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Life Cycle of a Frog

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Title: Life Cycle of a Frog


1
Life Cycle of a Frog
  • Chapter 19 Zoology
  • Ms. K. Cox
  • http//allaboutfrogs.org/weird/weird.html

2
True Love? We will start with mating.
  • When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the
    female underneath in an embrace called amplexus.
    He literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms
    around her "waist", either just in front of the
    hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even
    around the head.

3
True Love? We will start with mating.
  • Amplexus can last several days! Usually, it
    occurs in the water, though some species, like
    the bufos on the right mate on land or even in
    trees!(photo courtesy of Emile
    Vandecasteele)While in some cases, complicated
    courting behavior occurs before mating, many
    species of frogs are known for attempting to mate
    with anything that moves which isn't small enough
    to eat!

4
Spawn (egg-mass)
  • While in the amplexus position, the male frog
    fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. Frogs tend
    to lay single eggs in masses, whereas toads
    usually lay eggs in long chains. Some frogs
    leave after this point, but others stick around
    to watch over the little ones. Some have very
    unusual ways of caring for their young.

5
What do they look like?
6
Egg
  • Frogs and Toads tend to lay many many eggs
    because there are many hazards between
    fertilization and full grown frogness! Those eggs
    that die tend to turn white or opaque. The lucky
    ones that actually manage to hatch still start
    out on a journey of many perils.

7
  • Example
  • Some frogs, like the Coast foam-nest treefrog,
    actually mate in treebranches overlooking static
    ponds and streams. Their egg masses form large
    cocoon-like foamy masses. The foam sometimes
    cakes dry in the sun, protecting the inside
    moisture. When the rain comes along, after
    developement of 7 to 9 days, the foam drips down,
    dropping tiny tadpoles into the river or pond
    below.

8
Frog Life Cycle
  • 1. Amplexus
  • 2. Life starts right as the central yolk splits
    in two. It then divides into four, then eight,
    etc.- until it looks a bit like a raspberry
    inside a jello cup.
  • 3. Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still
    feeds on the remaining yolk, which is actually in
    its gut! The tadpole at this point consists of
    poorly developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. It's
    really fragile at this point. They usually will
    stick themselves to floating weeds or grasses in
    the water using little sticky organs between its'
    mouth and belly area.

9
  • 4. Then, 7 to 10 days after the tadpole has
    hatched, it will begin to swim around and feed on
    algae.5. After about 4 weeks, the gills start
    getting grown over by skin, until they eventually
    disappear. The tadpoles get teeny tiny teeth
    which help them grate food turning it into soupy
    oxygenated particles. They have long coiled guts
    that help them digest as much nutrients from
    their meager diets as possible.By the fourth
    week, tadpoles can actually be fairly social
    creatures. Some even interact and school like
    fish!

10
  • 6. After about 6 to 9 weeks, little tiny legs
    start to sprout. The head becomes more distinct
    and the body elongates. By now the diet may grow
    to include larger items like dead insects and
    even plants.The arms will begin to bulge where
    they will eventually pop out, elbow first. 7.
    After about 9 weeks, the tadpole looks more like
    a teeny frog with a really long tail. It is now
    well on it's way to being almost fullgrown!

11
Young Frog, or Froglet
  • 8. By 12 weeks, the tadpole has only a teeny tail
    stub and looks like a miniature version of the
    adult frog. Soon, it will leave the water, only
    to return again to laymore eggs and start the
    process all over again!
  • Goes with or in between 1 and 2. Usually, about
    6-21 days (average!) after being fertilized, the
    egg will hatch. Most eggs are found in calm or
    static waters, to prevent getting too rumbled
    about in infancy!

12
  • 9. By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water
    and food supply, the frog has completed the full
    growth cycle. Some frogs that live in higher
    altitudes or in colder places might take a whole
    winter to go through the tadpole stage...others
    may have unique development stages that vary from
    your "traditional" tadpole-in-the-water type life
    cycle some of these are described later in this
    tour.Now these frogs will start the whole
    process again...finding mates and creating new
    froggies.

13
My, What Big Ears you Have!
  • Frogs can hear using big round ears on the sides
    of their head called a tympanum. Tympanum means
    drum. The size and distance between the ears
    depends on the wavelength and frequency of a male
    frogs call. On some frogs, the ear is very hard
    to see!
  • Ever wonder how frogs that can get so LOUD manage
    not to hurt their own ears? Some frogs make so
    much noise that they can be heard for miles! How
    do they keep from blowing out their own
    eardrums?Well, actually, frogs have special ears
    that are connected to their lungs. When they hear
    noises, not only does the eardrum vibrate, but
    the lung does too! Scientists think that this
    special pressure system is what keeps frogs from
    hurting themselves with their noisy calls!

