# Kelly's Noob Thread



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

I should've probably posted this months ago, but better late than never!

I began this wonderful addiction on Frog Day 2012 when I purchased my first, 6 month old varadero. His name is Tequila Sunrise, or Tequila for short.









Supposedly his sex was unknown, but I knew he was a male right away. He began calling from his little container about an hour later
to confirm. 

I had attempted to build my first viv for him and this was the initial end result:










I had no idea what to do with plants, and I still don't. After trying out a couple that I thought would survive in viv conditions, failing, getting others and somewhat succeeding, I now have this:










I attempted to obtain a probable female for him, but the wide hipped "female" turned out to be a very silent he. Tequila quickly ousted him and ran him out of the viv! The second male has returned to a temp container where he spends the majority of his time hiding under the leaf litter where he has finally decided to begin calling. 

At the same time, 2 other inhabitants joined the crew. The only picture I have of the new 3 is this one:










One of the flavovittata has clearly shown himself to be a male and is the boldest. His name is Squiggly.



















I'm not sure what the other one is yet, but "she" hides all the time. 

I also had trouble with their viv. It was this:









But is currently this:









I'm very impatient when it comes to plant growth. I want it done now! I'm going to see which plants survive in my care, let them grow out more and see from there. Unless I find some interesting ones for sale of course!

There is also an extremely loud neighbor who refuses to talk to them, let alone imitate their calls. His name is Solomon and I find the way he treats his new neighbors to be quite rude. 









All was good and well until one day, this happened:









Dun, dun, dun! 

And the addiction is to be continued. . . 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Soldier17 (Mar 26, 2012)

Congratulations on the tadpole, Very exciting!


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Are the tads from the falvo's? Congrats!


----------



## curlykid (Jan 28, 2011)

lol you name your frogs. The vivs look great, and I love the flavi's.


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

pdfCrazy said:


> Are the tads from the falvo's? Congrats!


Nope. Completely different species! 

I just received them last Friday. 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## curlykid (Jan 28, 2011)

oh nvm.  i thought you meant you just got the tads. oh gosh... my brain doesn't work like it used to...


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

curlykid said:


> oh nvm.  i thought you meant you just got the tads. oh gosh... my brain doesn't work like it used to...


Lol, but I did just get the tads! I never had them as eggs. Currently there's a total of 6 of them.

How about this, none of my frogs have ever produced eggs.


Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

How are those tads doing Kelly? They grow fast don't they?



XxExoticPsychExX said:


> Lol, but I did just get the tads! I never had them as eggs. Currently there's a total of 6 of them.
> 
> How about this, none of my frogs have ever produced eggs.
> 
> ...


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

So what species are the tads Kelly?


----------



## curlykid (Jan 28, 2011)

oh, lol. i hope they're something really cool!


----------



## vivlover10 (Oct 10, 2010)

Secrets secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone!

Congrats on everything! How many flavs you get? Did you pick up two females for your varadero males? The second male will be very outgoing if you do so.


----------



## 20200 (Sep 3, 2012)

curlykid said:


> lol you name your frogs.


What's wrong with naming frogs?


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

vivlover10 said:


> Secrets secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone!
> 
> Congrats on everything! How many flavs you get? Did you pick up two females for your varadero males? The second male will be very outgoing if you do so.


Lol ok. They're cute little SI tads. 

So far they seem to be doing well. They have grown quite a lot since I first got them and I'm hoping they'll continue into adulthood without any problems. These are my first tads so I've been trying to be careful raising them. I wish I had a decent camera since my phone just can't take good pictures of them! :/

I have 2 flavs. The second one is a probable female, but she hides a lot and I've been getting worried. I don't have females for the varaderos yet. Now that I have these tads, I probably won't start looking again until around the spring or summer. I'm not in a hurry to pair them up.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## cyck22 (Sep 8, 2011)

20200 said:


> What's wrong with naming frogs?


