Today in the frog room

[Thekla]

We have such a nice the thread in the tarantula forum, so I thought, we could have a similar thread for our frogs and their daily shenanigans.

Okay, this morning, Erna, my female D. tinctorius "Brazilian Yellow Head", gave me almost a heart attack (and in hindsight, I feel really silly telling you about it ).
Normally, when I switch on the lights in the morning they are both in their coconut hut, but today Erna was sitting on top of the hut, right under the top of the viv. And when I looked at her, she had some kind of slimy thread coming from her mouth and leading over her shoulder to her back... she did some weird wiping movements with her front legs and opened her mouth as if she was gasping for air. I was like: "OMG! What is she doing? What the hell is that stuff?"
Only moments later she had consumed all of the slimy stuff and left me worrying if she was all right. Unfortunately, I had to leave for work. First thing I did, when I got on the bus to work, was to google this strange occurrence.

Well, what can I say, I learned something new today... especially, that it can be quite frightening when you see your frog shed its skin for the very first time. Thank heavens for the internet!!!

Now, it's your turn. Tell us about what your frogs are up to!

 

[Dandrobates]

One of my D. Tinctorius “Patricia” females disappeared for a week only to reappear the other day. I took almost everything out of her vivarium and wrote her off as deceased. This leads me to the conclusion that vivarium builds containing portals to the upside down are no longer for me.

 

[moricollins]

@Thekla I had the same experience and thought when my frogs first shed, it was terrifying

 

[Dandrobates]

@Thekla No producing cultures... Let the panic ensue.

 

[Thekla]

@Thekla No producing cultures... Let the panic ensue.

Oh gosh! This is probably the worst time of the year to have problems with your FFF cultures. I would send you a few but they might not survive the trip.
Do you have any options to get some? Fingers crossed.

Erna says "Good morning!"

 

[Dandrobates]

Oh gosh! This is probably the worst time of the year to have problems with your FFF cultures. I would send you a few but they might not survive the trip.
Do you have any options to get some? Fingers crossed.

Erna says "Good morning!"
View attachment 329199

Yes lol thank you. I have a few that I can feed off of but I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel (or deli cup in this situation). I have about 8 cultures set to boom in a week but the dry weather is slowing everything down. It doesn’t seem to matter which media I use either. Just out of curiosity, do you make your own?

 

[Thekla]

Just out of curiosity, do you make your own?

Yes, I do. I started with premade media or used different recipes I found online, but most of the times they moulded quite a bit. I never could get it right. Luckily, this was all before I got my frogs and I found the right recipe just in time.

I take 1 block of fresh baker's yeast (~ 40g) and 2 teaspoons of sugar and stir it until it becomes a liquid. Then I add about a tablespoon of "Multisanostol" (that's a thick multivitamin syrup for children) and top it up with 100 ml of apple cider vinegar. Then I put about 1/2-3/4" inch of absorbent cotton in a plastic container (I reuse those) and soak the cotton with the media, so it's wet but won't drop if you invert it. A bit of excelsior on top and nylon stocking as a barrier and that's all. Works like a charm. No moulding and 100% success rate.

This is how it looks like, the culture is 16 days old (D. melanogaster):


I love those containers because they come with a lid with holes and a second lid, so I can just replace the stocking with the lid and then pour the flies out through the holes and close it up very easily afterwards. I pour the flies via a funnel (that is slightly coated with supplements) into a 50 ml Falcon tube (from my lab). That way I don't have any escapees at all.

That's the lid:


And that's the setup for harvesting the flies:


After 4 weeks I freeze the containers as a precaution (I hate mites) for a couple of days and the remains are easily removed afterwards. I also store the clean ones in the freezer until I use them. Fingers crossed I never had a problem with mites so far.

Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know but I've to admit I'm kinda proud of my system. So, I wanted to share it, maybe it can be of use... at least for people with fewer frogs.

 

[Frogdaddy]

@Thekla looking good buddy. Kinda freaks you out when you see your frogs shedding for the firsr time doesn't it?