14
Tympanum
15
Different purposes for feet
  • Feet For Flying!
  • Feet For Digging
  • Feet For Swimming
  • Feet For Climbing

16
What are these feet for?
Feet
17
What kind of feet are these?
18
What are these feet for?
19
What kind of feet are these?
20
I Only Have Eyes For You!
  • Frogs have variable kinds of eye types. The
    colored part of the eye is called the iris
    (EYE-riss). They can be brown, green, silver,
    red, bronze, and even gold. The pupils come in
    all kinds of shapes too!
  • (1) Round pupils Some frogs have round pupils
    just like you and me. Newts and Salamanders also
    have round pupils. (2) Vertical pupils
    Vertical pupils that look like a cats eye are
    really good for night vision and respond quickly
    to changes in light. (3) Horizontal-Shaped
    pupils These are the more common pupil, good for
    normal day-vision. (4) Heart-Shaped pupils
    I'm not sure if it serves any purpose, but it
    sure looks neat! Oriental fire-bellied Toads have
    this type of pupil. Some frogs have Triangular
    pupils, and some even have Star-Shaped pupils!

21
WHAT KIND OF EYES DO I HAVE?
A
C
D
B
22
WHAT KIND OF EYES DO I HAVE?
A Round pupils
C Horizontal-Shaped pupils
D Heart-Shaped pupils
B Vertical pupils
23
Lab Focus Today
  • Hibernation  The frogs that live in colder
    climates hibernate.  Some dig holes or find
    cracks in logs or rock areas.  Their heart beats
    and breathing slow down and their body
    temperature reaches close to the outside
    temperature.  They have a lot of glucose in their
    bodies and it keeps them from freezing. 
    Half-frozen frogs will thaw out and live.  Some
    frogs hibernate under water.  These don't breathe
    and get their oxygen from the water through their
    skin. (Cutaneous Respiration)

24
How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female
  • It can be hard to tell if your pet frog is male
    or female.
  • Do some measuring. Males are noticeably smaller
    than females in most species of frog. A typical
    male frog is one and one half to two and one
    quarter inches long from head to bottom. Females
    are two to three inches long.

25
How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female
  • Be a good listener. Males croak at night. This
    sounds like a duck quacking and sometimes a dog
    barking. Males will croak to the sound of
    vacuums, running water, loud noises, to attract
    females, and sometimes for no reason at all.
    Females, on the other hand, don't really make any
    noises.

26
How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female
  • Understand that if you still can't figure it out,
    you can ask an experienced breeder or a
    veterinarian.
  • Look at the throat. Most male frogs have a dark
    patch on their throat because as they croak it
    creates friction on the throat and darkens their
    throat.
  • Check the ear. The ear of the frog is near the
    brain. If its big, its a male but if it is small,
    then its a female.

27
Do Frogs Have Teeth?
  • Actually, yes! But not like in this silly
    picture!

28
Frog Teeth
  • Most frogs do in fact have teeth of a sort. They
    have a ridge of very small cone teeth around the
    upper edge of the jaw. These are called Maxillary
    Teeth.Frogs often also have what are called
    Vomerine Teeth on the roof of their mouth. They
    don't have anything that could be called teeth on
    their lower jaw, so they usually swallow their
    food whole. The so-called "teeth" are mainly used
    to hold the prey and keep it in place till they
    can get a good grip on it and squash their
    eyeballs down to swallow their meal.Toads,
    however, do NOT have any teeth.

29
Super Skin
  • Frogs have very special skin! They don't just
    wear it, they drink and breathe through it.
  • Frogs don't usually swallow water like we do.
    Instead they absorb most of the moisture they
    need through their skin. Not only that, but
    frogs also rely on getting extra oxygen (in
    addition to what they get from their lungs) from
    the water by absorbing it through their skin.
    Because frogs get oxygen through their skin when
    it's moist, they need to take care of their skin
    or they might suffocate. Sometimes you'll find
    frogs that are slimy. This is because the frog
    skin secretes a mucus that helps keep it moist.
    Even with the slimy skin, these frogs need to
    stay near water. Toads on the other hand have
    tougher skin that doesn't dry out as fast, so
    they can live farther from water than most frogs.

30
  • In addition to jumping in water, frogs and toads
    can get moisture from dew, or they can burrow
    underground into moist soil. Frogs shed their
    skin regularly to keep it healthy. Some frogs
    shed their skin weekly, others as often as every
    day! This looks pretty yucky...they start to
    twist and turn and act like they have the
    hiccups. They do this to stretch themselves out
    of their old skin! Finally, the frog pulls the
    skin off over it's head, like a sweater, and then
    (this is gross) the frog EATS IT!!!! (EEEEEWWW!)

