[Devin Edmonds]

I had success last year getting eggs from my female by putting my group of frogs through seasonal cycles. Unfortunately, neither of the two clutches she produced were fertalized by my males. Just this week I started increasing the moisture and temperature in their terrarium again after three months of cool and dry conditions, hopefully she will start to lay again.

You can tell when female frogs lay eggs by the change in body size. A gravid female will look abnormally large, almost bloated, a day or two before she lays eggs. If you notice that your female looks thin compared to the way she looked earlier in the week start hunting around the terrarium for eggs. Unlike dart frogs, mantellas don't usually lay their eggs on a smooth surface in a secluded place (petri dish under coconut hut). Instead, they lay in dark little holes or crevices. Both of my madagascariensis clutches that I recieved last year were laid under a pile of moist sphagnum moss that was beneath a piece of cork bark next to a small pond in the cage. This seems to be pretty typical for mantellas, most of the crocea and aurantiaca eggs I've recieved have also been under moist piles of moss, although there were exceptions. Hopefully others can chime in and share their experiences as well. Good luck,

 

[Devin Edmonds]

When I find eggs, I pull them out with a plastic spoon and set them in a plastic shoebox-sized storage bin with a thin layer of water. I don't set the eggs on anything. I used to set them on top of java moss but I don't bother anymore. I'm sure setting them on moss in a humid orchid room would work well, just make sure that the tadpoles have some water to wriggle into below the moss. Good luck with the madagascariensis,