This and That

Andy Gibbs
September 1994

In the last couple of newsletters there has been some correspondence regarding importing Dendrobates on behalf of the group. I have been trying to organise small scale imports myself with the aid of various dealers who may be able to tag an order on our behalf onto a larger order of their own for other amphibians, reptiles or fish.

I can appreciate the amount of work that Mick Bajcar has done, as when I spoke to him it was obvious, judging from the range of species that he mentioned to me, and the favourable freight and handling rates he bad negotiated, just how much hard work he had put in.

I have spent some considerable time too in informing members when dealers have species of interest available, and I know that not all of us are fortunate enough financially to be able to afford to buy all the frogs we would like, and indeed I sympathise with those members who suffer from hardships that are greater than mine.

Perhaps though we can act as a group should, and try to work together. We may not be able to afford huge importations from the States, but how about members who are going to Holland at odd times acquiring frogs on behalf of those who are unable to go. Maybe someone will be going to the USA and will be able to obtain a dealer's list that will enable some of us to import frogs, in order that those less fortunate may be able to acquire good quality offspring. Let's not start arguing about things; how about cooperation with a view to everyone getting some benefit? Perhaps some of our members from outside the UK could assist with dealers' lists so that we can negotiate the best possible deals.

The hot summer has played havoc with the frogs I keep, temperatures in the house rose to over 30ºC and as a result many of my tanks overheated. Temperatures in the tanks rose to about 35ºC 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 were 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.