin!
Hope this clears a point or two. Please let me know how things develop.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Dendrobates truncatus
Date: 05 April 2002 15:11
I would appreciated receiving articles publicated about poison
frog of the family Dendrobatidae. I'm study biology of University of Antioquia,
Colombia, my tesis degree will be about to Dendrobates truncatus in two regions
of Colombia.
Thank you
*** *** ***
School of Medicine
University of Antioquia
A.A. 1226
Medellin-Colombia
SouthAmerica
Subject: Dendrobates truncatus
Date: 06 April 2002 08:35
Estimada ***,
Gracias por tu email sobre Dendrobates truncatus.
Por desgracia, no estoy manteni’dolos a este momento, pero conozco varias
personas por acõ en Inglaterra quienes los tienen. Sin embargo, no hablan
espaÏol pero estoy seguro que les gustara escribirte y darte respuestas para
tus preguntas en ingl’s. Mandar’ tu direcci¾n de email a un amigo quien tiene
un mont¾n de estas ranitas. Estoy seguro que el podrõ ayudarte en una manera o
otra.
La Ënica ranita que estoy manteniendo al momento es D. lamasi. Ponen solamente
dos huevos cada vez, pero semana por semana los nËmeros estõn creciendo, åpoco
a poco! A este momento tengo mõs o menos veinte de dos machos y una hembra.
El website del British Dendrobatid Group (BDG) tiene dos põginas sobre la
especie D. truncatus, y sus direcciones siguen:
http://www.thebdg.org/library/frogspecies/d_truncatus1.htm
http://www.thebdg.org/library/frogspecies/d_truncatus2.htm
y tienes permiso usarlos para tu tesis. Pero estos artculos
son sobre manteni’ndolos en cautividad y dicen nada de su vida en la selva. No
s’ si Òeso es importante? Me imagino que s.
Por favor, si tienes otras preguntas, pregËntamelos inmediatamente.
åBuena suerte con tus estudios!
John Skillcorn
Subject: COSTA RICA
PANAMA
Date: 22 March 2002 21:57
I AM PLANNING A TRIP AND WOULD LIKE TODO EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID. CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME PHONE NUMBERS AND DO YOU HAVE INFO ON EXPORTING LAWS ON THOSE FROGS AND OTHER ANIMALS. THANKS
Subject: COSTA RICA PANAMA
Date: 23 March 2002 09:31
Further to your email enquiry about Costa Rica.
You do not tell me exactly to which web page you are referring. There are
several pages concerning visits made by our members to other countries, each one
written by a different person and so I need to know which one you mean. I am
assuming you are referring to Dendrobatid frogs.
I was working as a teacher in Costa Rica during the two years I was there, but I
doubt if that is what you are enquiring about. As far as frogs go, I did not
bring any back with me as the laws on export are strict, and in any case I avoid
obtaining stock from the wild whenever possible. The natural populations are
suffering enough from man without us affecting them further.
Specifically exporting from Costa Rica, I think I'm correct in saying that you
would need a licence from your own country to allow import and a licence from
the country of origin for export, (as far as I am aware - this is true of the
UK) otherwise your movement of animals would be illegal.
Even while resident in Costa Rica, I was not licensed to keep them, although I
had a friend who was licensed to study and keep them in captivity, and all my
contact with the frogs was through him. He was inspected on a regular basis to
ensure the animals were being cared for properly. His studies required a large
amount of paperwork with a detailed account of why he needed to take the animals
from the wild and keep them in captivity.
As far as I can gather, the licensing is fairly long, tedious and intricate
requiring a good command of Spanish, and would not be accomplished in the space
of a few weeks' visit to the country.
I am not at liberty to issue contact numbers of my colleagues and associates
without their prior permission.
I hope this information is helpful.
John Skillcorn
Subject: any help
would be most appreciated...
Date: 22 February 2002 18:20
Hi John
My name is *** and I am currently taking A level biology. For my assessed
practical I am having to observe the behaviour of Daphnia. I was wondering if
you would look at the predictions I have made on the behaviour of Daphnia. Any
comments on these predictions would be great.
The question I have been given is:
Investigate factors affecting the vertical distribution of water fleas in a
column of water.
I have chosen to investigate the factors of light and food to see if they have a
significant effect on the distribution of Daphnia pulex.
Light factor:
Half the tube will be covered in black paper to exclude light, creating a dark
environment. The lamp will produce the light environment. Daphnia have been seen
to avoid fish predation by residing in the lower and darker portions of the
water during the day (where the fish predators are unable to use their sight).
These Daphnia would then rise to the surface at night so they could feed. This
behaviour is called Diel migration. I predict from using this information that
there will be a higher proportion of Daphnia in the dark, as although there are
no fish predators this is an innate response to daylight conditions.
Food factor:
The food source will be yeast put in one half of the tube. Being filter feeders,
they employ passive rather than active feeder mechanisms and do not 'hunt and
seek' to find food. I therefore predict that food will have little significance
on the distribution of Daphnia i.e. they will be found randomly at the food
source rather than actively moving towards it. I will repeat this for a second
time to be sure valid data is collected.
Thank you very much for your time and any help would be most appreciated.
***
Subject: Re: any help would be most appreciated...
Date: 22 February 2002 21:51
Hi ***,
Thank you for your email concerning your biology assignment.
I can see (foresee) one or two problems with your routes of investigation, which
may lead to flaws in your final data.
Response to light.
Yes, you can investigate this in the way you have chosen. However, if you
decide to use a lamp to produce the light (as you suggest) then you must make
sure that the lamp itself does not produce any heat, which will then cause the
temperature of the water to rise. A rise in water temperature will cause a
decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the water, so forcing the Daphnia
to rise to the surface where the oxygen level will be highest. Also, in my
experience of observing wild Daphnia magna and other species, it has not
been observed that they dwell in the darkest recesses of their habitat! Indeed,
they are most often to be observed on warm, sunny afternoons swimming freely
where the concentrations of their food organisms are most abundant i.e. diatoms
and other free-swimming unicellular organisms, especially algae. The water is
often coloured red due to the high numbers of free-swimming organisms. To
counteract any influence that gravity might have on your experiments, make sure
that either you have your tubes horizontal, or else you have one tube with the
light source at the top and another identical tube with the light source at the
bottom. Do not forget the importance of controls: all clear with light source
and all black with light source (even though it is all blacked out).
Food
You are assuming that because they are filter feeders (what is your basis
for thinking this?) they will employ passive feeder mechanisms. I do not think
that this is the case. In my experience they do actively hunt and seek their
food and (as I have already suggested) are to be observed most readily in open
water in bright, sunny conditions actively feeding on free-swimming unicellular
algae. These algae, due to their photosynthetic needs, are themselves drawn to
the brightest areas of their habitat. Your Daphnia will certainly feed on
yeast, but that is not the only food source they will seek out. Perhaps a study
of wild-caught Daphnia in situ will give insights into what is a normal
diet for them. This could be a fruitful tangent for your studies. Also, try
feeding them on an actively moving ciliate, for example Paramoecium. Due to the
often-stagnant conditions in which they live, these will naturally collect near
the surface of the water where the oxygen is most prevalent.
I'm playing 'devil's advocate' here! Just putting one or two thoughts your way
before you go ahead and put things into practice. Daphnia are useful
organisms for experiments and studies of this sort, and I wish you well with
your work. Let me know how you get on.
Best wishes,
John Skillcorn
Thank you for the information.... I got the facts for my
predictions from this page on a Daphnia site (wish I hadn't found it now!).
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/ DAPHNIA/DIEL.HTM
I don't think it matters if my predictions are wrong because when investigating
your are out to prove or disprove your prediction. The important thing is if my
predictions have been based on biologically sound information about Daphnia.
In other words I can't just have made it all up. The functions and features of
the Daphnia have to be true. So do you think the predictions I have made
are biologically ok? (It doesn't matter if they may be wrong!)
I get a chance in the analysis to say why my predictions are right or wrong.
Would you help me with some of the reasons Daphnia do go towards food?
All I understand is they must be hungry and they need food to live! (Really
basic!!!) I suppose it follows on that they go to the light because this is
where their photosynthetic food is?
Thank you for your time I am most greatful...
***
Subject: Re: Your predictions were correct...
Date: 02 March 2002 09:02
Dear ***
Sorry I'm not able to reply immediately to emails. I have to reserve this task
for the weekends as my weekdays are spent (usually) preparing for lessons.
However, seems like things have turned out OK - at least some of them.
Your questions:
The fact that there is no food present doesn't mean anything at all. In the
wild Daphnia would make their way towards the light simply because that
is the most LIKELY place they are going to encounter food. Whether they
ultimately achieve their goal is another matter. The probability is, however,
that they would meet suitable food organisms in the brightest parts of their
environment. As you can see from the pictures, there is a prominent eyespot
although what they are able to 'see' with this I would not like to guess. So
what you experienced in your experiments is exactly what you would expect under
the circumstances. What you do not seem to have done is make the bottom light
and the top dark. If you do not try this, then it could be argued that they are
responding in a negative way to gravity and not to the likelihood of
encountering food.
Why should they move towards food? Well, I think you have answered your own
question there! All organisms need a supply of energy. Animals obtain their
energy from other living things, be they plant or animal. In the case of Daphnia,
they will feed on any organism small enough to enter their gullet. Usually, this
will be in the form of free-swimming, unicellular animals and plants - Diatoms,
Desmids, Paramoecium etc. All these organisms are likely to move towards
light, even some of the animals. Paramoecium bursaria, for example, has a
species of alga living within its body cavity and for this reason appears green
and needs to live where there is sufficient light to maintain the plant within
its 'body'. This is an example of symbiosis, where the animal is probably
gaining food which has been photosynthesised by the alga, in return for safely
housing the plant. Daphnia may consume bacteria and other unicellular
fungi as well.
I hope this information helps you to complete your assignment.
John Skillcorn
Dear John...
Thank you very much for your thoughts on my experiment.... last e-mail was a bit
of a panic/desperation thing! Sorry.
Well changed my plan to accomodate some of your thoughts and then carried out
the experiment yesterday. You certainly know your stuff.... they went towards
the light in my first experiment and in the second went towards the food. I can
understand in the wild they go towards the light because thats where their
photosynthetic food is but in my experiement I had NO food in the light!! My
tube was purely split into two halves, bottom being dark, top being light. Could
you help me with the reasoning behind them going towards the light please? Again
with the food they went towards it but I don't really know why except for they
need food to provide the nutrients and energy to stay alive. I would be most
greatful for any help.
Thanks again...