I never intended to name my frogs. But ive found that if i give them each names based on their features (specifically their individual patterns) that i have a much easier time telling them apart. This becomes very helpfull when trying to sex or in keeping an eye on an injured or bullied members of a group, etc. Seeing the color patter on each frog reminds me of its name and visa versa. The names ive chosen are silly at best, but they serve the purpose! 

Anyways, good luck with the SI tads Kelly! I just had (3) come out of the water a few weeks ago. These froglets are little hiders!


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Tequila gracing me with his presence in the morning.

And Tequila about to pounce on a snowfly (vitamin covered fruit fly).









It's very difficult to try and get pictures of the tads with my lowly android camera, but I was able to at least get one in focus.









Usually they tend to hang out together in little groups of like 2 or 3 (awww). Here's a blurry picture:








There's always one that will hide under the almond leaf pieces or the air stone. The rest are out in the open mostly all the time.

And here's their current setup. 









I was thinking that they'd need more cover than just the pieces of almond leaf and duckweed, so I may get a compatible moss. Would this be needed or will bigger pieces of almond leaf be more than suitable for hides?


Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2 while putting off needed studying for finals. (>.<)


----------



## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Awesome work Kelly, but you`re not getting much homework done are you?

John


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Enlightened Rogue said:


> Awesome work Kelly, but you`re not getting much homework done are you?
> 
> John


Thank you!

I'm done with homework for the semester and just finished taking my last written final today. Tomorrow I have an oral final and then I'm home free until January. 

I do have to say that these frogs and this forum are big distractions though!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Did I see frog legs on a tadpole??









Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Hmmmm, lookin good! My Benedicata tads are at about that stage, maybe a week ahead. Its really cool to watch the changes they undergo. I never tire of checking on my tads every day to see how they are progressing.


----------



## FrogBoyMike (Aug 25, 2012)

Very nice looking frogs indeed! I share your addiction as i just got back into this hobby after a long dry spell and now i cant stop! lol. Always exciting to see legs starting on the tads
Keep up the good work


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

The first tadpole that popped back legs seems to be the oldest. I have 2 others that just popped theirs earlier this week and the youngest 3 are catching up.

Here's a pic of the oldest next to one of the younger ones. You can see small protrusions where the forelimbs have started to develop on either side.










Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Here's the oldest. He's so big!









This is the second oldest and a third popped its arms a few minutes ago.









Watching them grow has been one of the coolest experiences and I'm surprised I was able to get them to this stage. Hopefully it'll be the same story for the younger 3 tadpoles! 

I'll be starting a build thread later this month for their final home. 

On another note, look who I caught roaming around his vivarium:

















Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Ok, so I lied about the build thread. I made this viv pretty simple. The cork bark right in the middle allows the frogs to go inside if they want. The cork bark stump to the far right also has an opening for them. I had a huge, neo grapevine with two pups mounted in the middle of the "fallen log," but it died on me within about a week.  
I'm also having problems with the two prayer plants in there and I'm thinking it's due to humidity levels being too low without a glass top. I'm still waiting on the glass top and some more plants to come in to fill in the middle portion.



















Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

SI froglets


















Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2


----------



## FrogBoyMike (Aug 25, 2012)

so hows your little frog colony doing? Any eggs yet?


----------



## PDFanatic (Mar 3, 2007)

Use seran wrap till u get glass... Just don't melt it with hot lights!


----------



## bradlyb (Jul 22, 2013)

20200 said:


> What's wrong with naming frogs?


My girlfriend named one of my PDF's Adobe. Heh heh.

Otherwise it's "the cool female who jumps onto my hand to hang out while I clean the tank" or "the long thin striped one, hes the male and shy."

Don't judge. I like long names.


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

PDFanatic said:


> Use seran wrap till u get glass... Just don't melt it with hot lights!