Remember you can always add a bit of water or mist your ff cultures a little if idea too dry in the winter. I always make mine a little on the dry side because once you have maggots they tend to make the culture medium kinda wet and soupy anyway.
Do you use regular sugar in your media? I make mine with powdered sugar also known confectioners sugar.

 

[moricollins]

Today in my frog room, was setting up the frog room!
My wife agreed to let me make a walled off, separate animal room .

We built the wall together and she helped me move the frog tanks down too the animal/frog room. Now it's organized better than before!

 

[Frogdaddy]

Today in my frog room, was setting up the frog room!
My wife agreed to let me make a walled off, separate animal room .

We built the wall together and she helped me move the frog tanks down too the animal/frog room. Now it's organized better than before!

She agreed or did you have to bribe her? Lol

 

[moricollins]

She agreed or did you have to bribe her? Lol

She agreed, she was tired of seeing the animals (mostly the inverts).

 

[Thekla]

@Thekla looking good buddy. Kinda freaks you out when you see your frogs shedding for the firsr time doesn't it?

Yeah, It did freak me out.

Remember you can always add a bit of water or mist your ff cultures a little if idea too dry in the winter. I always make mine a little on the dry side because once you have maggots they tend to make the culture medium kinda wet and soupy anyway.

Because my media is liquid in the first place and it won't get too dry in my flat in the wintertime, fortunately, I don't have to worry. But maybe that tip could help @dendrobates.

Do you use regular sugar in your media? I make mine with powdered sugar also known confectioners sugar.

Yes, I use regular sugar, it dissolves quickly in the yeast.

Today in my frog room, was setting up the frog room!
My wife agreed to let me make a walled off, separate animal room .

We built the wall together and she helped me move the frog tanks down too the animal/frog room. Now it's organized better than before!

Oh, that's great! I love it. I wished I could have a dedicated frog room. My tanks are in my living room. On the other hand, that way I can observe and watch my frogs at all times.

 

[Dandrobates]

@moricollins Looks good. I have half my basement as my frog/tarantula room. What do you have in the Rubbermaid tubs?

 

[moricollins]

@moricollins Looks good. I have half my basement as my frog/tarantula room. What do you have in the Rubbermaid tubs?

Isopods and springtails

 

[Dandrobates]

My P. Bicolor and P. Terribilis are calling again but sadly no eggs . I’ve been waiting forever to get a single clutch.

 

[moricollins]

Big day today for me! Saw one of my R. Sirensis "Rio Pachitea yellow" carrying a tad on his back. Rarely see the adults, do it was quite a shock to see the adult with the tad.

 

[Thekla]

My P. Bicolor and P. Terribilis are calling again but sadly no eggs . I’ve been waiting forever to get a single clutch.

My little Tinc is calling every day but nothing yet either. I guess she's just not ready yet for motherhood. I heard that females mature later than males... right?

Yesterday, my brother and his girlfriend came to visit me (though, I suspect they rather came for the frogs ). But it was kinda curious my frogs were shyer than usual, they didn't even want to feed right away although it was their scheduled feeding day (and especially the female never misses a feeding). We left them to their own devices and when we got back, sure enough, all the flies were gone. Did they sense there were strangers in the room, and not just me? Are they actually accustomed to me and more wary of other people?

 

[Dandrobates]

All my frogs are pretty bold. I actually have issues with my P terribilis and my E. Anthonyi jumping out of their vivariums when I feed. Also, I need an opinion from you guys on a tinc. I purchased an adult male Patricia (which turned out to be female) yet her coloring looks more Suriname cobalt to me. She’s in great shape and I’d like to breed her but I don’t want to cross different locales.

 

[moricollins]

All my frogs are pretty bold. I actually have issues with my P terribilis and my E. Anthonyi jumping out of their vivariums when I feed. Also, I need an opinion from you guys on a tinc. I purchased an adult male Patricia (which turned out to be female) yet her coloring looks more Suriname cobalt to me. She’s in great shape and I’d like to breed her but I don’t want to cross different locales.

Beautiful frog! No idea what morph though (I'm still very new).

 

[Thekla]

I second that. Lovely little lady! But same here, I leave your question to the pros.