# My First Thumbs - Yumbatos imis!



## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Picked up my trio of Yumbatos imis this afternoon. Though I bought them as unsexed juvies - these frogs are almost certainly 2.1. Here are some pics after just opening the lid of the shipping container:









I'm 95% sure the frog on the right is male and the left is female. These two stayed put for a few minutes, while the other one bolted off to explore right away.









This is a confirmed male. He's been calling up a storm.









Post misting, through the door.

As you can see, it's very easy to tell the three of them apart. 
Frog #1 - probable female - orange spotting / green legs
Frog #2 - probable male - yellow stripes / blue legs - very lamasi like.
Frog #3 - confirmed male - yellow/orange stripes / green legs

I'm sure I'll have tons more pics in the coming days....I can't stop watching them!


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Those are some amazing looking imis you've got there! 

I definitely have to agree. Looks like a 2.1 to me as well. I especially like the probable male. You're definitely right about him looking like a lamasi!

Good luck with them!

-Matt


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## Ulisesfrb (Dec 8, 2008)

Beautiful imis. I too particularly like the probable male.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

Very nice, glad to see you got them! The size difference between the first two is remarkable. are they the same age?


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

Heh, well I've actually found that Mark just takes such good care of his frogs that they grow rather rapidly. I take his word when he says they're four months old but full grown


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

McBobs said:


> Those are some amazing looking imis you've got there!
> 
> I definitely have to agree. Looks like a 2.1 to me as well. I especially like the probable male. You're definitely right about him looking like a lamasi!
> 
> ...


Thanks Matt! They are really hitting the springs in there and the confirmed male is calling every 20 seconds or so. So good.



Ulisesfrb said:


> Beautiful imis. I too particularly like the probable male.


Thanks very much!



SmackoftheGods said:


> Very nice, glad to see you got them! The size difference between the first two is remarkable. are they the same age?


You're glad I got them?!? I've been waiting to get thumbs for YEARS! I'm stoked.  Yes, the probable female is quite a bit larger than the other two. I'm not 100% sure on the age - but they are from UE. So I'm guessing 6+ mos. They were sold as 3-4 mos.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

They are beauties!! Very interesting to see the color and pattern variation.


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## AFHokie03 (Mar 9, 2007)

Congrats, they're beatuies. If I didn't know better I'd say they are different species based on the variation!


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Arrynia said:


> They are beauties!! Very interesting to see the color and pattern variation.





AFHokie03 said:


> Congrats, they're beatuies. If I didn't know better I'd say they are different species based on the variation!


Totally. The variation is awesome. Here are some more pics before I turn out the lights.









Calling male in his new digs on the largest leaf of Neo. Painted Delight.









Presumed female keeping an eye on the strawberry feeding station.









Presumed female has a cool pattern. 









Where is that thread about 'tame' frogs? 









Decent shot of the pattern on the presumed male (foreground). The calling male had JUST called before this shot.









Presumed male left, calling male right.









Presumed male has found the highest spot in the tank.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

They really are lovely. Congratulations!


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

You'd best stop taking those pictures. I don't want any new frogs until I get all of my readjustments in the frog room done, but your pictures are making me twitch!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

those are some really nice looking frogs, best of luck!


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Julio said:


> those are some really nice looking frogs, best of luck!


Thanks a lot Julio!



SmackoftheGods said:


> You'd best stop taking those pictures. I don't want any new frogs until I get all of my readjustments in the frog room done, but your pictures are making me twitch!


Sorry bud - no can do. I finally got a good shot of the calling male. He is going nuts. Lights went out half an hour ago and he is still making a scene. I think I may need to get some film canisters in there already! 









The picture doesn't really capture the colour on his head - it's quite orange and metallic. He is ruling his little roost already. 









This is the suspected male. I've been keeping a close eye on him and he is definitely feeding and doesn't seem to have any reaction to the other male when he calls. So far so good....


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Courting! Just watched the female follow the calling male all over the tank for half an hour finally ending up in the largest brom together. 

How cool is that? These frogs rock.


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## Devanny (Jul 11, 2008)

Beautiful frogs!, they look so much like the bajo huallaga imitator. Are they imitating lamasi?


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey D - thanks for the comment! 

I agree - they do look similar to the Bajo Huallaga's that I've seen. The difference is these guys tend to have more uniform striping, whereas the Bajo Huallaga are more variable pattern wise.

If I'm not mistaken the Yumbatos imis are sympatric with ventrimaculatus, so that is what they are most likely imitating.


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Can I get some help sexing this frog? 









Unsexed

For comparison:








Calling male









Calling male left, unsexed right









All three - unsexed left, (presumed) female middle, calling male right

And is it just me or does this frog look gravid?









Comments and opinions much appreciated!


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## nathan (Jul 24, 2009)

Nice pick up ! I am really digging that female


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

nathan said:


> Nice pick up ! I am really digging that female


Thanks Nathan!

I've been asked by a few people to try to get some pics that accurately reflect the colours on these frogs. As most of you know, that's easier said than done. 

