Allobates femoralis and A. zaparo - Intermediate

[kyle1745]

Allobates femoralis and A. zaparo:

• Difficulty: Intermediate
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• Location & History:
  A. femoralis - Lowland forests of Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana, and of the Amazon drainage of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, presumably to be found in Amazonian Venezuela; dense forests of the Napo and Pastaza drainages of Ecuador, east of the Andes; southern Cordillera Oriental of Peru. Described Boulenger, 1884. (1)
  
  A. zaparo - Dense forests of the Napo and Pastaza drainages of Ecuador, east of the Andes; southern Cordillera Oriental of Peru. Described Silverstone, 1976. (1)
  
  Proposed taxonomy keeps their genus name, but removes the genus Allobates from under family Dendrobatidae, to family Aromobatidae, subfamily Allobatinae (Grant, Frost, Caldwell, Gagliardo, Haddad, Kok, Means, Noonan, Schargel, and Wheeler, 2006).
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• Descriptions & Behavior:
  Classic examples of what a "little brown frog" can look like, these species mimic Epipedobates that they live with in the wild. True leaf litter species, these are frogs that "never look up" and their tanks should be planned accordingly, with lots of floorspace, leaf litter, and hiding places.
  
  While characteristically not the most "in your face" species like some other popular PDFs, these frogs are highly skittish but under correct conditions they are out and about and easy to view (2). With plenty of hide spots (coco huts, film canisters at floor level) for them to dash into, and familiarization to your habits, they will feel comfortable being out and about and not bothered by normal daily activities (at least not until you open the tank!).
  
  Both of these species make up for their less-than-highlighter colors by loud, bird like calls, and interesting group interactions. These frogs do well in groups when given enough room, and it's recommended to keep them as such to view their behaviors, which can be highly entertaining.
  
  Both species are currently only represented by one bloodline in the US, so there are not "morphs" in the hobby, although some slight variation is seen in the wild.
  
  A Note on Transporting: These guys are fast as rockets, hard to catch, and can be easily stressed. Aviod transporting and moving them from tank to tank as much as possible to reduce risk. When getting new animals, open the container IN the tank they are going in, and let them exit the container on their own. These animals dash horizontally, rather than vertically like some other PDFs, so keep this in mind if they are kept in a front opening tank, as they might make a dash for the door if scared out of their wits (but usually head for a clump of leaf litter if there is a thick layer near the back of the tank). Froglets kept in small containers can damage themselves, so try and keep them in the largest containers, with leaf litter, as possible during transport. DO NOT SHIP OR TAKE ZAPARO TADPOLES ON AIRPLANES
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• General Care:
  Both these species can be very forgiving in a variety of conditions when given their basic needs. They take a wide range of humidities, food, and handle different set ups well (2). Give them hide spots to dash into, call spots for males to advertise from, and you will have some very satisfied frogs. Tanks with the greatest floor space are best, such as the 20L, 30L, 40-60 gallon breeder are best for groups of varying sizes. The tanks can be very simple, or as complex as the keeper wants, just have a thick layer of leaf litter and the frogs will settle in. Both species can be kept in groups, preferably of relatively equal sex ratios, although both have been bred in pairs as well. Worth noting is that femoralis tend to be a bit bolder, and take stress better than zaparo.
  
  Food wise, these frogs take a huge range throughout their lives. They eat relatively large insects in proportion to their size, compared to their relatives, and actually show a preference towards larger food items. These can be store bought "small" sized crickets, 1-2cm moth larvae, larger beetle larvae, houseflies, small roach nymphs, and field sweepings.
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• Breeding & tadpole Care:
  Breeding can be the most difficult and frustrating about both species, as getting them to breed may be a bit tricky, but especially in A. zaparo, the eggs may have many difficulties.
  
  Generally speaking, both species lay in and around the leaf litter layer in bowers (such as coco huts for the larger femoralis, film canisters for the zaparo). They lay large clutches, tending to be more explosive breeders similar to the Epipedobates. Getting over the difficulties of the eggs, the tadpoles hatch rather small, but grow fast. The tadpoles should be raised communally on an omnivorous diet, with leaf skeletons (oak and wild almond work well - boil the leaves until they sink, use the water as tadpole tea concentrate, use the leaf skeletons for tadpole food) as well as commercial diets and whatever detritus and bacteria/algae that grows in the container. If left in tank, the parents will transport the tadpoles to a pool of water in the tank, covering the parent nearly from nose to legs!
  
  Metamorphs come out of the water at a very small size compared to their parents, taking small melanogaster and springtails out of the water, moving quickly up to hydei as they grow. These froglets also tend to come out of water around the same time.
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• Pictures:
  Allobates zaparo froglet:
  
  
  Territorial male"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  20L A. zaparo set up
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References:
(1) American Museum of Natural History Amphibian Species of the World 5.0, An Online Reference
(2)Tor Linbo's Nature's Web E. femoralis profile
Dendrobates.org Allobates Femoralis Profile

Contributers:
Corey Wickliffe (kerokero)
Kyle Kopp (kyle1745) (formating)


If you would like to see any updates or modifications to this care sheet please let myself or a moderator know.

Last Updated: 7/4/2007