*** (a very pleased person that her Daphnia performed on the day).
Subject: Poison dart frog
Date: 09 January 2002 16:14
Hi,
My name is *** *** and I am a student at Parklane College in Leeds studying
animal management. I am doing an assignment for my exotics subject about the
poison dart frog and I need your help! Could you please tell me if it is
necessary to have a license to keep this species in the UK? If so how do you get
one? Are there any other legal implications regarding keeping this species in
captivity?
Thank you very much for your time.
Subject: the poison dart frog
Date: 09 January 2002 21:24
Dear ***
I think the first thing you must understand is that there is no such thing as
'the' poison dart frog!
Poison Arrow frogs (as they are called in the UK - 'dart' is an Americanism) are
made up of many different and distinct species from several genera, but mainly
from Dendrobates, Phyllobates and Colostethus.
You must remember that ALL AMPHIBIA have toxins in their skins. However, having
said that, there are three species of Poison Arrow frogs from the genus Phyllobates
that have particularly strong and powerful toxins. I think I'm right in saying
that the most poisonous of all is the frog Phyllobates terribilis which
is one of the three species used by South American Indians for tipping their
blow-gun darts and arrows.
Many of the Poison Arrow frog species are kept and bred in captivity and it is
not necessary to do so under licence. There is no legal reason why these species
may not be kept and bred in captivity, assuming that you are able to house and
feed them properly. They come, of course, under the various laws regarding
cruelty to animals and as such you could be prosecuted for failing to care for
them adequately, just as you would a dog or cat. In any case, it is believed
that the toxins are produced by the great variety of animal life on which the
frogs are able to feed in the wild. Sadly, with their restricted diet in
captivity the toxins are no longer produced in quantity and after the first or
second generation they are of negligible strength.
Some of the toxins are used as drug treatments for pain relief, and you will
find some information on this on the BDG Website www.thebdg.org
I hope this information has proved useful to you, and if I can be of any further
assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.
Good luck in your studies,
John Skillcorn
Subject: Frog Exhibit
Date: 13 December 2001 20:56
We are getting ready to set up a frog program and new exhibit
inside of our rainforest pyramid. I am currently ordering frogs for this exhibit
and trying to locate some of the more rare species. A distributor in the US
referred me to your organization and I was hoping that you might be able to put
me in touch with someone who has or can get these frogs. We are expanding on our
original idea and do not have time to do the collecting ourselves. We are an AZA
recognized zoological establishment and are permitted by the USDA. I am
including a list of frogs that I am currently trying to locate. You may not have
any information on some but the two in particular that I am looking for are the Dendrobates
histrionicus and the Atelopus flavesgens. I would appreciate any help
in this matter.
Thanks,
***
Galveston, TX 77554
Dendrobates histrionicus, Phyllobates terribilis (gold phase), Bufo typhonius, Rhinoderma darwinii, Conraua goliath, Cochranella fleishmanni, Hyla leucophyllata, Anotheca spinosa, Hyla punctata, Hyperolius tuberlingus, Afrixalus frornasini, Heterixalus rutenbergi, Gastrotheca monticola, Alytes muletensis, Atelopus spp.
Subject: Re: Frog Exhibit/Dendrobatids
Date: 14 December 2001 08:48
Dear ***
I am not aware at the moment that anyone is selling the two Dendrobatid frogs
you mention.
However, I can place an advert on the BDG Website for you, if that would be any
help:
http://www.thebdg.org/interactions/forsale.htm
I can also pass on your email to our secretary, who has access to the database,
and he could then do a search for you and let breeders of your species and area
know that you are searching.
Many of our members live in the UK and Europe. However, we do have members in
the USA, and perhaps one of these can help you.
Let me know if you would like to place a free advert.
John Skillcorn
Harvard Medical School
Subject: frog woes!
Date: 29 April 2002 02:23
Hello!
I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw your email address on the web in a relevant
context, and I wanted to ask for some advice. I am a developmental biologist
doing research on early frog embryos. For this purpose we keep a facility of
about 300 Xenopus laevis. Recently, a couple of our frogs have come down
with what looks to me to be a fungal infection (in places where they were held,
for collection of eggs). I have isolated them and am wondering about treatment
options. From my reading, people have suggested iodine-based compounds, bactine,
and "imidazole drugs". I can buy bactine in the drug store, but I
don't know what to do for the others. Can you suggest any specific product which
may be obtainable in the US (and a suitable concentration) which may be
anti-fungal and safe for frogs?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
*** ***
Subject: Re: frog woes!
Date: 29 April 2002 08:17
Hi there ***,
Thank you for your email enquiring about Xenopus. I hope I can help.
I am assuming that the frogs are being used in conjunction with chorionic
gonadotrophin, and that this is being injected into a lymph sac? I have used
this method many times when I have needed embryos for class study. So there are
two possible ways the frogs are being infected.
Firstly, simply through contact with human hands or perhaps a towel used to hold
the animal while it is being injected. This removes protective slime/mucus from
the skin and opens it up to fungal spores ever-present in the water. Stress can
have the same effect by debilitating the animal so reducing the mucus layer, and
this is commonly seen in newly transported fish.
Secondly, through the use of an infected hypodermic.
From your email you mention (presumably) only females suffering 'in places where
they were held, for collection of eggs.' Does this mean that you're not using
males, or that males are not infected?
Either way, what is needed is a fungicide. I think it is just about impossible
to completely isolate the animals from fungal spores. These are present in the
air and enter the water constantly. If we were dealing with fish and the fungus
was growing on eggs then I would try something as simple as methylene blue
stain. This has antifungal properties and was used extensively once fish had
spawned, in order to protect eggs from fungus. The meth. blue is made up as an
aqueous solution (the exact percentage escapes me, but is unimportant) and
enough is added to the tank water to colour it a definite blue.
Iodine, as you have observed, can also be used directly on the skin.
However, these have been superseded by various proprietary chemicals tailor-made
to do exactly the same thing, as well as to actually cure fungus on fish. They
usually prove much more effective than either method outlined above. You will
find these modern treatments in any decent tropical fish shop. A good make to go
for is TetraMin (or simply 'Tetra') and I think you will be needing a more
powerful treatment for fish rather than simply for protecting eggs. But, if you
go to a veterinarian who is au fait with reptile and amphibian diseases, you may
get prescription drugs for fungal infection. The exact cause of the disease
depends on the organism, and two groups spring to mind which are relevant to
amphibia:
Mucor, Rhizopus, Cephalosporium etc. (changes in appearance of skin e.g.
reddening, browning) can be treated with 1:5000 8-hydroxyquinoline painted
directly onto the skin.
Pseudomonas hydrophila ('Red-leg disease' - reddening of skin, haematomas along
abdominal region and on legs) is treated with a Sulfamethazine bath (30ml to 20
litres water) for several weeks, or Sulfanilamide (200 mg per litre water) for
about 3 to 4 weeks.
I do not know of the availability of these chemicals in the USA - laws of supply
are different from here in the UK. They may be prescription drugs which can be
obtained only with a prescription from a vet. I think you are able to buy
antibiotics over the counter there, while they must be obtained only on
prescription here. 'Bactine' sounds to me like a bactericide, which may or may
not have an effect on other types of fungus, but I do not know what its active
ingredient is. Imidazole drugs sound like the modern drugs currently used in the
aquarium trade for the treatment of fish and other animals.
My first port of call would be your local, good-quality tropical fish dealer for
a fungus treatment for tropical fish (rather than eggs). Look for 'Tetra' or
'TetraMin', a well-known German make. Try it (or them, depending on how many
you're trying!) on a limited number of frogs first of all, to ensure there are
no adverse side effects. If there is an improvement, then treat however many
frogs you need to. If no improvement, then find a vet. who is well-up on
amphibian and reptile diseases. This, however, is likely to cost you! You may
like to contact a fellow countryman of yours, *** ***, who may be able to help
with more advice (hopefully better than mine!):
***
E-mail Address: ***
I am afraid I am unable to provide any further information without resorting to
telephone calls to other contacts. It's 08.00 in the morning here, and
everyone's going out to work. Let me know how you get on, and if I can be of any
further assistance. Failing that, I can put an advert onto the BDG Website for
you, asking for help. That can be done very quickly and will, with luck,
generate a response. Let me have a detailed description of the illness, and
we'll take it from there.
Good luck for now, but let me know how you get on.
John
Subject: Re: Fw: frog woes!
Date: 29 April 2002 12:49
Dear John,
Thank you for your email enquiring about Xenopus. I hope I can help.
Thank you for your quick reply!!
I am assuming that the frogs are being used in conjunction with chorionic gonadotrophin, and that this is being injected into a lymph sac? I have used this method many times when I have needed embryos for class study. So there are two possible ways the frogs are being infected. Firstly, simply through contact with human hands or perhaps a towel used to hold the animal while it is being injected. This removes protective slime/mucus from the skin and opens it up to fungal spores ever-present in the water. Stress can have the same effect by debilitating the animal so reducing the mucus layer, and this is commonly seen in newly transported fish. Secondly, through the use of an infected hypodermic.
yes; I have been using this technique for years, and this has not happened before. I do not use paper towels, and use fresh hypodermics for each frog. It is a mystery!
From your email you mention (presumably) only females suffering 'in places where they were held, for collection of eggs.' Does this mean that you're not using males, or that males are not infected?
we have males, but they are sacrificed (for collection of testes) - they are not handled like the females, so they are not a comparison. Only a few frogs came down with it, on the back of their thighs, right after being handled.
The meth. blue is made up as an aqueous solution (the exact percentage escapes me, but is unimportant) and enough is added to the tank water to colour it a definite blue.
great - I will try it.
Iodine, as you have observed, can also be used directly on the skin.
what kind of iodine? Is there any specific form?
However, these have been superseded by various proprietary chemicals tailor-made to do exactly the same thing, as well as to actually cure fungus on fish.
great - thanks! I will contact our vet, and also visit a pet store (for fish antifungals) today.
> I am afraid I am unable to provide any further information without resorting to telephone calls to other contacts. It's 08.00 in the morning here, and everyone's going out to work. Let me know how you get on, and if I can be of any further assistance. Failing that, I can put an advert onto the BDG Website for you, asking for help. That can be done very quickly and will, with luck, generate a response. Let me have a detailed description of the illness, and we'll take it from there.
Thank you very much. I'll let you know how it works!
***
Subject: Re: Fw: frog woes!
Date: 29 April 2002 21:54
***,
I have just re-read your email, and something springs to mind.
You say that the irritation occurred 'right after being handled.' It could well
be, then, that there was something on your hands that has caused this reaction
in the frogs' skin. Something as simple as soap might have this reaction.
Xenopus have sensory cells in lines along their flanks and these may be more
sensitive to even a mild irritant.
Sorry to hear you sacrifice the males! I used gonadotrophin with them also, but
in a smaller dose to get them into condition, so they were spared!
