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How long after amplexus has started does a female bombina orientalis lay eggs?

sambal

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Hello all,
just a few days ago i received a group of fire bellied toads containing two males and two females. The two males i already had were eager to breed and sure enough only two days later i found one of my males in amplexus with one of the females.

I realize that this might be a bit too fast and overwhelming for the female since she didn't get much time to get used to her new environment. However she didn't seem to resist and they remained floating around in the water. It is now more than 60 hours ago since i found them in amplexus, and they still are, but still there is no sign of any eggs. The only information i could find about this stated that eggs are laid usually within 24 hours so.. is it normal that they take so long? Could it be that the female didn't produce any eggs(yet) but still accepts the male holding on to her?

btw: i have witnessed the female making the very soft 'chirping' sound when the male was squeezing her too hard but overall she doesn't resist as much as a male that is accidentally grabbed.
 

sambal

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This morning it thought i could answer my own question when i found eggs, about 96 hours after amplexus started. HOWEVER.... shortly after i saw the eggs i noticed two other frogs were ALSO in amplexus and i have actually witnessed them laying eggs. So now I am not sure if all the eggs came from the new couple or if it's 50/50 divided. Both couples were still in amplexus when i left for work.

Yesterday evening the female that was definitely laying now was not yet claimed by a male.
So in response to my own initial question; eggs can be laid as soon as 7 hours after amplexus has started(maybe even much quicker since i don't know when she got together with a male).

This tank is rather unsuitable for raising tadpoles so rather than removing the frogs i tried to remove the eggs. Because they are so sticky i had to cut of some pieces of plants that they were attached to. About half of the eggs are now in a separate container and i will continue with the other half tonight when i get back home again.

I will give an update about the process later on.
 

sambal

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So here's an update:
It turns out the eggs all came from the 'new' couple. The tadpoles are doing well and hind legs are starting to form!

The other couple eventually broke their amplexus after about 5 days(!) without any result.
I am now very confused about the situation.

At the moment this female is again in a solid amplexus with an other male for about 3 days now. She does not seem to like it and can be heard 'chirping' sometimes when she is grasped too tight. However she does not seem to slide out of the males grip like i have seen other males or unwilling females do; stretching the legs and crawling onto land.
Instead she just kind of lays still in the water hidden away in the corner and sometimes hides somewhere on land, all with the male on her back. I have even seen her eat.

The female looks like she must be full of eggs, very round belly but she could also just be fat..I have only had this female for a couple weeks now so im not familiar with her normal behaviour and/or shape.

I have no idea what to do now. Should i separate her from the males or leave it as it is? Did anyone ever experience a similar situation? I don't want her to be stressed the whole time but i would also hate if she eventually releases infertile eggs because i separated her from the males.

Any advice is very welcome!
 
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