# How often to PDF's bread in the wild?



## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

We haven't come across any info yet on how often frogs would breed in the wild. Does anyone have some info please.


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## jelly_shrimp (Apr 17, 2009)

I believe it's once a year during the rainy season. But I may be wrong.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

That's what we think they might do but it could be several times during the rainy season. The reason we're asking the question is that we would like to try and mimic the breeding in captivity. We don't want to stress them to much.


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## moothefrog (May 16, 2008)

If you want to mimic their natural habitat, I would give them a 9-10 mo. rainy season, and a 2-3 mo. dry season. The breed several times in the rainy season. They are not like tree frogs, wich lay large clutches and only breed occasionaly.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

It is my understanding that most populations of dart frogs breed year round. This does not mean that one pair of frogs will breed year round, but that the population on a whole does (ie a pair may breed for 3 months, take a break for 2 months, breed for 3 months etc).

I've read that some species, such as D. leucomelas, estivate for part of the year in portions of their range, and get the impression that they may be more of a seasonal breeder.


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## MonarchzMan (Oct 23, 2006)

zBrinks said:


> It is my understanding that most populations of dart frogs breed year round. This does not mean that one pair of frogs will breed year round, but that the population on a whole does (ie a pair may breed for 3 months, take a break for 2 months, breed for 3 months etc).


Right. A researcher I worked with in 2007 said that at any given time about 20% of the pumilio females are breeding (not sure where she got that number, though). That number is low because the other 80% are mostly caring for their young.

They'll slow down during the dry season, but they certainly don't stop.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Thanks for all the info! So what do you think of this to try and mimic the wild?

3 months dry season 60-70% humidity

2 months gradually increase to 85% humidity

4 months of 90% and up

3 months gradually decrease humidity back to the dry season

Any input would be appreciated.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

What species/morph? Often, after you find out the location the animals are from, you can lick up weather data for the locality and attempt to mimic that.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

We have 7 Banded Leucs coming in about 3 weeks. We're just finishing up their viv.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

frogfreak said:


> Thanks for all the info! So what do you think of this to try and mimic the wild?
> 
> 3 months dry season 60-70% humidity
> 
> ...


Anyone have an opinion on this misting schedule?


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## Spectre66 (Apr 27, 2009)

Just a novice talking here but... I would imagine what you are going for here is to give the breeding pair a break. As you transition into the Dry season I would think it would make sense to only decrease misting frequency to the point that breeding stops or at least greatly slows down.

At the same time are you thinking about increasing/decreasing Temp and food availability?

The other thing that comes to mind is its not like humidity gradually changes in the wild. What I mean is you may be at 70% humidity and with the right rainfall you will be sitting at 100% humidity a few minutes after the rain starts. My point is you may think about shortening the 3 month gradual increase or decrease period.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Spectre66 said:


> Just a novice talking here but... I would imagine what you are going for here is to give the breeding pair a break. As you transition into the Dry season I would think it would make sense to only decrease misting frequency to the point that breeding stops or at least greatly slows down.
> 
> At the same time are you thinking about increasing/decreasing Temp and food availability?
> 
> The other thing that comes to mind is its not like humidity gradually changes in the wild. What I mean is you may be at 70% humidity and with the right rainfall you will be sitting at 100% humidity a few minutes after the rain starts. My point is you may think about shortening the 3 month gradual increase or decrease period.



That's one of the we were wondering. Do you need to bother with a gradual increase or decrease in humidity. From what we know a rainy season would be like turning on a tap. Major downpours. But surely in wouldn't rain like that for 9 months of the year? Haven't thought about food/temps yet.

Just realized we spelt breed like bread DUH


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## Toby_H (Apr 6, 2009)

Humidity is very dependant on rain/temperature... It may better mimic their natural environment to fluctuate the temperature as well as or opposed to the simulated rain...

When checking whether conditions in their “local environment” bare in mind that it is far more humid in under the canopy of a rainforest than in the open air of the larger cities that are likely to be posting weather conditions…

I can’t speak on frog knowledge… but I’ve been breeding fish from Central America for a good number of years and they essentially breed “regularly” or when the immediate environment (mates/territory/predators/etc) allows for about 8 months out of the year… Species living closer to the equator may have a longer breeding season, species further away may have a shorter breeding season. This is also triggered by rainfall as fresh water triggers breeding (thus in the hobby water changes trigger spawning).

Sorry if I wondered down that tangent a little too far…

Pick a city/country/region and attach ‘rainfall chart’ to it to get an idea time frames… do the same thing with temperature… if you get lucky you’ll find one chart with both  Belize has a chart with both, but lies dead on the equator so temperatures do not change much.


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## Spectre66 (Apr 27, 2009)

frogfreak said:


> That's one of the we were wondering. Do you need to bother with a gradual increase or decrease in humidity. From what we know a rainy season would be like turning on a tap. Major downpours. But surely in wouldn't rain like that for 9 months of the year? Haven't thought about food/temps yet.
> 
> Just realized we spelt breed like bread DUH


I'm no expert but Temperature(gradual change) and Rain frequency would be the two variables I'd worry about. It would seem humidity would always be relatively high. Temperature and the amount of water pooled on the rainforest floor would have a great effect on food supply(speed at which insects breed and breeding sites in pooled water). As we already know Darts need pooled water to deposit thier tadpoles in... 

I guess my point is humidity is a separate variable than rainfall and I would suspect that humidity would near always be high in the rainforests(I've only been to Rainforest Cafe so don't take my word for it). I doubt it rains like a downpour all the time, and even if it did it would be filtered through the canopy and wouldn't be so hard. The other thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't have to rain all the time to maintain 100% humidity, it just has to rain often enough to keep everything wet.


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