Finally, with reference to the type of iodine, it is so long ago since I have
used this remedy I cannot comment further on it! However, since it is insoluble
in water it would normally be dissolved in ethanol (this makes up 'tincture of
iodine', used as a mammalian antiseptic). Potassium iodide is, however, soluble
in water. So, sorry about this one. An old book on tropical fish might have the
treatment outlined.
John
Subject: Re: Fw: frog woes!
Date: 30 April 2002 02:59
Hi John -
I have just re-read your email, and something springs to mind. You say that the
irritation occurred 'right after being handled.' It could well be, then, that
there was something on your hands that has caused this reaction in the frogs'
skin. Something as simple as soap might have this reaction. Xenopus have sensory
cells in lines along their flanks and these may be more sensitive to even a mild
irritant.
it may well be, although I make sure to wash my hands in a bucket of "frog water" before handling them, and remove all rings, watches, etc. I don't use cologne or strong soaps or lotions of any kind.
Sorry to hear you sacrifice the males! I used gonadotrophin with them also, but in a smaller dose to get them into condition, so they were spared!
how do you do it? I'm sorry to sac them also - if there's another way, I'm all for it. Do you inject them and induce natural mating? If so, it probably won't work for me since I need the eggs fertilized at a specific time. I do molecular embryology experiments, and I need all the eggs to be exactly the same stage. I collect many hundreds of eggs into a Petri dish, and fert them all simultaneously in vitro. But maybe you mean something else?
Finally, with reference to the type of iodine, it is so long ago since I have used this remedy I cannot comment further on it! However, since it is insoluble in water it would normally be dissolved in ethanol (this makes up 'tincture of iodine', used as a mammalian antiseptic). Potassium iodide is, however, soluble in water. So, sorry about this one. An old book on tropical fish might have the treatment outlined. John
interesting. ok! Tomorrow I'm having the sickest frog analyzed by a vet at MIT - they will try to culture whatever it is, so we know what the pathogen is. The others I will try to cure using a variety of drugs you and others have mentioned. We'll see!
Best,
***
Subject: Re: Fw: frog woes!
Date: 30 April 2002 07:54
Hi ***,
Thanks for getting back to me.
It seems you are blameless in this instance of frog problems!! It's got me
puzzled. You're doing all the right things, so let's hope your vet comes up with
the correct answer.
The method I used for inducing mating is in a text book (Nuffield Science -
popular here in UK around the 1970's, but still valid today) which is in a box
up in the roof-space of my house. I will have to search it out. Basically, it
involves injecting the pairs with the hormone (different doses for the two
sexes, males less) to induce gamete production, then (I think) several days
later giving another injection on the afternoon prior to when you want to induce
amplexus. The pairs would then spawn right on time. I could use this as a class
demonstration of amphibian reproduction, then the eggs are available thereafter
for embryonic development and tadpole rearing.
I will find the book and send you scans of the relevant bits.
John
Subject: Re: Fw: frog woes!
Date: 30 April 2002 21:32
***,
As a final gasp, please find attached Xenopus spawning instructions.
Males and females live to spawn another day!
John
Subject: Re: frog woes!
Date: 13 May 2002 16:12
Hi John -
Just wanted to let you know what we found out. We gave the two sickest frogs to
a vet for an autopsy and histopathology analysis. The remaining 5 sick frogs we
treated ourselves using a variety of combinations of drugs bought at the pet
store and at Sigma based on people's recommendations. All are very close to
recovery after about a week of treatment with various antibiotics in the water.
The pathology results just came back and the consensus seems to be an
opportunistic infection with Aeromonas hydrophila.
We definitely had some water quality issues right before this happened, so it is
consistent with the frogs being stressed from the water problem and succumbing
to the infection. We're fixing the water problems, so hopefully this should not
recur. Thanks for your help!
Best wishes,
Mike
Subject: Frogs
Date: 21 September 2001 21:57
I live on the East End of Long Island in New York. I recently found a light brown frog in my pool. I wanted to know if u new wut kind it wuz and if you no what i could feed it.
Subject: Re: Frogs
Date: 22 September 2001 12:50
Hi,
Sorry, but without a better description it would be impossible to guess what
sort of frog you have found. With regard to feeding, then I can tell you that
they feed only on live animals such as insects (crickets, grasshoppers,
cockroaches and so forth), worms, slugs and snails (perhaps) etc. which are
small enough to fit into the mouth. The food items have, therefore, to match the
frog for size.
They need damp conditions as their delicate skin dries out very easily. A good
base would be moss. Provided the frog is of a calm nature, you could keep it in
a suitably large, empty, glass aquarium sold for tropical fish. Cover the base
with moss or damp soil and put in a broken flower pot or two under which it
might hide. There should be a small bowl of water in case it wants to rehydrate
its skin. If the frog insists on jumping everywhere in a panic, then I would
suggest giving it its freedom as it will probably never settle down in captivity
to feed.
Hope this information is of use to you.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Fruit fly cultures
Date: 18 April 2002 21:35
I have recently started to keep Dendrobates, and like most
other hobbyists, prefer to breed my own food cultures.
Can anybody give me an explanation as to why the following should occur?
My fruit fly cultures were started with an 'artificial' dry recipe purchased
from Blades Biological. After setting up about half a dozen cultures, I decided
to replenish one or two with some of my own "fruit fly mixture". This
consisted simply of mashed banana with porridge oats, boiled in a little water
with some agar added. This was allowed to cool, then sprinkled with a little
yeast granules.
This mixture was added to two of the existing cultures, and within 2 days, most
of the larvae died off!
Can anyone tell me why this should be?
*** ***
Subject: Re: Fruit fly cultures
Date: 18 April 2002 22:16
***,
It is never a good idea to re-start old fruit fly cultures by adding medium.
This is one of the easiest ways to introduce mites into cultures. It is much
better (and just as easy) to set up new cultures.
If you added agar to your mixture and allowed it to cool, I am assuming that it
set into a jelly, and then you must have cut up the jelly to add to the culture
vessels. If the agar was soft enough to pour, then it was either very thin (less
than one percent agar) and therefore not doing its job as a thickener, or else
it was still hot and therefore lethal to the larvae.
There is also the possibility (however unlikely) that the larvae were suffocated
by the addition of the medium on top of them.
Cultures can be maintained easily as per the BDG Website instructions using
simply mashed banana, or mashed banana and dry Readybrek with yeast granules.
There is no need to boil anything so long as containers etc. are kept clean.
I would be happy to think again on these points if you can provide me with more
specific information. I am sure, however, that if you set up new cultures and
seeded them with adult flies, you would have viable cultures that will produce
flies within 10 days at 24°C. The notes here refer strictly to Drosophila
melanogaster and not to any other species.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Fruit fly cultures
Date: 19 April 2002 07:31
Thanks, John.
I'll throw away these cultures and start again, with instructions as per the
BDG.
Regards,
***
Subject: Re: Fruit flies
Date: 19 April 2002 20:30
Hi there ***,
Thanks for getting back to me.
You can obtain several species of fruit fly from suppliers. However, some of
these suppliers supply genetics laboratories, universities and schools only, so
they're probably non-starters for you. You should be able to get Drosophila
hydei fairly easily. This is a large, black fly which, although winged, does
not fly. However, read the web page about this species, as its culture is not
typical (although it is easy.) The 'vestigial' wing fruit fly is a mutation of D.
melanogaster, the insect everyone talks about as 'the' fruit fly. You might
also be able to obtain the winged species of small, brown fly that does not fly
- or at least seems unwilling to fly any great distance.
However, if you put some ripe bananas out in your garden, in a field or in the
street you will soon have several species of wild flies hovering around. They
will lay their eggs on the fruit and will eventually produce a good crop of
nutritious flies for your frogs. These are as good as 'wild caught' flies. One
drawback - they will all fly!
There are some species that are fungus feeders. It is unlikely that these will
be attracted to your fruit bait. These are the species that I have called
'Awkward Species' on the Website. Their culture can be tedious but there are so
many other, easy species that you wouldn't want to culture them anyway. Unless
you're definitely weird like me.
The Website also has instructions on how to culture aphids (greenfly) and
springtails, both of which are worth the bother under certain circumstances. If
you have tiny baby frogs to feed, for example.
Finally, I wouldn't be buying cultures when you can make them up yourself so
easily. I use nothing more than banana now, with a sprinkling of yeast granules
bought at the supermarket for bread making. I mash the banana into a pulp then
put a large spoonful into the bottom of half-pint plastic drinks cups from the
local supermarket. Into this pulp I press a rolled-up piece of paper towel,
sprinkle it with yeast and then put a cover over consisting of a sheet of
kitchen towel held in place by an elastic band. When I'm ready, I put in a
sprinkling of flies, replace the paper cover and leave in a plant propagator
(electric) for ten days or so. The cultures by then will have a healthy
population of flies.
Keep these going and you will have a never-ending supply of live food. I might
say that it is important to cover the flies with a good quality mineral and
vitamin powder (Nutrobal) before feeding them to your frogs. For this I put a
small amount into a plastic drinks cup, sprinkle in some flies, shake them up
and toss them into the vivarium. The frogs will make short work of them. Apart
from the naturally occurring fauna in the vivarium itself (springtails, annelid
worms, fungus gnats etc.) I feed nothing else now. And my D. lamasi continue to
breed non-stop. It's the only species I keep.
Of course, there are much more elaborate methods of culturing Drosophila,
but for our purposes the above instructions are perfectly adequate. When I
maintain genetic strains in the laboratory I have to be much more careful but
this is not necessary for our use of the insects.
Finally, should you see any mites infesting your cultures, extract some adult
flies which will hopefully be free from mites and use these to set up some new
cultures. Put these cultures in a place far removed from your normal flies and
throw away your old cultures when they expire. Give everything a good clean with
disinfectant before putting your new, hopefully 'clean' cultures in their place.
Hope the above is of help to you. Get in touch if you need to.
All the best, John
Subject: tadpole
Date: 06 April 2002 07:42
Hello my name is *** I have found a very large tadpole and would like to know how to feed it and if there might be somewhere in Ohio where I can buy some food for it... Please respond promptly. Thank you for your time.
Subject: Re: tadpole
Date: 06 April 2002 07:55
Hi there ***,
Well, I live in the UK here in England, but I can imagine that your 'large
tadpole' might be that of the American Bullfrog. These tadpoles grow to two or
three inches long.
You will be able to feed your tadpole on any good quality tropical or goldfish
flake fish food, for example TetraMin. Feed only a few flakes at a time and stop
feeding when the tadpole leaves some of the food uneaten. Then change the water
in its tank. If you put a few pond plants into the container then the tadpole
will probably eat some of them too while it is still young.