This is the problem I had initially. I needed to hang the lights from the cieling first before I could temporarily use seran wrap. Then that turned into a pain in the @!#.







bradlyb said:


> My girlfriend named one of my PDF's Adobe. Heh heh.


Ahahahaha, I wish I thought of that!


I'll have to update this thread with what I have now in all my tanks. I eventually stopped posting after I came back from vacation last year around June because by the time I came back, some of my frogs "disappeared." I've never found little dried up bodies after searching and family members "don't know what happened." I thought maybe they escaped. However, the same thing happened AGAIN when I went on vacation in August. I'm down to just 3 frogs left. . . 

It was so upsetting that I just wanted to give up after spending all that time, effort, and money into taking care of these little guys.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

First I want to say that there is no criticism in my speech.
When frogs "disappear" for a long time, if it is not in their nature because they are too shy, it means that they are dead. Microfauna viv dispose of the carcass in a very short time. So no escapes, for me. I suggest you organize yourself better with vacations, entrusting someone to the care of the frogs. Often vacations and frogs are not compatible.

P.S.: I love the "feminine touch" of the viv above.


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

rigel10 said:


> First I want to say that there is no criticism in my speech.
> When frogs "disappear" for a long time, if it is not in their nature because they are too shy, it means that they are dead. Microfauna viv dispose of the carcass in a very short time. So no escapes, for me. I suggest you organize yourself better with vacations, entrusting someone to the care of the frogs. Often vacations and frogs are not compatible.
> 
> P.S.: I love the "feminine touch" of the viv above.


I researched and took as many precautions as I possibly could before leaving on vacation. I live with family, had entrusted 2 family members (taught them what to do, what to look for, schedule, etc.) that live with me to care for my frogs. I had plenty of flies, microfauna in tanks, placed multiple feeding stations in tanks, timers, etc. I thought I had everything except a trusted hobbyist. Now, not all my frogs were in tanks. The SI's were not all big enough to go into their home tank, so they were in a temp tub. The second varadero that turned out to be male was also in a temp until I was able to complete his home tank. 

When I came back, half my SI's went missing and so did the varadero in the temp and the probable female flav from the tank. I could understand how the flav may have passed in the tank without me even knowing, but having 4 more disappear too? Same thing happened again when I went on vacation for only one week in August. Two SI's disappeared from their tank, even though I left my boyfriend to the care that time. 

Last year I had issues with items "mysteriously" disappearing from my room and that became the norm. So when my frogs were disappearing only when I went on vacation when they were otherwise healthy, that seemed fishy. I've had an idea as to who it was, but I've never caught them in the act. However, after they've moved out, items no longer disappear and my last frogs are still there every time I come back from vacation... 

P.S.: Lol, I don't know why I still have those. I never use them 

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Happens to me sometimes of not finding a frog in a viv. After a month of "disappearance", I will decree the "legal death" (sigh!). Microfauna in a viv destroys a small dead frog in a few days. 
If you think that they can escape, seal all gaps between the doors: frogs can pass through gaps almost like fruit flies.


----------



## Fantastica (May 5, 2013)

curlykid said:


> lol you name your frogs.


Lol, I name my tads!

Your tanks look great, far from noobish!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk


----------



## Dart girl (Sep 25, 2013)

XxExoticPsychExX said:


> This is the problem I had initially. I needed to hang the lights from the cieling first before I could temporarily use seran wrap. Then that turned into a pain in the @!#.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm sorry for your loss. It can be so frustrating. Don't give up. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## XxExoticPsychExX (Mar 12, 2012)

Dart girl said:


> I'm sorry for your loss. It can be so frustrating. Don't give up.


Thank you for that. I haven't given up, I've just been focusing on other things. I still do have 3 little guys and I figured that an update with pictures is in order. 

Here's Squiggly









The Lone Ranger's viv as of last week









And The Lone Ranger himself









I need to take a new snap shot of Tequila, but he's too sneaky. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


----------

