forum for species/morph specific info

frogfarm · #1 (**permalink**) 10-02-2006, 06:06 PM

looking for any quality location specific info on any morph or species. ambient light level, microclimate and ambient air temp info, seasonal variations, and general climate where these frogs are found is much needed in a central locale. pictures of habitat is also needed. gps coordinates etc. i think making a list of what data should be collected at any dart site should be compiled. things like light variability in dappled and dark places where they are found, range of temps between sun and shade ground, activity levels during the day and what might restrict them to crepuscular instead of active all day etc. is all needed.

Ben_C · #2 (**permalink**) 10-02-2006, 06:44 PM

For Dendrobates auratus 'hawaii' I have most (if not all) of this information...
Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do w/ all of this information once you get it?
~B

frogfarm · #3 (**permalink**) 10-02-2006, 07:21 PM

leave it in this topic so there is a central thread to build up info on each species/morphs locale. there is no general habitat info anywhere in this site(i havent searched it yet but never see any topics like it).
for instance i have 2 levels of breeders. the higher level gets rising heat from the lights on the lower level and are generally a couple degrees warmer when the lights are on. if i knew which morphs of tincs were montane cloud forest they would go on the lower level to stay cooler. just looking for general info that will help me better care for individual morphs needs. such as the thread i posted on the yellow bellies.
people say such things as the ambient light level under the forest canopy is brighter than your living room. well everyone has different living rooms and i`m sure not all morphs are found under the same lighting/ temps as the others. these guys seem to be in the middle of speciation, esp the pumilio. i remember hearing the green chiriquis were found in a drainage ditch along a road and the red(man creeks) were found up in the hills or vice versa, around the same area. either theyre seperated by a barrier or by preferred habitats.

kyle1745 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-03-2006, 03:04 AM

I would be interested in adding this to the care sheets. They are free flowing documents and can easily be updated.

Dancing frogs · #5 (**permalink**) 10-03-2006, 04:42 AM

I would be very interested in seeing this data also...
I posted some similar requests in the past, but they quickly went nowhere.
About as close as you can find (it seems) is a pic of habitat, and if you're lucky, in the pic there will be a temp/humidity reading.

kyle1745 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-03-2006, 10:41 AM

One issue I see is that it could be missleading.... Many of the frogs that are in the hobby to day do not have collection information and should not in most cases be mixed with recently collected frogs. So posting location and more habitat information woudl have to be explained to the specific frogs they related to with collection data.

frogfarm · #7 (**permalink**) 10-03-2006, 02:54 PM

if it is presented in the format of frog pic, habitat pic, temps,light,relative humidity,date,time,etc. it should work out. coordinates arent as important as temp fluxuations, altitude and ambient lighting. it doesnt have to be morphs in the hobby either. the more of a general database we get the more we can infer. certain colors being associated w/ hiland or loland morphs may give us insight into new morphs coming in. say all the regina, nikita, citronella and giant orange are hiland morphs. we could generalize w/ new morphs as to the temps they require. the fact that leucs go thru a dry season makes them heartier than most is a good bit of info for perspective owners. this may clear up some questions by newbies if there is a centralized database of their actual habitat and not just in hobby experience. i believe the silverstonei get some pretty lo temps in their range and some others that people may not know about. say the six point auratus are hiland because they are black and normally bask to raise their body temps, you would want a long tank in a cooler room where the cork reached w/in an inch of the glass in the back and they could go up and bask under the flourescent light laid directly across the back of the tank. just some examples.
i just have a ton of hypothesis and a database such as this could shed light on a lot of problems w/ certain morphs in the hobby. such as why are there so few intermedius when they have been around for 10 years or more. maybe stable temps in the house stifles breeding if they normally get a large day and night drop. all sorts of stuff no one of us would ever be compile data for by ourselves.

frogfarm · #8 (**permalink**) 10-03-2006, 03:06 PM

also if general areas are given we could find out how big some of these guys ranges are or how many mimics we have at different places. date and time would give us more of an idea of seasonal fluxuations, ground cover breeding sites, prescence of puddles, plant types that hold water would all give us a better idea of what works for similar groups of frogs. you could then cater your collection to what will breed best under your house conditions.

dragonfrog · #9 (**permalink**) 10-04-2006, 12:19 AM

I think this is a great idea. These are questions that I, as a newbie, have contimplated many times concerning each of my species. I have even tried internet searches to no avail. I would assume that this kind of information would have to come from the people that go to these countries and research and collect the frogs. Correct me if I am wrong. It seems logical to contact these people and see if they are willing to "fill in a form" on each species (they work with) answering these questions.
Just my thoughts.

frogfarm · #10 (**permalink**) 10-04-2006, 04:24 AM

wasnt even thinking of that, more of a vacation thing.
i told my friends going on their honeymoon to take a camera and a digital thermometer.
i`ll try to get more info on the pumilio coming in. marcus is trying but so far has got a finger point on a map as location for the man creeks.
i`m sure it will become available in the future for the pumilio. i guess i could try mark for info on the stuff he is breeding and bringing in. i`ll work on it.
there should be some of this info in any papers written on specific morphs. i`ll try rich frye for some info w/ the stuff he`s working w/ from the university.
i think it`s been agreed to be added to the care sheets as it`s an open forum and already divided up to accomodate it.