When the tadpole starts to get its legs it will start to feed a little on meaty
things like worms and fish, but I would think that you could continue feeding
flake fish food all the time until it changes into a young frog.
You will find the tadpole very easy to rear, but if you have any further
problems or have questions to ask, please get back in touch with me.
Good luck.
John Skillcorn
Subject: D. imitator
Date: 01 August 2001 10:59
Dear Mr. Skillcorn,
I want to complement you on your article about D. imitator. I enjoyed reading it
very much.
I am really new to raising dart frogs, receiving my first D. auratus on
September 2000, but I have had moderate success so far, I too have D. imitator,
which I have been fortunate enough to have raised 9 froglets since December 8,
2000 when I collected my first eggs. I now have an additional 15 tadpoles in
various stages of growth.
You were discussing how the male sets in the water and calls the female. I
allowed the parents to move about half-dozen tads to canisters where I left
them. I found that the male did the same thing your male is doing, calling from
the water, only when the female came to the site she laid an egg or eggs to feed
the tads. I allowed the parents to raise the tads and left them in the canisters
until the front legs were about to pop. I fed no other food but relied on the
parents and algae growing the water, which I found the parents to be very
attentive to the needs of the tads. I might add I did not do water changes but
only added water by spraying it in the canisters where it overflowed.
I might add that my line from Tor Linbo look at his website (Natures Web) is a
*** *** line and is more spotted than your line. In addition the background
color is a green or yellow color. Your line is really different from mine
although I know there are quite a few variations in color in this species.
I have also been fortunate enough to breed D. auratus and E. tricolor. I have
not been successful in raising D. auratus just have started breeding in the past
few weeks and have only about 10 tads. The E. tricolor have been breeding since
October 2000 but I have only been successful in raising 1 tad to froglet stage.
I get the dreaded spindly leg syndrome on about every tad and they die soon
after morphing I suppose I have had at least a hundred tads. I wish I could find
the problem.
Thanks again for your writing a most informative article.
Good frogn'
*** ***
Blue Ridge, VA 24064 USA
Subject: Re: D. imitator and other things
Date: 01 August 2001 21:40
Dear ***
Thanks for the complements - I'm not used to that sort of treatment!! I think
that others think that pages just somehow materialise from nowhere, so it's very
nice to have contact with humans every once in a while, especially from those
bearing kind comments!
Now isn't that interesting us having the same experiences with regard to calling
male D. imitator? I have two bromeliads full of tadpoles, and I'm not
doing a thing to help raise them apart from spraying regularly with fresh water
every day. I was wondering just how much care the parents do take of their
young, as I think I made the point that it can only be the male who knows where
the tadpoles are. So most of the calling I hear must be the male calling to the
female (or indeed any female) to come and lay eggs for tadfood. I have been
amazed at how frequently they spawn - it must be about every five days or so,
and as I type this the female is obviously ready to produce another pair of
eggs.
With regard to canisters - I assume you mean film canisters made from plastic.
Well, I have had only very limited success using them, as the male which usually
spawns with the female most definitely dislikes them, and will carry the
tadpoles around for hours/days looking for a bromeliad rather than use a
canister.
You mention that my frogs are different from yours. Well, there is a reason for
that, in that they are a known subspecies from a particular area, the name of
which escapes me for the moment. However, they are characterised by parallel
lines of metallic green longitudinally down the back. However, the male shown
does have connecting bars between these parallel lines. Moreover, so, too does
his offspring. The female and the other male both have the typical lines
characteristic of this type. The characteristic two blotches on the snout are
common to all, however.
Spindle leg syndrome is a very nasty thing to be troubled with. When I was
rearing D. auratus years ago I, too, rarely reared a healthy froglet
because of this illness. And although I have read many articles concerning this
phenomenon, together with 'cures', I have yet to be convinced by any of them
that they have come up with the absolute answer. It would make a very
interesting subject for a Ph.D..... In a year or two..... My auratus were
very small and almost entirely black with thin, metallic green lines across the
hips and the shoulders, typical of those from the Carara reserve in Costa Rica.
They came from Edinburgh Zoo, known to have received frogs from this area. When
I arrived in Costa Rica a couple of years ago to take up a teaching post, it was
not long before I went over to Cahuita on the Caribbean side. There I saw my
first wild auratus, and was astonished at how green the frogs were! Nothing like
the pale, washed-out appearance that I was used to in the captive frogs here in
UK.
Getting back to spindle leg. Seriously, you are not alone, and many of our
members have at one time or another had to deal with this. The tricky thing is
getting them to admit to it! It would seem they'd rather admit to having
suffered from fleas or body lice rather than spindle leg!!
Anyway, thanks again for the kind comments on the Website, and please feel free
to send me your observations and photographs - I am always in need of any
articles on frog culture. Keep in touch.
John Skillcorn
Subject: D. imitator
Date: 02 August 2001 11:49
Dear John,
I want to thank you for the speedy reply to my e-mail of yesterday, I surely
didn't expect that. I find myself answering my mail quickly, but the main reason
being I have retired after a 34 year career in the Railroad Industry here in the
states. I can't explain how wonderful it is not to have to work and enjoy the
freedom it brings. I am writing again to clarify my e-mail about the canisters I
use. These canisters are not the ones to hold film. These are made with a
primary use to culture Drosophila mainly for lab study, since they are too small
to grow the animals in quantities enough to feed the frogs. I used to use them
when I kept tropical fish as my hobby several years ago. The vials or canisters
are 10cm or 4 inches in length with a diameter of 3.2cm or 1 1/2 inches.
When I decided to use them with the frogs I went about using them in the
following manner. I drill holes as near the top as I can get them and then hang
the canisters with a suction cup with a metal hook, which I purchased at a craft
store, then they are filled with water as high as I can fill them. I also use
them to let the D. imitator lay their eggs in them, this they have done on
several occasions. As a matter-of-fact they spawned yesterday laying 3 eggs in
one of these canisters. I might add that I drill holes at the bottom of the
canister, these are hung upside down as the ones filled with water. The
canisters are a clear plastic so it makes it easy to see the tadpoles and eggs.
I hope in the future to acquire more of the frogs in the quinquevittatus group,
I do have already 5 sub-adults of D. ventrimaculatus, which are about five
months out of water. I believe the original line is from Europe, but I acquired
the from a friend in eastern Tennessee. I am also expecting to acquire D.
fantasticus from him in mid-September these will be sub-adults also. He seems to
have great success with this group of frogs, I hope I am as successful.
I have to add I read and enjoyed you article on D. fantasticus, I'm sorry you
lost yours and I hope by now you have been able to replace them, they are really
a beautiful animal. Although all the dart group are beautiful as far as I am
concerned.
Suppose I'll close for now write when you have time. I forgot to add that I
suspect why the D. imitator use the canisters is my tank is because it lacks any
bromeliads for them to place the tads in.
Best,
***
Subject: Join
Date: 02 September 2001 04:08
Hi, my name is *** and I am interested in joining. I live in
the US and not to familiar with the curency sign you used (£). How much does it
cost in US dollars, $12? By the way, I keep mantellas.
Thanks, ***
Subject: Re: Join
Date: 02 September 2001 08:56
***,
Thanks for the email.
We have tried to make it as easy as possible. By using your credit card, the
subscription (the English Pound=£) is automatically deducted from your account
in the appropriate currency. The exchange rate applied by credit card companies
is normally very favourable. For interest's sake, at the moment it is around the
1.5 dollars to each pound. Therefore 12 pounds Sterling would be around 18
dollars.
Many American computers do not translate the pound sign correctly. On an English
keyboard, the symbol is normally situated above the 3 with the dollar sign above
the 4.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Tadpoles - read your website
Date: 17 February 2002 16:26
I wonder if you could help me. I am currently working on a project for college and wondered if you would be kind enough to answer me a couple of questions regarding tadpoles.
1. How long can tadpoles go without food? I want to ensure
they are kept healthy.
2. Do tadpoles use L-carnitine in the same way as human do i.e carntinine (?)
needed to break down fatty acids to produce energy?
3. What could I use in order to encourage a tadpole to swim in a certain
direction, e.g will they swim towards light?
4. Can you get hold of tadpoles all year round?
I would be extremely grateful for any answers you could give
me to the above questions.
Many thanks
*** ***
United Kingdom
Subject: Tadpoles
Date: 17 February 2002 20:04
Dear ***,
Thank you for your recent email concerning the development of amphibian larvae.
To take your questions one by one:
Food:
I would (at a guess) say that tadpoles could go for significant periods of time
without food. I mean weeks rather than days. However, on a restricted diet their
development will be much slower and their final size will be a lot smaller than
in well-fed tadpoles. I have some tadpoles which are being reared by their
parents in bromeliads (fed on food eggs from a female) and they take three
months to develop as opposed to two months in those larvae which I hand rear
using flake fish food. Their ultimate size on metamorphosis is quite noticeable,
parent-reared being about half the size of artificially-reared offspring.
L-carnitine (sic):
Call me Mr. Thicky, but I can find no reference in my text books to this
chemical (amino acid?) Sorry.
Reaction to light and other stimuli:
The answer here is to experiment. You do not say anything specific, but their
reaction to food, for example, could be tested easily in a simple choice
chamber. Tadpoles undoubtedly vary in their reactivity. Some avoid the light,
others are attracted to it. I think this sort of enquiry is generally easy
enough to carry out. All you would need is a little ingenuity with regard to the
equipment you might need.
Year-round availability of tadpoles:
Well, my frogs generally produce tadpoles all year round, but their clutch size
is only two! Plus the fact that they are all endangered species and not to be
experimented on! However, if you need a ready supply of amphibian tadpoles on
demand, then Xenopus laevis (African Clawed toad - a large, totally
aquatic species) would be my choice. However, you would need supplies of a
hormone - chorionic gonadotrophin - that after injection will cause males and
females to come into breeding condition. Mating and egg laying follows as a
matter of course. You would need to order the hormone through your college - I
doubt if you would be able to obtain it otherwise.
I hope my notes have been a help, and have at least guided you on to other areas
that might be more fruitful.
Please let me know if I can be of any further help.
John Skillcorn
Subject: BDG enquiry
Date: 22 January 2001
Is there anyone there who can answer a question or two?
Subject: BDG enquiry
Date 23 January 2001
Hi ***,
Yes, I can assure you that there IS someone out there!
I look after the BDG Website, and usually manage to reply to enquiries pretty
quickly. I've been having just a little problem with the site, but it's back to
normal this morning!
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any specific
information. I can usually either answer the query myself or direct your request
to someone who can.
Look forward to hearing from you in due course.
John Skillcorn
Subject: RE: British Dendrobatid Group enquiry
Date: 24 January 2001 11:56
Thanks for your reply. This really does work. I'm delighted.
Two queries if I may.
