[aapuzzo]

My SI's just had their second clutch of eggs and I removed them faster this time. I believed I had 2.1 but now I think it may be 1.2. I have realized that all the calling has been coming from a single male. After the first clutch was laid I left the eggs in for a day and noticed one of the frogs was hanging out around them in the film canister. I thought the frog hanging around was the male that was involved in the breeding. Now I believe it may be a female in disguise. The second clutch had none of these eggs that looked like empty round jelly sacs.

Is it possible the incognito possible female was just eating them or do frogs ever lay these blanks? My first clutch had 2 eggs that were in-viable anyway with about 12 jelly sacks and my new one had about 13 eggs with no jelly sacks where 9 seem to be viable and growing.

 

[minorhero]

My SI's just had their second clutch of eggs and I removed them faster this time. I believed I had 2.1 but now I think it may be 1.2. I have realized that all the calling has been coming from a single male. After the first clutch was laid I left the eggs in for a day and noticed one of the frogs was hanging out around them in the film canister. I thought the frog hanging around was the male that was involved in the breeding. Now I believe it may be a female in disguise. The second clutch had none of these eggs that looked like empty round jelly sacs.

Is it possible the incognito possible female was just eating them or do frogs ever lay these blanks? My first clutch had 2 eggs that were in-viable anyway with about 12 jelly sacks and my new one had about 13 eggs with no jelly sacks where 9 seem to be viable and growing.

The empty eggs are eaten eggs.

 

[aapuzzo]

They just laid a 3rd clutch hahahah. I'm going to have to ask how to stop SI's from breeding. JK. The second the male left he was already calling again. I think I am going to add a little water and watch them raise tadpoles. Forget about selling I couldn't even see myself being able to give away this many SI' s.

 

[bssknox]

Probably just unfertilized eggs. My terribilis will sometimes lay clutches of fertile eggs with a mix of "blanks" here and there mixed in with the good ones.

 

[azandis]

Probably just unfertilized eggs. My terribilis will sometimes lay clutches of fertile eggs with a mix of "blanks" here and there mixed in with the good ones.

You would still be able to see the egg (or gamete, really) if it were unfertilized.

 

[bssknox]

You would still be able to see the egg (or gamete, really) if it were unfertilized.

Gotcha, thank you. What would be the technical term for these jelly masses without the fertilized egg? This is what I was assuming he was seeing versus an eaten egg.

 

[azandis]

What would be the technical term for these jelly masses without the fertilized egg?

That's a good question. I'm not sure if there is a technical term other than "jelly." The jelly around the eggs is deposited around the eggs as they pass through the female's oviducts. So, while we tend to think of them as individual balls of jelly around each egg, the jelly is actually more a tube that then swells together as it absorbs water. The proteins bind to some extent in the process, so they look like a mass rather than a string. But toads lay eggs as string and, functionally, that's the same mechanics. Some species have less stringy jelly and sometimes one or two of the first or last eggs to be laid might separate from the batch (like the singleton in your photo), though.

So the 'blanks' might just be hiccups in the process of oviposition.