# PIX ADDED!!! We Have Eggs!!!



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

Ok, I admit it's not a Dart frog, but I just had to share the lastest news of my RETF's... I awoke this morning, and thus far one of my females has laid eggs. There may have been more, but it was all i had time to look at before hurrying off to work. I put the frogs in the chamber on sunday after I had came back from the daytona expo. So, three/four nights later... EGGS!!! I believe another 2 or so should lay in the next day or so... hopefully the xanthic will lay as well, she was looking pretty plump!


They would pick the worst leaf in the bunch :roll:


----------



## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Sweeeeeet!


----------



## Guest (Aug 24, 2006)

what does RETF means?


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*RETF = Red Eyed Tree Frog*

RETF = Red Eyed Tree Frog


----------



## xfrogx (Jul 5, 2006)

doc1975 said:


> Ok, I admit it's not a Dart frog, but I just had to share the lastest news of my RETF's... I awoke this morning, and thus far one of my females has laid eggs. There may have been more, but it was all i had time to look at before hurrying off to work. I put the frogs in the chamber on sunday after I had came back from the daytona expo. So, three/four nights later... EGGS!!! I believe another 2 or so should lay in the next day or so... hopefully the xanthic will lay as well, she was looking pretty plump!
> 
> 
> They would pick the worst leaf in the bunch :roll:



Holly crap that is alot of eggs. Pretty awesome though.


----------



## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

That's a lot of eggs? Hardy, thats on the low end of the spectrum. I'm more used to the clutches of a couple hundred... then you've got some of the toads that lay tens of thousands....

In anurans that lay one clutch annually, the clutches tend to be huge. Anurans that lay multiple clutches in a season, tend towards smaller clutches like the one pictured (mantellas have similar sized clutches). In anurans, more specifically tropical ones in climate able to support the habit, that breed year around, tend towards lots of very small clutches - like PDFs. A clutch of 30 from tricolor seems pretty big if thats the only amphibian clutch you are used to hearing about, but a number of members of the family have larger clutches, and frogs that breed less regularly... make clutches like that look like nothing.


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*Clutch*

Yeah, this is definitely not a large clutch by no means... its average for the RETF except they usually lay two at a time (one large one, then the stop, the female will trot down to the water area - with male in tow - and take a 'refill' if you will with the water, then lay a smaller clutch - whatever eggs were remaining within her - not too far from the original clutch. I believe 75 - 100 eggs is about average for a RETF, where as the p. bicolor and p. savaugi could lay several hundred eggs in a clutch. But i suppose if you're used to breeding the dendrobates, this would be a large clutch in that respect.


----------



## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

Out of those 100 eggs, who many survive to maturity?


----------



## Basketbreaker (Sep 30, 2005)

what did you have to do to get the RETF to actually breed, and how do u know they are ready to breed?


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

dragonfrog said:


> Out of those 100 eggs, who many survive to maturity?


Ordinarily i would say an average of about 80%, but unfortunately I believe the health of the leaf is affecting the health of the clutch as well. If you look at the pic, you will notice the tip of the leaf was decaying, it has now spread to 3/4 of the leaf, and quite a few of the eggs have begun spoiling. I will be lucky/happy if i can get 20-30 of the eggs to survive long enough to make it out of the egg. Luckily i have two new clutches, both deposited on healthy leaves.


----------



## codartfrogs (Jan 26, 2005)

Could you post some pics of their set up???


----------



## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I believe RETF breeding has already been discussed in this section of the forum... if you do a search I believe you'll dig it up. RETFs aren't bred in the same tanks they spend the majority of their lives in... breeding usually is done in a rain chamber after some cycling and is a bit more effort than most of our PDFs are to breed.


----------



## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I've bred them before and I'd agree with the 80% egg survival rate. What I found interesting is that about 99% of the "big" clutch made it and about 50% of the 2nd smaller clutch from the same female layed the same night made it.

I bascially just stopped feeding mine, dried them out (30% humidity or so) and kept them cool. I did it during a Chicago winter so keeping the room in the high 60's was easy. After a month of that, I feed them HEAVILY for a week solid, warmed them up and then put them in the rain chamber. The rain chamber sprayed water 6 times a day for 5 minutes or so at a time.

I had eggs the same night they were put in. I'll have scan my old photos and upload them.


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Would it have been possible to use a razor blade to remove the mass from the leaf and put it somewhere else?


