27 eggs!

Fahad said:

Biggest viable clutch was 24; did see a 32 count once but they were all infertile. Definitely supplement Vitamin A once a week, and start working out how you're going to 'switch them off' down the line -- you don't want weak offspring, too many offspring, or burned out females.

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Wow that is also crazy! We will have to see how many (if any) are fertile.
In terms of the other comments, yes, I would much rather raise 5 healthy froglets rather than 25 unhealthy. While waiting to see if any of these are fertile I've removed the petri dishes which they really like to lay on, so hopefully that does a little bit of a slowdown.
I'm thinking a reduction of misting/lower humidity and reduced feeding might hopefully switch them off - like you said, I don't want too many, if I raise 10 I think that is plenty. But this is also all new for me so I'm happy to hear what has worked for others. It might also need some thinking on my part in how to reduce the humidity without going too low.
I'm definitely in it for the long haul so I would love to keep them as healthy as I can.

Edit: I will also mention that I'm not too worried about being overrun with frogs until they start getting it right in terms of fertlization. So far, the first two clutches were all infertile and only 2/14 fertile in the third. We will have to see for the fourth and fifth clutches, should find out in the next few days.

Separating the sexes is more reliable and less risky for a newer keeper. I simultaneously reduce misting and caloric intake but doing that right without harming the frogs is maybe not something I would have trusted myself to do as a new keeper. I have a lot of observational experience with many individuals and had many terrariums.

Calories: feed every day but less. Frogs should retain muscle tone and display bellies, just not be rotund. They should never look thin.

Misting: shorter durations, fewer intervals. Longer periods of dry leaf litter.

This may not work with younger frogs that are all hopped up on hormones. (See what I did there?)

One way to mitigate the danger of dehydration is to make sure they have clean mud wallows (I use bentonite clay intended for koi ponds) to access at all times. I also have well-established, rather large tanks with lots of well-established plants with no wild temperature swings, which means the environment is more stable in terms of relative humidity.

Removing Petri dishes? They will find leaf surfaces on plants, hide clutches beneath the leaf litter...randomly pop up with tadpoles on their back ... had it happen. Life finds a way. Terribilis certainly do.

Fahad said:

Removing Petri dishes? They will find leaf surfaces on plants, hide clutches beneath the leaf litter...randomly pop up with tadpoles on their back ... had it happen. Life finds a way. Terribilis certainly do.

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Fair enough, that is my inexperience talking - I already see a small clutch on the leaf litter. I thought maybe removing their favourite place to lay it might at least slow them down.

Fahad said:

Separating the sexes is more reliable and less risky for a newer keeper. I simultaneously reduce misting and caloric intake but doing that right without harming the frogs is maybe not something I would have trusted myself to do as a new keeper. I have a lot of observational experience with many individuals and had many terrariums.

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I don't have a separate place now, but if I can't slow them down I'll definitely need to seriously consider this option. I'm assuming the male would still call in this case anyway? And the females would still try to find him? Do they only produce eggs if they physically find the male or can they still produce infertile eggs while hearing him?

Fahad said:

This may not work with younger frogs that are all hopped up on hormones. (See what I did there?)

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I guess I can wait and see how if it is just a burst of pent up hormonal activity, maybe they will slow down somewhat. It is also very rainy where I am in the spring, so perhaps some environmental/barometric factors are also at play for this proliferation.

Fahad said:

One way to mitigate the danger of dehydration is to make sure they have clean mud wallows (I use bentonite clay intended for koi ponds) to access at all times.

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Would be interested in this - do you find at a local store or have you found a good product online? More specific products like this are generally very difficult to find locally where I live.

Llehctim said:

Fair enough, that is my inexperience talking - I already see a small clutch on the leaf litter. I thought maybe removing their favourite place to lay it might at least slow them down.

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Nothing slows down P. terribilis!

(Half-joking there.)

Llehctim said:

I don't have a separate place now, but if I can't slow them down I'll definitely need to seriously consider this option. I'm assuming the male would still call in this case anyway? And the females would still try to find him? Do they only produce eggs if they physically find the male or can they still produce infertile eggs while hearing him?

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The males still call but a little more sporadically. The females may or may not show interest but generally speaking nothing happens. Not sure about infertile eggs ... I haven't seen any in that context.

Llehctim said:

I guess I can wait and see how if it is just a burst of pent up hormonal activity, maybe they will slow down somewhat. It is also very rainy where I am in the spring, so perhaps some environmental/barometric factors are also at play for this proliferation.

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You're probably not wrong about the local weather, but from the sounds of it I wouldn't expect them to slow down any time soon without intervention.

Llehctim said:

Would be interested in this - do you find at a local store or have you found a good product online? More specific products like this are generally very difficult to find locally where I live.

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The brand I use is by a pond company called Microbe Lift. You can find it in pond supply shops online as well as on Amazon and at least one specialty pet retailer in Toronto has it and ships. I buy a large container that lasts a pretty long time.

Fahad said:

It's probably not uncommon but I haven't seen a ton of that, just the odd clutch -- two I can remember anyway, it's been a while. Are you pulling the eggs and at what temperature and other conditions (container etc.) are you incubating them?

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I've been pulling them 0-4 days after they have been laid. Temps are 20C (68F) day, 18C (64.4F) at night, so definitely on the cooler side. I did a bit of reading and just thought this would make them morph slower rather than halt their development, but if this is too cool please let me know!
The container is fairly large, with some damp sphagnum in the corners, humidity probably around 80-100%. I've put a drop of blackwater extract with some RO water to cover the bottom of the petri dish, just enough to touch the bottom of the eggs.
I've actually left the last clutch laid on a leaf in the viv, doesn't look like any are fertilized in it either, but it seems the male is maybe guarding the eggs, and calls a lot less and no clutches or breeding behaviour has been observed since it has been laid and left.