I have my two frogs in an old fish tank 3ft x 1ft x 1.5 ft with glass screens on
top (over which is the tank hood and lights). Humidity is at 90% and temperature
fluctuates between 20 to 26°C. I have two gentle streams of running water in
the tank. I also have an arrangement of bogwood that is developing a grey mould.
My response has been to arrange an inch gap on either side of the top glass
screens (covered by mesh) and to feed a small air pump hose into the tank at one
end to make sure the air circulates. Unfortunately I cannot at this stage drill
holes into the tank to put customised ventilation in. Is fungus a worrying sign?
Can it hurt the frogs? Is fungus fairly common in tanks given the high humidity?
Second problem is quicker. The culture of fruit flies I bought also brought
mites into the tank. Small white ones. Will the frogs treat them as food or can
they be a nuisance?
Thanks again for your reply
***
Subject: Re: British Dendrobatid Group enquiry
Date: 25 January 2001 09:02
Hi there ***,
Thanks for the email. I hope I can sort out at least one of your problems.
Fungus. Well, as you will no doubt be aware, animals react in different ways to
fungal spores in air. It depends on what type of fungus it is. For example, is
it fluffy like cotton wool, or is it a slimy type that shines or glistens in
light? Spraying with water to dampen down the spores might control the dry type,
but I would try to avoid getting it into your water system. Also, there must be
a food source available to the fungus as, being saprophytes, they feed by
digesting things like cellulose or other forms of starch. On rotten wood there
will be ample food of these types! If the tank has just recently been set up,
then this could be simply the result of a 'budding environment' when all the
living things within it are settling down into a form of equilibrium, rather
like a new fish tank does. If the frogs seem unaffected by the fungus, I would
leave it as the food supply is going to run out eventually.
A wet, slimy mould is more difficult to deal with. If it seems to move around
(literally, creeping at the rate of a centimetre an hour or so) the substrate it
could be a form of slime mould, species of which are relatively common. These
are identified by their colour, which can be yellow, green or orange, and by
their web-like network of hyphae or channels. However, again this need not
necessarily be a cause for concern, but if the frogs are getting into contact
with it and especially if it seems to be adhering to the skin, then I would
remove the offending article on which the fungus/mould is growing.
A safeguard might be to try to sterilise anything you put into the tank in
future, ideally by heat (in an oven if large, in a microwave if small enough, or
by immersing in very hot/boiling water.) I am fairly convinced that the
environment of these frogs should be fairly inert, as the amount of rainfall
they encounter in their natural habitat is such that any minerals present are
very quickly washed out of the soil. Only my opinion, of course! Certainly many
mosses, liverworts and ferns grow better when exposed to only small amounts of
minerals, and carnivorous plants such as the bladderworts will quickly die if in
contact with even tiny amounts.
Ventilation is a real problem, though. I open up at least a third of the surface
area to the atmosphere and this normally ensures sufficient ventilation. Moving
water within the ecosystem also goes a long way to keeping the air moving. Your
idea of an air pump is good, or I have seen computer fans used for the same
purpose, the sort used to cool processing units. The vivaria I make have open
fronts with sliding doors, and the gaps between the sliding panes of glass add
greatly to the ventilation of the interior. In their natural habitats these
frogs live in around 90 percent humidity, but the air is moving and vibrant.
Temperatures can vary from the low 20°s Celsius to mid 30°s! Stifling hot and
humid! However, I would research your chosen species carefully, as over-high
temperatures with some species is not something to be encouraged and can prove
fatal.
I hope this information is useful to you. It's only my opinion, I must stress.
However, I've lived in Costa Rica and have the experience of the rainforest
there, where D. pumilio (for example) are relatively common, and so I
form my ideas based on this. Let me know how you get on!
John Skillcorn
Subject: RE: British Dendrobatid Group enquiry
Date: 25 January 2001 16:56
John
Thanks very much. That's very helpful and kind of you to give such a full
answer. To answer some of your points: the fungus is definitely the dry
"cotton wool" type rather than slime mould and doesn't appear to be
bothering the frogs but since I've only owned them for just over a week I'll
have to keep an eye on this. I imagine it's feeding on the wood (and possibly
the air plant glue?) I've put in the tank none of which is very rotten but some
of which was also in the fish tank when I kept fish and wasn't sterilised in the
interim. I'll take your advice on sterilisation for the future. I know what you
mean about the "budding environment" and it could well be that too
because my tank set up is still young (2 - 3 weeks).
Long term I'll probably build a tank that is more suitable for frogs but in the
meantime I'll just have to watch over this one.
Thanks again
***
Subject: nipagin
Date: 26 September 2001 20:22
Hello
Can you give me a source for Nipagin in the US?????
thank much
***
New Orleans, LA 70124
U.S.A.
Subject: Re: nipagin
Date: 27 September 2001 07:43
Hi ***,
Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea where you might obtain Nipagin in the USA.
To be honest, I'm not even sure about my contact in the UK now, it's been so
long since I've used it.
However, you might try a search on the Internet. I'll have a go tonight when
I've got a bit more time, and let you know the outcome.
In the meantime, good luck in your search.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: nipagin
Date: 27 September 2001 12:14
Thanks much
I have found it in Fisher Scientific
Subject: Do you know the number of
species and different kinds of frogs in the world?
Date: 22 August 2001 12:13
Do you know the numberof species and different kinds of frogs in the world?
Subject
Date: 31 August 2001 07:52
Dear ***,
Thank you for your question about the numbers of frogs and toads there are.
You will find this answer, and the answers to many more questions on this
subject, on the following Website:
http://cgee.hamline.edu/science/faq1.html
Good luck with your research.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Grasshoppers
Date: 28 August 2001 14:51
My daughter has caught two grasshoppers with her insect kit
and we need to know what they eat. Could you please let me know as soon as
possible?
Thanks
Subject: Re: Grasshoppers
Date: 28 August 2001 23:00
Hi Jerry,
Food for grasshoppers - and I'm not being rude here - is largely grass and other
leafy plants. However, some bush crickets are either wholly or partly
carnivorous, and prey on other crickets and insects in general.
If the 'grasshoppers' have very long antennae, then they could well be one of
these partly carnivorous crickets. But try plants and fruits first.
Hope this answers your question, but contact me again if it doesn't.
Best wishes, and good luck!
John Skillcorn
Subject: Red-eyed tree frog
tadpoles.
Date: 24 December 2001 05:41
Dear Mr. Skillcorn,
I have some red-eyed tree frog tadpoles that have been developing normally until
last week. Their front legs are not emerging, but are developing under the skin.
The skin rips without freeing the legs and the heart becomes visible through the
tears. They can't climb out of the water and they drown. One has already died of
this and others are developing the same way. Do you know what this is and if I
can do anything about it? I would appreciate any info you could give me. Thank
you.
*** ***
Subject: Re: Red-eyed tree frog tadpoles.
Date: 25 December 2001 09:05
***,
I'm afraid I recognise the symptoms you describe as being 'Spindle-leg', a
condition that affects a proportion of Dendrobatid frogs. This is the first time
I've heard of it in other species, though.
The condition affects only the front legs. It is very distressing for us as
breeders of, perhaps, rare animals to find after two months' rearing the young
frogs are affected. There is no way of knowing if they are going to suffer from
spindle leg before the last day of metamorphosis, when the front legs are ready
to break through.
The cause of this condition is not exactly known, even among our group members
(and we have some very able scientists amongst us), but it is generally
suspected as being something to do with the diet of the adult, breeding frogs
rather than anything to do with the rearing of the tadpoles. It perhaps has to
do with thyroxin, vitamin D and calcium. On the BDG Website there is some
information about this condition that may help you:
www.thebdg.org
There is nothing you can do with young frogs suffering from this condition; they
will not recover and must be destroyed.
As a preventative measure, make sure you feed the adults as varied a diet as you
can, and dust all food insects with a good multi-vitamin powder such as Nutrobal
which you will be able to buy at a good pet shop or other retailer. This should
ensure that future eggs these frogs produce are viable enough to produce healthy
baby frogs.
I'm sorry I cannot be more positive than this.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Vivaria
Date: 27 March 2002 22:41
How much did it cost for you to get started?
Subject: Re: Vivaria
Date: 28 March 2002 08:09
Hi ***,
I'm afraid I need a more specific question than the one you sent me! Also the
country in which you are living is relevant because of currency conversions and
the relative costs of equipment (if you're enquiring about setting up a
vivarium).
Please let me know what you want to achieve and I'll do my best to answer your
questions.
John Skillcorn
Subject: juvenile frog
Date: 05 September 2001 18:41
Dear John,
I send you a picture of a juvenile frog I discoverd yesterday in my terrarium.
Do you now the species (vitatus or tricolor) since it has no colour. And about
the right leg: is this what you called a spindle leg or has it been a injury?
Thanks for the answer.
*** ***
Subject: Re: juvenile
Date: 05 September 2001 21:15
Dear ***,
Thank you for sending me the photograph of your frog.
Yes, I think this shows spindle-leg. In fact, the frog looks as though it has
survived for a few weeks in this condition, judging from its size. I think the
frog is tricolor but, if you are keeping both vittatus and tricolor
together, it is possible that it is a hybrid between the two species. I have had
this happen with auratus and tinctorius.
If it is spindle-leg, the frog will not recover, and it might be best to destroy
the animal. It is always sad when this has to happen, but it will not be able to
move around as it should, and may suffer because of this. However, it is your
decision.
Good luck with your breeding.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Frog i.d.
Date: 26 April 2002 21:49
Can you tell me the English name for "grenouille poison". Frog picture
used
on new issue stamp of Central African Republic. Shall appreciate any help.
***
Subject: Re: Frog i.d.
Date: 27 April 2002 08:05
Dear ***,
Thanks for the email.
I'm afraid I need to see the picture before I can answer your query about the
stamp. 'grenouille poison' simply means 'poisonous frog' in French. As you will
appreciate, there are dozens of frogs which go under that very general title.
If you can scan the stamp and send me a picture of it, then I might be able to
help, otherwise....
All the best,
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Frog i.d.
Date: 27 April 2002 20:21
I sincerely appreciate your offer of help John. Scan is attached.
***
Subject: Re: Frog i.d.
Date: 28 April 2002 07:50
Hi ***,
How strange! The stamp shows the Strawberry Poison Arrow frog, Dendrobates
pumilio. In USA it is commonly known as the 'Blue-Jean frog', I suppose for
obvious reasons. What puzzles me is, what is it doing on an African stamp? It
might be that they are doing a collection of stamps on this theme. If so, I
think we would be interested in any others you might have.
