Firstly, to Kyle, I take care of them and am in charge of their protocol, but they aren't mine because I am zoo keeper and so they belong to the zoo.
In regards to getting them to breed.
I decided last spring to start giving them seasonal changes. I am lucky where they are because they are close to the doors to the atrium, and although they are behind the glass in a hallway with some heat, they get some of the cooler temperatures so it worked out well.
Their winter temps were probably ranging from the mid to upper 50's into the 60's. Once a week the temps are written down when water tests are done so that would give a general idea and I can get that info to you. As spring approached the temps warmed up to a more consistent temp of mid to upper 60s.
I also went on a naval website that gives all the sunset and sunrise times of places all over the world so I set their lighting patterns from Yunnan Province in China (it may seem a little extreme but as they were wild caught then I thought that this might be good.
Thirdly, I have the setup with a third of the tank gravel and then a piece of plexi seperating this from the dry side. In the winter I kept only a small amount of water in this, probably an inch deep on one side and then as spring approached and I saw the temps going up after a cold spell, I gradually filled the water deeper and misted them once, and then twice a day, also placing cling film over half the dry side to keep in the humidity.
That was basically it. The problem is, is that the weekend when she was ready to lay a leak occurred through to the dry side and flooded the moss and that is where she lay her eggs.
So, I basically went by their natural cycle. I am doing the same with some Western Toads but so far no luck.
All the Best
Rachel
