Hot Summer

Andy Gibbs

The hot summer has played havoc with the frogs I keep. 

Temperatures in the house rose to over 30°C and as a result many of my tanks overheated - to over 35°C on one occasion. Some species are clearly more tolerant of high temperatures than others.

It appears that some forms of D. tinctorius are less temperature resistant than others. My greyback forms all succumbed whilst the French Guyana form appears to be quite content in their tank.

D. imitator did not fare well, although a pair of D. auratus in the same tank was unaffected. I suspect that the D. imitator which are very much adapted for arboreal life are from a far cooler microclimate. Yet D. ventrimaculatus in the next tank have thrived and I hope to see some eggs soon, judging by the size of the females.

The above has brought home to me how little we really know about the demands of the individual forms of the frogs and the diversity of their requirements. Do we as a group have any data on optimum conditions for keeping the individual species? Does anyone know of a readily available source for information, such as annual rainfall and temperature ranges for the localities where the various species are to be found in the wild?

Finally, could I take this opportunity to say a big thank you for a most informative article about feeding with crickets, and the use of vitamins. I have made a number of alterations to the regime of my frogs, and the benefits are obvious already.