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Development B.orientalis

Niels D

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This is the first time that we've got eggs from our B.orientalis. At first we had them in a more terrestrial setup, because we didn't want any toadlets. We thought that there weren't that many people interested in offspring. After seeing that other breeders didn't have any problems selling (or giving) their offspring (away), we wanted to give it a try and it worked. Happy.... joy!

18-05-2012:
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20-05-2012 (they're hatching allready!):
IMG_3551.jpg

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24-05-2012 (growing quickly and eating a lot):
IMG_3586.jpg


They're growing so much faster than newt and salamander larvae. We've got about 60 toadlets in a seperate tank and an unknown amount in the tank where they were lain.
 

froggy

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Great photos! My orientalis just bred a couple of weeks ago and the older batch are huge and eating vast amounts of food. They are quite warm, about 22- 24c, with the recent hot weather, which I think has sped them up.

C
 

froggy

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They seem to stop eating quite so much when they get to a certain size and slow their growth a bit. My second batch are in the fast growth phase and eating like pigs, the first lot have slowed down a bit. They also show a greater preference for meaty foods like deforsted brine shrimp and Daphnia over algae and fish flakes. They go nuts for a brine shrimp jelly/paste made by Tetra.

I absolutely love the transparency of the bodies - you can watch the chambers of the heart fill in turn with blood and then contract to empty it, and also the gills and lungs moving. Fantastic tadpoles! I will put on a photo/video of mine soon.

And the adults have just dropped more eggs....how many can they produce?!

C
 

Niels D

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How I love these little buggers! I must admit that I prefer toadlets, because they're so easy raise compared to newt larvae (which aren't that difficult except for some species). Just throw in some fish flakes, algae pellets and greens and watch them grow! I've witnessed a toadlet eat a very small snail btw.

But don't you worry. Salamanders and newts remain my favourites.
 

froggy

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Thanks for posting that, Rodrigo. They have grown considerably in the week since that was filmed - the y now all have small hind legs - just a nub with some digits on the end.

C
 

froggy

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Mine are almost all morphing, too, now. The ones that have completely lost the tail have started to munch on fruitflies. I'm keeping them in very shallow water (about 4mm) with a tile and lump of java moss in the middle. This means that the fruitflies are moated in and can't escape up the sides of the tank.

The toadlets climb up the sides to the lid when I disturb them, but come down to feed when no-one's looking (or at least when they think no-one's looking).

Will get some pics when I can.

C
 

Niels D

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That sounds like a good method! I will copy cat this for sure.

At this moment I put the ones wich have developed front legs in a container with 4 cm of water completely filled with Eleodea. On the bottom lies gravel which rises above water level at one side of the tank.

I'm planning to move the ones who will get on "land" to a container filled with coco peat, which is allready running. I'm using the compost method for this. At one side there's a pothos plant. At the other side there's a pile of leaflitter and I've put some seed and deer corn at both ends. This will help culturing the springtails and the pill bugs I've put in there.

I've boosted up my big springtail culture, so I can add new ones if needed. Hopefully this will all work well. I would really love to see pics of your animals!
 

froggy

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Ah, so you are rearing them terrestrially? I just use a tilted tank with some java moss and a bit of water for those absorbing tjeir tails. They don't have any problem getting out of the water, but when they have reabsorbed most of their tail they go to a toadlet tank.

I read that a lot of people use sopping wet paper towels for juveniles, but I don't like these as hatchling crickets and aphids etc just drown on it. The tile-in-the-middle of water method keeps the bugs alive.

I would imagine that you will have to keep the compost very damp in a terrestrial tank. It may work well to tilt the the tank or use a drainage layer to create a small pool and damp bank for the toads to soak in.

Mine did their first poos this morning!

How big are yours? Mine are about 10-12mm SVL. They handle D. hydei flies easily.

C
 

froggy

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How are your toads coming along, Niels?

Here are some pics of mine - they are VERY greedy and eat crickets etc almost every day. They receive bright full-spectrum light and also have a UVB tube (reptisun 10.0), both of which filter though a plastic mesh. I already have more newly hatched tadpoles (see photo), which I have left in the adult tank (there are only 5-10 this time) to see how they do.

Also, I 've attached a photo of the adults' tank for the sake of it. I stopped using RUBs as I had problems with escapes - the lids do not seal at all on these, which is something to bear in mind for small amphibs!

C
 

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froggy

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Some more pics. The toadlets are eating and growing well and are now in deeper water, which makes keeping it clean a lot easier.

C
 

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mwebber

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Great pics guys,
I remember when I first put my fbt's into a large open plan tank and they went crazy with breeding and it was great because they develop so fast. Definitely one of the easiest and best starter pets for breeding, however I never took note of how long the green colour took to develop, I was wondering did anyone take note?
It is also shock when you first see the adults consume the tiny dark mets, however this may cause controversy but the adults colours suddenly started to come out really well after consuming some of the mets, probably because of the high carotene fish flakes I used to feed them.
 
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