The frog is reasonably common in Central America and on islands off the coast of
Panama (Bocas del Toro - do you watch 'Survivor' on ITV?) I have seen it in
Costa Rica where in some areas it seemed every square yard of rain forest would
have a frog or two. It comes in a whole variety of colour forms - so much so
that you wouldn't believe it to be the same frog. It exists in yellow, metallic
green, red, blue, orange and no doubt other colours besides, all patterned with
varying degrees of black. The stamp shows the typical form, if any form of such
a variable frog can be described as 'typical'. The BDG Website has several
pictures of this frog taken by *** *** and *** *** and which show its
variability very well, but you will have to search them out as they are on
several different pages.
It grows to around an inch long and the female looks after the eggs and
tadpoles. The eggs are laid on plant leaves on the ground, in tree hollows etc.
Then she carries tadpoles (on her back) to bromeliad plants where there are
usually pools of rain water held in a central vase. Thereafter she visits each
one to feed them with infertile eggs that she produces especially for that
purpose.
Thank you for the excellent scan of the stamp. I wonder if you would allow me to
use it on the BDG Website? It should generate a bit of interest amongst site
visitors! As I've said already, if it's one of a set then I would be very
interested to see scans of the others.
All the best,
John
Subject: Re: Frog i.d.
Date: 28 April 2002 21:03
Many thanks for the effort and the very interesting revelation
John. No pun
intended! You obviously have a deep interest in the subject whereas I am
totally uneducated. My main interest is in selling stamps with nature items
being prime topics. But even this is just a hobby since I've been retired
for some years now. I do however, have some interest in the U.K. since my
son and his wife both graduated from Oxford some years ago so we have made
9 or 10 trips over, the latest being in 1994. We may be persueded again
since a grandson has accepted a 2 year contract to work in *** starting
in ***.
I don't know of any reason why you cannot publish the Frog
picture if you
wish. It is publicly available so I don't think you would break any law by
so doing. That sheet appears to be issued along with another said to
contain 6 Reptiles even though 2 of them are Amphibians! Hope you find it
to be of interest as well.
Best regards,
***
Subject: Re: Frog i.d.
Date: 28 April 2002 21:17
Hi ***,
You're spoiling me. The stamps are brilliant. Thank you very much for the
effort.
Yes, most peculiar that African stamps are showing South American frogs!
But not quite as startling a revelation as the original one! But his name was
John, after all!
Let me know if you turn up any other oddments like these. I can put scans like
this to good use. I'll be in touch when they're on the Website.
Thanks again, and keep in touch. Oxford, eh? My university in Sunderland isn't
quite up to that standard!
John
Subject: Ludisia discolor
Date: 03 March 2002 23:18
Hi:
I was thrilled to see my orchids on your site. I have been fumbling through and
the plants are doing well but is just by luck. I would appreciate any helpful
tips you could give me.
Thanks,
***
Subject: Re: Ludisia discolor
Date: 04 March 2002 22:30
Hi ***,
Thanks for the email about Ludisia. Well, sorry to say this, but I've
never grown this orchid. The article was written a couple of years ago by one of
our members.
I'm afraid I personally know nothing of this plant, although I grow other
species of orchids. However, judging from the article it is capable of
tolerating rather wet conditions (for an orchid, which normally like to dry out
between waterings) but I would say if yours has all its leaves and is growing
well, then leave it alone!
Sorry I can't be of any more help than this.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Looking for
Dendrobates sp.
Date: 21 December 2001 00:25
Hi! I call from Italy.
Is there someone that could me sell Dendrobates frogs, sending them to me in
Italy!? I could buy by check or credit card.
Thank you so much!
*** ***
Subject: Supply of Dendrobatid frogs
Date: 21 December 2001 08:55
Dear ***,
We have members in Holland and Germany who could perhaps supply you with some
frogs.
Unfortunately, because it is winter the frogs would not travel well. Therefore
I'm afraid that you will have to wait until summer next year to have frogs sent
to you.
Of course, if you could travel to collect the frogs yourself then it would be no
problem as there are many breeders on the Continent.
Best wishes.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Tadpole Water
Date: 03 April 2002 17:25
Hi,
I have reared tadpoles before.
I have just got some spawn, and need to put them in some water. I don't have
enough time to let the water stand in the sunlight. Can you boil water and give
it to tadpoles to live in - will this take the chlorine out of the water. I do
have a pond but at the moment I am using something to kill algae so can I still
give it to tadpoles, - on the label it says it does not harm fish, (etc)
Please email back urgently as I am desperate,
Thanks very much,
***.
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water
Date: 03 April 2002 19:55
Dear ***,
I am assuming that you live in the UK and that the spawn we are talking about is
the Common Frog. Firstly I must warn you that it is illegal to maintain this
species in captivity. However, having now done my duty, let me see if I can help
you!
Tap water would do fine. Yes, it does contain chlorine, but I doubt very much if
this would harm the eggs. If you boil it, not only will you remove the chlorine,
but you will remove the oxygen as well, so I would just leave it overnight and
by morning most of the chlorine will have dissipated. However, as I've said you
could use the water straight from the tap with little or no effect on the spawn.
When the eggs hatch, the tadpoles will be vegetarian during the first few weeks
of their life, and then will become omnivorous. This means that they will feed
on anything edible, even dead frogs and dying plants. However, at whichever
stage they are at, you must make great efforts not to pollute their water with
too much food. Give a little but often is the best procedure. You will soon get
the hang of judging how much to give them for it all to be eaten within the
hour. A water change an hour after feeding is a good routine.
When the froglets get all four legs, then is the time to give them some means by
which they can leave the water. A large rock placed half in, half out of the
water would do fine, or by then you could put them into your pond. Incidentally,
I don't think the chemical you have used would harm the tadpoles, but better
safe than sorry.
I hope this information is of help to you. If there is something which I have
not explained clearly enough, please get back to me and I will go into a little
more detail.
Good luck.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 04 April 2002 22:46
Hello,
Thanks for your e-mail. Thanks for your advice. - I have frogs in my pond, and
last year they did lay spawn, but this year there has been no spawn layed yet.
Will there still be time for them to lay spawn? Can you tell me roughly when the
common frog does lay their spawn, (I have forgotten), as these are the frogs
that I have. I hope they will still lay spawn!
Please reply very soon,
Thanks,
***
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 05 April 2002 07:59
Hi there,
The majority of common frogs will have spawned by now, so I would say that if
you've not got spawn in your pond by now, it's unlikely that you will be getting
any. They tend to spawn as soon as they become active after hibernation. This
would normally be early to mid-March.
The weather has been very mild lately, perfect weather for frogs and toads to
pair up. However, check any frogs that are in your pond now, and if there are
still fat females then it might be that they haven't yet spawned. You can
recognise the females by the lack of pads on the inside of their front feet
('thumbs') and their slightly larger size.
Frogs do not necessarily come back to the ponds where they spawned in previous
years. They will spawn in any body of water, even large rain puddles. Toads on
the other hand breed only in permanent water, and return year after year to the
same pond.
Newts will still be spawning. They do not lay all their eggs in one go like
frogs and toads, but one by one on plant leaves which they then fold over to
protect the egg. They will continue to do this for a number of weeks yet.
Hope this information has been helpful.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 05 April 2002 19:22
Hi again!
Thanks for your reply. There has still be no spawn layed, - and also I can't
seem to find any frogs in the pond, as last year was the first year that the
spawn had been layed. Also in our pond a big clump of weeds has gathered,
blocking view there, and we have just had (got) a bad out break of algae, which
we are currently treating. But saying that, a few days ago I took out a plant to
take off the algae and a frog jumped out, but I had no time to catch it, also I
don't know if it has reached sexual maturity. For eggs - (roughly 15) that I got
I am planning on putting them in the pond, - in hope the will come back and lay
spawn, I was wondering if you knew of any ways to stop my minnows (large), Ghost
- koi and Shubunkins from eating them, as that is what happened last year, I
think I only have one froglet from last year - that is the one that I reared
individually. Can you put them in a very large net, if I planted plants (etc)
for them, but of course the net would have to be a very fine material to stop
the escaping, when they are so small. Maybe you know of some? That are cheep and
that I could get quickly, (Preferably from somewhere in the UK). I don't think
our local pet shop would have anything like that, - they are very basic!
Please e-mail back very soon,
So the can enjoy being in the pond,
Thanks very much,
***
P.S. I may be getting more tadpoles, just in-case you recommend the wrong size
of net, or what ever the right thing to use is. It doesn't have to be a net, -
just what the proper thing to use is, as I don't know.
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 06 April 2002 08:00
Hi ***,
With regard to a container, even a bucket will do! Just so long as it is clean
and can be kept clean.
Don't overcrowd the tadpoles or they might start to eat each other. I would say
around ten in a normal sized two gallon bucket would be OK. Better to get a few
to develop into frogs as hundreds not getting anywhere at all because of
overcrowding. It is very tempting to overstock.
I would not recommend putting them into the pond with your fish. They are
unlikely to survive. Your suggested system of putting them in some sort of net
would succeed, but it is an awful lot of bother when you could just as easily
rear them in a bucket, aquarium or large sweet jar.
I would say that it is unlikely that you are going to get any spawn from wild
frogs in your pond now. Most frogs will have laid their eggs by now.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 10 April 2002 21:21
Hello,
Sorry for not replying sooner.
Thanks for your last e-mail. - Just thought that I would tell you that in one of
my tanks of tadpoles - (it contained quite a lot of tadpoles) - I put some pond
water in, and the next day they where all dead I don't know why, as they where
going to be put in the pond in their net soon.
Can I ask you - my tadpoles are roughly a week old today, - can I start feeding
them on fish flakes now, - as I don't want the rest of them to die of hunger!
Please e-mail back very soon,
Thanks very much,
***
Subject: Re: Tadpole Water + Spawn Laying
Date: 10 April 2002 21:29
Hi there,
Sorry to hear about your tadpoles. There was clearly either something in the
water to which they badly reacted, or they were simply overcrowded.
Yes, you can start to feed your others now on flake food, but do not overcrowd
them. To a bucket of water I would keep no more than twenty, but better with
only half that number.
Good luck.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Tadpole
Date: 08 June 2001 14:41
John,
my grandchildren are visiting me in South Carolina from Missouri. The girls have
tadpole eggs and they are hatched. How long would it take to receive some kind
of food from you and how much in American dollars?
***
Subject: Re: Tadpole
Date: 08 June 2001 19:09
Hi ***,
Tadpole food? Depending on what sort of tadpoles they are, all you need is fish
food!!
Go to the pet shop/supermarket and get TetraMin Staple food, and use that.
In the very unlikely event that they are specialist feeders (I would need to
know what species they are) there wouldn't be a hope of me being able to supply
you with food (even if I could!) in time before they died of starvation.
Hope this is the information you need. Let me know how you get on - I'm
interested.