----------



## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Or next time use fake plant leaves lol. Never have a dying leaf problem again when they are silk 

I'm not sure how much the tadpole would be effected by being scraped off the leaf... the biggest thing i can think of is how they'd get to the water (they "drip" into water below the leaf in the wild) but I imagine it would run the same general direction as removing hatching tadpoles from a PDF clutch. Easiest thing to do is just keep rinsing the clutch of eggs and "flush" the hatched tadpoles out - seperating them from the unhatched eggs that would possibly die if you just submerged the eggs.


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I actually remember reading where one person built "ramps"...they could have been PVC or two pieces of plastic to put the eggs in which was then slanted slightly into the water section. Thus when the eggs hatched the tadpoles would slide in.


----------



## codartfrogs (Jan 26, 2005)

Here is the website with the ramps pretty cool. This is the best site I have found with any good information on RETF from a hobbist prospective would still like to see more pics if possible. 








http://monkeyfrogs.com/agalychniscallidryas/breeding.shtml


----------



## codartfrogs (Jan 26, 2005)

The l did not highlight in the link try this. 
http://monkeyfrogs.com/agalychniscallidryas/breeding.shtml


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Thats exactly what I was thinking of.


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*Update on Froggies...*

The froglets have started emerging... first ones to sprout all four legs was on saturday... here are a couple of pix since then, quite a few now!










and...










I will post more of the froglets as they age.. also of the setups used in the rearing of the tads!


----------



## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

Those are realy cool!!
They are the same color as their eggs. So how many are surviving?


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

so far i have lost only two, knock on wood... i believe they just didn't have the smarts to crawl their butts out of the water unfortunately. Both had all four legs out, but never crawled out, 2 out of over 100 isn't bad!


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*Updated group pic*










Here is an update on the progress thus far. These are the froglets 1 week after the first one emerged. Have about 20 or so stragglers still in the process...


----------



## Guest (Oct 16, 2006)

*WOW !!!!!!!*


----------



## Guest (Oct 16, 2006)

this may seem stupid but whats up with the red ones?


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*Color Change*



studunn000 said:


> this may seem stupid but whats up with the red ones?


RETF tend to change colors at times being a redish brown, to the bright green. This is more common in the younger animals. They will all be bright green after some time.


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*P. aurotenia For Sale*










Since the success of the breeding of my RETF's, I have decide to part with my group of P. aurotenia. I just don't think it would be fair since I will be devoting most of my free time to expanding my RETF colection, and expanding my breeding capabilities for them as well. Any reasonable offers would be accepted, shipped via DHL overnight (paid by the purchaser).

Thanks


----------



## Guest (Oct 16, 2006)

How old are they? and are they a sexed pair? :lol:


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

*Info Update*



Brett68 said:


> How old are they? and are they a sexed pair? :lol:


Brett68, I will post updated pix of the frogs this afternoon, with available info.

Thanx


----------



## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

Back to the RETF...WOW!

Wow wow wow wow wow!

Thanks so much for the updates. Keep 'em coming!


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

Brett68 said:


> How old are they? and are they a sexed pair? :lol:


Ok, as it stands, i have 3 nice an plump (what appear to be) females... and i also have one thin (what i assume to be) male. I have heard him call once before. He will need to be seperated and heavily fed to bring him back to proper weight (i believe he is being out competed), i simply don't have the means at this time since my retf's and their babies are demanding so much, hence the reason i would like to get them to a new home where they will receive the required care. If anyone is interested, please let me know. Make me an offer on the 3 females, and i will send the male at no additional cost. Females all pretty much look alike. Age is close to two years old.


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2006)

hey if you could post some more pictures of the frogs that would be graet! thankx!


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Great job! They don't look at all like RETF's at this point. Almost like Whites.

Guessing you will be moving these out pretty soon?


----------



## doc1975 (Aug 16, 2006)

Brett, sorry i hadn't had a chance to reply but the darts are gone... i really just wanted to move them ASAP since most of my free time is now devoted to the RETF's.

Yes, the frogs will be ready to move after this weekend, all looking great, have not lost a single froglet as of yet. I believe the total count will be in the mid to high 90's. I will have an accurate count when i clean out their cage again tomorrow. I always start counting but then get confused and lose count - then just give up! Lol!

Anyways, I will be posting updated pix of the froglets, there really is no mistaking that they are RETF's, and not whites! Thanks alot for everyones interest!


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

any updates?


----------

