Looks like a case of aggression to me. Maybe they're establishing a hierarchy in the new environment?
Frog-pile: are they mating or just hanging out together?
Hey everyone! I saw my frogs hanging out like this the other day and couldn't tell if they're mating or just having an impromptu close quarters meeting.
I've never seen eggs or tadpoles in their tank so I'm not sure if they're still too young to be breeding, or if I'm doing something wrong.
Info: These are the only three frogs in the tank, I have had them for a year and a half. I think they are approximately 3 years old and have been calling for the past year. I know there is at least one male as he has been calling for the past year, but I'm unsure of the exact sex ratio of the trio. They're in a 60x45x45 exo terra that was re-scaped last month.
Thank you!
P.S. if anyone is able to guess what sex they are, or tell me if they look a bit fat, I would really appreciate it!
Here's the frogs.
![Botany Organism Terrestrial plant Reptile Terrestrial animal]()
And the tank, it's grown a bit more since these photos.
![Plant Terrestrial plant Flowering plant Leaf vegetable Soil]()
![Plant Organism Terrestrial plant Leaf vegetable Aquatic plant]()
I've never seen eggs or tadpoles in their tank so I'm not sure if they're still too young to be breeding, or if I'm doing something wrong.
Info: These are the only three frogs in the tank, I have had them for a year and a half. I think they are approximately 3 years old and have been calling for the past year. I know there is at least one male as he has been calling for the past year, but I'm unsure of the exact sex ratio of the trio. They're in a 60x45x45 exo terra that was re-scaped last month.
Thank you!
P.S. if anyone is able to guess what sex they are, or tell me if they look a bit fat, I would really appreciate it!
Here's the frogs.
And the tank, it's grown a bit more since these photos.
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@secede0 @Anon123
Hi everyone, thank you all for your help! I have come back with some videos of this behaviour. Sorry for the bad quality, the rain systems had just been on and the glass was fogged up. I can't upload videos here directly so here's the Imgur link:
Some extra things I noticed, the behaviour seems to happen most commonly recently after the rain systems have been going. Also, there is loud calling before and after, never when I've directly been witnessing the behaviour. I've not been able to see if either or the frogs involved move on and start calling, but I've been able to take a few pictures of the calling male to try and compare the markings.
Generally the largest frog (I'm 80% sure she's female) I've been calling 'big gut' follows a smaller one around and then generally just climbs on them or steps on them, sometimes accompanied by big gut making a wobbling/thrusting(?) move. The smaller frog will usually stay still or sometimes they hop off with big gut still on their back. However, I'm not entirely certain how frogs would show that they are distressed other than running away or hiding. Finally, I was wondering if big guts' belly is possibly due to her being gravid? She's much larger than both of the others, but she could just be fat and dominating the other away from the food. If this is aggression, should I keep big gut and the male together or remove big gut? Would you add any new sexed males or just keep them as a pair?
Sorry for this absolute essay of a post and thank you for all your help again! These are my first ever frogs and I'm still learning.
Here's the frogs as far as I can identify them.
Unknown - possibly female:
![Poison dart frog Frog Plant Organism Yellow]()
Calling male:
![Plant Terrestrial plant Scaled reptile Reptile Wood]()
Big gut - female:
![Frog Plant Poison dart frog Insect Arthropod]()
Edit: upon further inspection it definitely looks like the second female in the videos. I'm guessing this is a clear case of aggression that I was unable to pick up on the signs of.
Hi everyone, thank you all for your help! I have come back with some videos of this behaviour. Sorry for the bad quality, the rain systems had just been on and the glass was fogged up. I can't upload videos here directly so here's the Imgur link:
Some extra things I noticed, the behaviour seems to happen most commonly recently after the rain systems have been going. Also, there is loud calling before and after, never when I've directly been witnessing the behaviour. I've not been able to see if either or the frogs involved move on and start calling, but I've been able to take a few pictures of the calling male to try and compare the markings.
Generally the largest frog (I'm 80% sure she's female) I've been calling 'big gut' follows a smaller one around and then generally just climbs on them or steps on them, sometimes accompanied by big gut making a wobbling/thrusting(?) move. The smaller frog will usually stay still or sometimes they hop off with big gut still on their back. However, I'm not entirely certain how frogs would show that they are distressed other than running away or hiding. Finally, I was wondering if big guts' belly is possibly due to her being gravid? She's much larger than both of the others, but she could just be fat and dominating the other away from the food. If this is aggression, should I keep big gut and the male together or remove big gut? Would you add any new sexed males or just keep them as a pair?
Sorry for this absolute essay of a post and thank you for all your help again! These are my first ever frogs and I'm still learning.
Here's the frogs as far as I can identify them.
Unknown - possibly female:
Calling male:
Big gut - female:
Edit: upon further inspection it definitely looks like the second female in the videos. I'm guessing this is a clear case of aggression that I was unable to pick up on the signs of.
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