Best wishes from UK for now,
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Tadpole
Date: 08 June 2001 22:31
Thank you, John
Subject: Re: Tadpole
Date: 08 June 2001 19:51
Hello again ***,
Sorry that my last email was a bit rushed, but I have a little more time now, so
I hope to give you a fuller answer to your question.
I am assuming that the tadpoles in question are from a fairly average, typical
and locally occurring species of frog or toad. In which case, very general care
will suffice very well. This would entail making sure that the water does not
become too dirty by changing it frequently, once or twice a day if necessary.
The frequency required will be related to the numbers of tadpoles, the amount of
water they're kept in and the ambient temperature.
Use ordinary tap water which has had the 'cold' taken off it if necessary
(during the winters, say) and has been allowed to stand for an hour or two in
the same room as the tadpoles' tank. Pour most of the old water out of the
container in which the tadpoles are kept, then refill it with the fresh water.
Put in just enough food (fish food flakes) for the tadpoles to consume within
five minutes, but no more. You might need to feed them twice a day, changing the
water after each feed. This will make sure that there is no food left lying
around to go bad and cause bacterial problems.
A few aquatic plants to act as cover might be good, although not vitally
important. The tadpoles will also feed on them during their very early stages,
too. However, do not overcrowd. This could lead to tadpoles becoming
cannibalistic.
After a few weeks, depending on temperature, the tadpoles will grow hind legs,
then front legs. Once the front legs are grown the tail will be reabsorbed. It
is at this time that the froglets will require some land-like structure onto
which to climb. This could be sloping rocks placed into the shallow water or
simply expanded polystyrene tiles which have been weighted down at one end with
a stone or something similar to make a sloping surface. Anything so that the
froglets can get out of the water once the tail has been absorbed. Having said
this, it might be a good plan to use a second container in which to place the
metamorphosing froglets, as it is possible for them to be attacked as food
objects at this time as they hang from the water surface trying to get out. In
the unlikely event that the tadpoles are Mantellas, the froglets will leave the
water as soon as they get all four legs and well before the tail starts to
disappear. But they are not typical.
Once the froglets have been on land for a few days, they will need live insects
to eat. These must be small enough to fit into their mouths, so greenfly
(aphids), fruit flies (Drosophila) and so forth would be ideal. These (aphids)
can be collected from trees (especially Sycamore or Maple) during the summer, or
else cultured (fruit flies.) The BDG Website has information concerning this:
www.thebdg.org They may also eat tiny worms such as white worms cultured as fish
food. Your local aquarist shop might have cultures of these.
If the froglets are of a locally occurring species, then it might be a good idea
simply to release the animals in your garden or in a nearby woodland. If they
are of tropical origin - as are Dendrobatids, the subject of the BDG Website -
then they need specialist care. However, even complete beginners can be
successful providing a little intelligent thought goes into their culture.
Do let me know how you get on with them, as I am interested in all manner of
amphibian culture.
I hope this slightly fuller answer will be of use to you, and I wish you the
best of luck with your animals!
Best wishes,
John Skillcorn
Subject: tadpoles
Date: 05 May 2002 22:37
hello, my cousin found a few tadpoles in a lake. (they are
bullfrog
tadpoles) i was wandering what to feed them they are really young and just
have tiny stubs for arms and legs. could you give me any information on
raising these little guys I'd appreciate it.
thank you,
Subject: Re: tadpoles
Date: 05 May 2002 22:48
Hi there,
I am assuming that the tadpoles in question are from a fairly average, typical
and locally occurring species of frog or toad. In which case, very general care
will suffice very well. This would entail making sure that the water does not
become too dirty by changing it frequently, once or twice a day if necessary.
The frequency required will be related to the numbers of tadpoles, the amount of
water they're kept in and the ambient temperature.
Use ordinary tap water which has had the 'cold' taken off it if necessary
(during the winters, say) and has been allowed to stand for an hour or two in
the same room as the tadpoles' tank. Pour most of the old water out of the
container in which the tadpoles are kept, then refill it with the fresh water.
Put in just enough food (TetraMin Staple fish food flakes) for the tadpoles to
consume within five minutes, but no more. You might need to feed them twice a
day, changing the water after each feed. This will make sure that there is no
food left lying around to go bad and cause problems.
A few aquatic plants to act as cover might be good, although not vitally
important. The tadpoles will also feed on them during their very early stages,
too. However, do not overcrowd. This could lead to tadpoles becoming
cannibalistic (they will eat each other.)
After a few weeks, depending on temperature, the tadpoles will grow hind legs,
then front legs. Once the front legs are grown the tail will be reabsorbed. It
is at this time that the froglets will require some land-like structure onto
which to climb. This could be sloping rocks placed into the shallow water or
simply expanded polystyrene tiles which have been weighted down at one end with
a stone or something similar to make a sloping surface. Anything so that the
froglets can get out of the water once the tail has been absorbed. Having said
this, it might be a good plan to use a second container in which to place the
metamorphosing froglets, as it is possible for them to be attacked as food
objects at this time as they hang from the water surface trying to get out.
Once the froglets have been on land for a few days, they will need live insects
to eat. These must be small enough to fit into their mouths, so greenfly
(aphids), fruit flies (Drosophila), tiny crickets, worms and so forth
would be ideal. These (aphids) can be collected from trees (especially Sycamore
or Maple) during the summer, or else cultured (fruit flies.) The BDG Website has
information concerning this: www.thebdg.org They may also eat tiny worms such as
white worms cultured as fish food. Your local aquarium shop might have cultures
of these.
If the froglets are of a locally occurring species, then it might be a good idea
simply to release the animals in your garden or in a nearby woodland.
Do let me know how you get on with them, as I am interested in all manner of
amphibian culture.
Best wishes,
John Skillcorn
From: "Centro
de Primatologa Araguatos" <info@araguatos.org>
Subject:
Date: 05 July 2001 17:35
Respetado ***
Soy una estudiante de la universidad de Los Andes de Colombia en el area de
fisiologia animal y comportamiento de anfibios. Estoy terminando la tesis para
poderme graduar en este momento. Dentro de los generos para la familia
Dendrobatidae encontre reportado Mannophryne y creo que fue usted quien lo hizo
en 1992. Seia muy complicado para usted darme el nombre completo de la
bibliografia donde aparece este genero como perteneciente a la familia? En
realidad su informacion es muy valiosa para el sustento de mi tesis.,
Agradeciendo su atencion y ayuda,
*** ***
To: "Centro de Primatologa Araguatos" <info@araguatos.org>
Subject: las ranas Mannophryne
Date: 05 July 2001 18:02
Querida ***,
Gracias por tu carta sobre el genero Mannophryne. Pero... Yo creo que es una
carta por ***, de la Universidad de los Andes, Òno cierto?
Bueno, no te preocupes. Yo tengo su direcci¾n por email. Entonces, yo voy a
mandarlo (tu carta) al SeÏor *** y espero que te contestarõ prontsimo.
Sin embargo, si puedo ayudarte, tienes que preguntarme a cualquier momento.
Saludos de Inglaterra, y åbuena suerte con los estudios!
John Skillcorn M.Sc., Cert. Ed.
jefe del Website del Grupo Britõnico de las ranitas Dendrobatidae
Subject: Waxmoth larvae
Date: 28 October 2001 17:14
Hello.
I put a post on www.caudata.org, some time ago, enquiring as to if anybody knew
of a source of small waxworms, *** posted a reply today telling me to try
contacting you.
My problem is that the standard waxworms sold in pet shops are just too big for
my smaller newts and salamanders, but are eagerly eaten by the larger species.
I cannot find anywhere in the UK that sells mixed sizes, so have tried culturing
my own.
Although following the instructions from various web sites, I just do not get
the waxworms, plenty of moths, but no waxworms.
I have visited your site, and looked at the instructions there, but was
wondering if you sell, or you know anywhere that sells the small waxworms.
I am looking for sizes that would be ok for juvenile newts, salamanders, and
smaller species of newt e.g. Triturus alpestris [alpine newt]
Regards
***
Subject: Re: Waxmoth larvae
Date: 28 October 2001 17:38
Hi ***,
Thanks for the email concerning waxworms.
Well, if you've looked at the page on the BDG website that I wrote a while ago,
you'll now know all that I know!
There are two species of Waxmoth, the Greater and the Lesser. It is the Greater
Waxmoth that most people culture but, as you will have read from my web page,
the larvae all grow at the same rate and hence all are either small or big - all
at the same time. Also, they grow fairly large, as you are well aware. The
Lesser Waxmoth, on the other hand, develop more slowly and are staggered in
size, and so are a more useful food to some animals. They do not grow to such
large sizes either, so are more useful all round.
You can buy a starter culture of the Greater Waxmoth almost anywhere that sells
live foods. The Lesser Waxmoth, though, is much more difficult to obtain. I do
not know of anyone who is culturing it at this moment in time and my source long
since dried up, as I've not been involved in bee keeping for quite some years
now.
All I can suggest is that you get in touch (somehow) with your local bee keeping
club (there's bound to be one) and I'm positive they will be able to supply you.
The Lesser Waxmoth is a very common 'pest' of beehives, although in my
experience they do no harm at all. Anyone who keeps bees will have Lesser
Waxmoths! Culturing them is simply a matter of following my instructions on the
BDG Website.
Sorry I can't be of any more help than this, but I hope you get what you're
looking for.
John Skillcorn
Subject: Re: Waxmoth larvae
Date: 28 October 2001 19:10
Thank you for your replys.
Sorry for not explaining correctly, but the moths are from the starter waxworms
that I buy from the pet shop, I add them to the medium, they pupate, emerge as
moths, but I never seem to get any caterpillars.
I will try again, and in the mean time, try to find a beekeeper to source some
lesser waxmoths.
Thanx again.
***
Subject: Re: Waxmoth larvae
Date: 28 October 2001 17:41
***,
I've just re-read your email, and I note you say you get plenty of moths but no
waxworms. Well, moths develop from the caterpillars, so they must be there!
They grow inside silken tubes that they spin around themselves, and so are not
immediately obvious. You have to break up the medium in which they are feeding
and extract them, one by one, from their tubes.
You may know this already, but I thought it worth a mention just in case.
Normally, from just a few female moths you will get hundreds (thousands?) of
caterpillars.
John
Subject: waxworm webs
Date: 10 March 2002 19:00
John; how long and what temp do you freeze to kill ability of
waxworm to spin and type of container do you use? Thank you.
Subject: Re: waxworm webs
Date: 18 March 2002 22:05
Hi there,
Thank you for your questions about waxworms. Well, you mention freezing the
caterpillars. Sorry to say, but that would surely kill them. As for the other
parts to your question, they are fully answered in the section on Live Foods,
Wax worms on the BDG Website www.thebdg.org
Good luck.