These pics have not been photoshopped - I just took roughly one million with every different camera setting until they turned out properly. 

Here is one that gets the golden colour on the calling male:









And this shot picks up some of the awesome emerald green on the side of the female:









Also, still looking for opinions on the sex of the other frog in the tank (see previous posts). If anyone wants to chime in on him/her, I'd be appreciative.

I have confirmed with UE that these guys are somewhere between 4-6 months old.

Thanks for looking! Comments welcome.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

I'm pretty sure you're right on the sexes. It's not absolute, but pretty certain.

I know when I was keeping my imitators in a 2.1 trio my dominant male had a monsterous call and my submissive male had a very light call that I needed to be right by the tank. In the mornings when your lights have just come on make sure everything is silent, find something to do in the room like read and don't make a lot of movement, see if you hear a different call than the one you're used to hearing. I never saw my submissive male call, but it was an obviously different call. I found out for sure he was a male when I traded it with another frogger here locally, he says it calls constantly now.


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Thanks for the reply, Smack.

I have been keeping an eagle like eye on this tank - specifically the unsexed frog. I've been watching for anything I can think of that would give away sex - calling, body shape, wrestling, sass talk, etc. This frog shows no interest in the other two. The calling male/female are together all the time - usually in a brom axil. This dude/dudette is out feeding all day - which is fattening it up and not making sexing any easier.

If it does turn out to be 2.1 - which I still suspect it is - do you think they will be ok long term? Or should I look to trade/sell the extra frog?


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

Hey mate.

Stunning frogs, really beautiful.

There are a few for sale over here, on a UK Dartfrog site I have been tempted for a long time, I'm surprised none have sold, as they have been up there for a good while now...

Keep the pics coming.

Richie


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

How big is the tank?

Personally I haven't had any bad experiences keeping imitators in trios, but I've heard a number of horror stories of trios weeding themselves down to pairs. It seems to me (and this is just from the reading I've done) that imitators tend to do best in pairs or groups of 5 or more.... Although I'm sure there are a number of people with trios out there who may be willing to differ with me


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

SmackoftheGods said:


> How big is the tank?


It's a 15 Tall Vert - so 20"H x 10"W x 18"D.

I'm really hoping they do fine as a trio. It would be a shame to lose the unsexed frog, as it is really gorgeous. 

I have another question about film canisters. Do your frogs use them for egg laying? or tad deposition? or just for hanging out? or all of the above?

I haven't got any in there yet and I'm wondering how many to get, etc.



R1ch13 said:


> Hey mate.
> 
> Stunning frogs, really beautiful.
> 
> ...


Thanks Richie! Grab those guys! They are great frogs so far. I just heard from Mark that he sent a number of these frogs over to the EU, so keep your eyes out for them.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

My imitators use film canisters for just about everything. They use them for calling sites, courting sites, laying sites. However, I've been told that typically if you have enough broms that have good sites the imitators will avoid using canisters for deposition sites and use the broms.

That said, get as many as you can and mount them everywhere you can without making the tank look cluttered


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Another pic of the pair. Almost caught the male calling on this shot.


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## Elphaba (Aug 26, 2007)

They're about the cutest daggone imis I've ever seen. Congrats on them! I'm really digging the coloration.

Best,
Ash


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## bricespice (Jan 4, 2010)

Excuse my ignorance, but I am new to the thumbnail varieties.
Why do the two frogs in the first picture have a different coloration if they are the same species and line?
Just wondering so I can expand my own knowledge.
Thanks
Brice


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Elphaba said:


> They're about the cutest daggone imis I've ever seen. Congrats on them! I'm really digging the coloration.
> 
> Best,
> Ash


Thanks Ash! I can't tear my face away from the viv!



bricespice said:


> Excuse my ignorance, but I am new to the thumbnail varieties.
> Why do the two frogs in the first picture have a different coloration if they are the same species and line?
> Just wondering so I can expand my own knowledge.
> Thanks
> Brice


Hi Brice,

This particular population of imitator is highly variable, with some individuals striped, some spotted and some a bit of a mix. The colour on the bodies is typically yellow or orange (can be mixed) and the colour on the legs is blue/green (again, a mix is possible).

Their variability is one of main reasons I chose this morph over some of the others. Also, I specifically requested three frogs that looked distinctly different and Mark was kind enough to oblige.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

bricespice said:


> Excuse my ignorance, but I am new to the thumbnail varieties.
> Why do the two frogs in the first picture have a different coloration if they are the same species and line?
> Just wondering so I can expand my own knowledge.
> Thanks
> Brice


Variation doesn't just occur in thumbs. The same line of leucs can throw leucs with many spots or very few spots or chocolate leucs. A normal azureus can throw "microspot" azureus. That's why it's important to keep track of your bloodlines and ideally, if you can, localities. Just by looking at a frog doesn't necessarily mean you can trace it back to a specific locality.


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Probable Male:









Calling Male:


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)




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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Absolutely gorgeous!


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