John Skillcorn
Subject: biax connectors.
Date: 30 August 2001 14:19
Good Morning Sir.
I have a 55 watt u bent biax bulb that i am looking for a four hole connector
that it plugs into. Do you have anything in your inventory that will work for
me.
Thank's for your attention in this matter.
***
Subject: Your request
Date: 31 August 2001 07:19
***,
An email arrived yesterday, and I am not too sure whether it has arrived in the
correct place!
It is requesting: 'a 55 watt u bent biax bulb that i am looking for a four hole
connector that it plugs into. Do you have anything in your inventory that will
work for me.'
I can put your request on the BDG Website www.thebdg.org if that is what you
want.
John Skillcorn
Subject: sick tadpoles
Date: 11 May 2002 02:55
I have 27 tree frog tadpoles that I keep in an aquarium. Six of them float
upside-down- they can't seem to get to the bottom. It's worse on some than
on others. There are also some groups of bubbles floating on the surface-
it's almost as if there's some kind of skin on the surface of the water,
but I don't know if it has anything to do with the tadpoles floating. What
should I do? Thanks for your time
***
Subject: Re: sick tadpoles
Date: 11 May 2002 08:46
Hi ***,
Thank you for your email concerning your sick tadpoles.
First of all, when rearing tadpoles, water quality is very important. If there is a film on the water surface (as you describe), this would indicate that the water is in need of changing. It is often caused by too much food in the water (which has gone bad) or a build-up of the waste products from the tadpoles themselves. In either case, this will result in a 'skin' on the water surface, bubbles underneath this skin and a general cloudiness of the water itself. This cloudiness is caused by millions of bacteria feeding on the decaying food and waste products. They can double in number every twenty minutes (depending on temperature) and deplete the water of oxygen.
To correct this, change the water IMMEDIATELY. Put the tadpoles into another container while you give their present home a good scrub (but no detergent, just tap water and a brush of the sort used for washing dishes). Fill up the tank with fresh water (let it stand for a couple of hours if possible), try and equalise the temperature between fresh and the tadpoles' and then re-introduce the animals. I would not normally recommend such a quick return to FRESH tap water, but things are desperate here. From then on, feed only enough food so that EVERYTHING is eaten within the hour. Feed a flake fish food, like Aquarian or TetraMin staple fish food. MIX THIS FLAKE FOOD WITH WATER SO THAT ALL THE FLAKES SINK. NO NOT allow it to float on the surface. Pour it into the tank for the tadpoles. After the hour is up, change half the water. It is far better if you syphon off this water from the bottom of their tank. Do this EVERY DAY. In future, it would help if you had a bucket of water ready which has already been standing a day, so that you are not using fresh tap water each time.
Now, for the floating tadpoles. This is caused by a build-up of gas inside the digestive system - just like us, from time to time. This can be caused by:
1. Eating decaying food which then continues to decay inside them producing
masses of carbon dioxide.
2. Eating fresh food from the surface while accidentally taking in air bubbles
along with the food.
3. Being so hungry that they are trying to feed on the surface 'skin'.
4. Due to such a huge population of bacteria in the water (which use up all
the oxygen) the tadpoles have taken in bubbles of air as they 'mouth' at the
surface of the water trying to breathe.
One, several or all of these things can affect gaseous build-up inside tadpoles. Check out your conditions and decide which one it is. Then set about to correct it.
Finally, there is another condition which can affect otherwise healthy tadpoles living in perfect conditions. This is the condition called 'dropsy' where a build-up of fluid in body tissues causes the body to swell and so affects the balance of the animals. It is well known to fish keepers where the fish's body swells so much that the scales stand out like a pine cone. However, I doubt very much if this is your problem. Dropsy is regarded as incurable.
Get back in touch and let me know the outcome of your problem. If I can help you further, drop me a line.
Good luck,
John Skillcorn
Subject: springtail culture
Date: 12 May 2002 21:42
Hi there,
I would like to know more about springtail cultures and if possible to buy a
starter culture.
Cheers
***
Subject: Re: springtail culture
Date: 12 May 2002 21:47
Hi ***,
I think the only place you're likely to 'buy' a springtail culture is in Holland
at one of the Dutch Frog days.
However, you can set one up yourself using springtails you will find underneath
plant pots, slates and such like. They exist all over the place. They are tiny,
whitish animals which hop when disturbed. Some are larger than others (maybe
a couple of millimeters), but they all are cultured in the same way.
Apart from the instructions on the BDG Website, some people simply keep them
in sandwich boxes on charcoal which is kept moist. Food can be a flake of fish
food which is renewed when the previous one is used up. Some people find them
prolific while others cannot culture them at all!
Hope you're one of the former!
Good luck.
John Skillcorn
Subject: give me some of your frogs is what you can
do with them!!
Date: 12 March 2001 00:30
Do you still need to give away lots of froggies??? I want a mantella, a
golden red mantella reallly bad.
please =)
After informing this individual of the error of his/her ways (a file which must have got deleted somehow), I received this:
Subject: Re: give me some of your frogs is what you can do with them!!
Date: 14 March 2001 20:46
LOL!
Actually I read about how much work mantellas are to take care of and I will
get one when I am in college maybe, I am at a boarding school and its a
little too hard for that kind of investment. i am settling for a russian
turtle
Subject: tadpole food
Date: 24 April 2002 01:23
Can you e-mail me for more information?
My e-mail is ***.
My name is ***. Thanks
Subject: Re: tadpole food
Date: 24 April 2002 07:21
Hi there,
You do not say specifically what you want to know about, but I am assuming it's
something to do with feeding tadpoles - any tadpoles. Dendrobates tadpoles
can be very specific feeders, so if it's those you're enquiring about you will
have to tell me which species.
The subject is dealt with at some length on the BDG Website (The Library/Tadpole
rearing), and these techniques and foods can be applied to any general feeders.
You will also find information about this in the frog species rearing accounts
so you will need to search those. Use the Find It facility to locate key words.
Basically, cleanliness and a good, varied diet are two important things, with
perhaps avoiding overcrowding being a third. You do not say which country you
are resident in, but if it's the UK then a good quality flake fish food (TetraMin)
will serve as a very good food for a few frog or toad tadpoles.
John Skillcorn
Subject: tadpoles
Date: 05 May 2002 22:37
hello, my cousin found a few tadpoles in a lake. (they are bullfrog
tadpoles) i was wandering what to feed them they are really young and just
have tiny stubs for arms and legs. could you give me any information on
raising these little guys I'd appreciate it.
thank you,
***
Subject: Re: tadpoles
Date: 05 May 2002 22:48
Hi there,
I am assuming that the tadpoles in question are from a fairly average, typical
and locally occurring species of frog or toad. In which case, very general
care will suffice very well. This would entail making sure that the water does
not become too dirty by changing it frequently, once or twice a day if necessary.
The frequency required will be related to the numbers of tadpoles, the amount
of water they're kept in and the ambient temperature.
Use ordinary tap water which has had the 'cold' taken off it if necessary (during
the winters, say) and has been allowed to stand for an hour or two in the same
room as the tadpoles' tank. Pour most of the old water out of the container
in which the tadpoles are kept, then refill it with the fresh water. Put in
just enough food (TetraMin Staple fish food flakes) for the tadpoles to consume
within five minutes, but no more. You might need to feed them twice a day, changing
the water after each feed. This will make sure that there is no food left lying
around to go bad and cause problems.
A few aquatic plants to act as cover might be good, although not vitally important.
The tadpoles will also feed on them during their very early stages, too. However,
do not overcrowd. This could lead to tadpoles becoming cannibalistic (they will
eat each other.)
After a few weeks, depending on temperature, the tadpoles will grow hind legs,
then front legs. Once the front legs are grown the tail will be reabsorbed.
It is at this time that the froglets will require some land-like structure onto
which to climb. This could be sloping rocks placed into the shallow water or
simply expanded polystyrene tiles which have been weighted down at one end with
a stone or something similar to make a sloping surface. Anything so that the
froglets can get out of the water once the tail has been absorbed. Having said
this, it might be a good plan to use a second container in which to place the
metamorphosing froglets, as it is possible for them to be attacked as food objects
at this time as they hang from the water surface trying to get out.
Once the froglets have been on land for a few days, they will need live insects
to eat. These must be small enough to fit into their mouths, so greenfly (aphids),
fruit flies (Drosophila), tiny crickets, worms and so forth would be
ideal. These (aphids) can be collected from trees (especially Sycamore or Maple)
during the summer, or else cultured (fruit flies.) The BDG Website has information
concerning this: www.thebdg.org They may also eat tiny worms such as white worms
cultured as fish food. Your local aquarium shop might have cultures of these.
If the froglets are of a locally occurring species, then it might be a good
idea simply to release the animals in your garden or in a nearby woodland.
Do let me know how you get on with them, as I am interested in all manner of
amphibian culture.
Best wishes,
John Skillcorn
Subject: ludicia discolor
Date: 12 November 2001 20:56
I have one of these plants. It has never bloomed since I bought it, and at
times looks healthy, then at others some leaves turn lighter color and fall
off. Im wondering if I m keeping too moist, not moist enough or what. Some
of the stems are not as firm as others.
What is the best way to root these plants and how and when should I re pot
it?
Thanks for any assisitance you can be.
***
Subject: Re: Ludisia discolor
Date: 10 February 2002 09:18
Hi there,
SO SORRY that I haven't contacted you earlier! I have been very busy and I get
so many questions directed toward me I sometimes lose track of who I've written
to and who I've not.
Well, sorry to hear about your plant. I'm at a loss to know exactly the cause
of its demise, but I'd perhaps guess at excessive humidity and/or temperature.
Although our member does indicate that they are able to live alongside Dendrobatid
frogs, I suppose each person's setup is different. With orchids, ventilation
seems to be a critical factor. Many of these plants (but not necessarily this
one) are epiphytes, living up on the twigs and branches of rainforest trees.
So they are accustomed to first class ventilation, although the air itself might
be very humid. This would tend to act as a deterrent to plants such as fungi.
However, all academic now! There are other orchids which would tolerate your
conditions I'm sure, but it's going to need a lot of experimentation, not to
mention money in the bank! Good luck!
John
Subject: vivarium
Date: 11 March 2002 13:27
excuse me,
for my project at school, I need to mantain a small vivarium for a month. I
am not shure of which animals to put in, and how and where to get them. Could
you advise?
Subject: vivarium
Date: 12 March 2002 08:52
***
Thank you for your questions.
It would help me very much if you could let me know the country in which you
live. Each country has its own laws and regulations concerning keeping animals,
and each country has different animals available. However, in case you are thinking
of Dendrobatid frogs, then you will need expert advice for these.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
John Skillcorn