31
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32
How Long Do Frogs Live?
  • Amazingly, this is the hardest question I've been
    asked about frogs!
  • It turns out that very little is known at all
    about the natural lifespan of frogs. Partially,
    this is because it's pretty hard to track a frog
    all its life! (I guess they havent figured out a
    good way to put little tiny collars around their
    necks!)
  • However,some records show that in captivity, many
    species of frogs and toads can live for
    surprisingly long times. They seem generally
    average somewhere between 4 and 15 years!
  • Recently I ran across a page where people were
    posting data about how long their species of
    frogs had lived in captivity. The longest
    lifespan entered was a European Common Toad (Bufo
    bufo ssp.) at 40 years!!!!!

33
  • Other species which live to ripe old ages
    include
  • Giant Toad (Bufo marinus) ranging between 7 and
    24 years
  • Green And Black Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates
    auratus) ranging between 7 and 17 years
  • Oriental Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis)
    ranging between 11 and 14 years
  • Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata) ranging
    from 5 to 12 years

34
examples of albino frogs.
  • This weird looking guy was found in a garden pond
    in the UK.Species unknown.

35
Pac-Man Frog.
  • Here is the albino version of the same species,
    the Pac-Man frog.(Photo from the Best Buy
    Commercial from 1997, featuring this website!)

36
Horned Frogs
  • Horned Frogs (Ceratophrys), like this Gastrotheca
    ceratophrys have a projecting flap, or "horn," of
    skin above each eye. Click on the image to see it
    full sized.

37
Frogs and Myth
  • Lots of different cultures have all kinds of
    interesting myths pertaining to Frogs.
  • Frogs and Weather Frogs have been associated with
    weather in a lot of ancient cultures. I guess
    this really makes a lot of sense if you consider
    that they tend to make a lot of noise before rain
    storms.
  • Some Australian aborigines and Native American
    groups believed that frogs were the bringers of
    rain.
  • In India, frogs were believed to personify
    thunder in the sky. Even the word for "frog" also
    meant "cloud" in Sanskrit!
  • In China, they see the "TOAD", not the "man" of
    the moon. The toad is also considered "one of the
    five poisons of yin." They say that eclipses
    happen when the "toad in the moon" tries to
    swallow the moon itself!

38
  • Frogs and Luck Sometimes, cultures associated
    frogs with good and bad fortune.
  • In Japan, frogs are the symbols of Good Luck. One
    myth I read dealt with the idea that bullfrogs
    are descended from a great ancestor who could
    suck all the mosquitoes out of a whole room in a
    single breath!
  • Some myths are less favoring to frogs and toads.
    Some folklorists have claimed that "If the first
    frog that you see in the spring is sitting on dry
    ground, it signifies that during the same year
    you will shed as many tears as the frog would
    require to swim away in."

39
  • If, on the other hand, the first frog of spring
    jumps into the water, you'll experience
    misfortune all year! However, if the springs'
    first "hoptoad" come jumping in your direction,
    you will have many friends if it jumps away from
    you, you will lose some.
  • Some less enlightened people associate frogs, and
    Toads in particular, as evil incarnations of
    demons or devils!
  • Frogs and Warts Some say that you get warts from
    touching frogs and toads.

40
  • You get warts from human viruses, not from frogs
    and toads!Frogs have slimy skin to stay moist
    when it is dry, and toads have bumpy skin to help
    camouflage them in their habitat. Some frogs and
    toads have paratoidal glands which secrete
    poisons as protection which can cause skin
    irritations and may be poisonous to some species
    of animals, but warts have nothing at all to do
    with the frogs themselves!
  • The French and the Frogs For some reason, the
    French have been given the nickname Frogs...There
    are many different theories about how this came
    to be...

41
  • The story I had always heard was that the
    nickname dates waaay back to sometime around the
    18th century, when Paris was surrounded by many
    swamps...The French nobility that would visit
    Versailles apparently tended to refer to
    Parisians as frogs because of the swampy
    surroundings...and only later did the term get
    picked up to describe the French in general.
  • Another story I've heard was that American
    soldiers adopted the nickname for the French
    during the World War II because they ate frog
    legs and hid well when camouflaged.
  • I've also heard that a frog used to be on the
    French Flag, before the Fleurs de Lis was adopted
    when King Clovis took the throne....

42
  • Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as
    frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.Ranidaphobia-
    Fear of frogs.Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.

43
End of Frog Section
44
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45
Introduction
  • These are amphibians and are of the order Caudata
    in the scientific system of classification. The
    word "salamander" generally refers to any tailed
    amphibian lacking claws or ear openings. This
    means that newts are essentially salamanders. The
    definition of "newt" is a matter of great
    controversy and may vary from area to area or
    from country to country. Usually, the type of
    salamander known as a newt in many places is not
    as slimy as the majority of salamanders are,
    having rougher skin. Newts, unlike many other
    salamanders, may be semi-aquatic. Some people
    refer to salamanders that have a life stage known
    as the "eft" stage as newts. Again, however, such
    definitions may not hold true for everyone. For
    the purpose of this document, the word salamander
    will be used to indicate all types of salamanders
    including newts.

46
Housing
  • you should first determine what sort of habitat
    your animal is native to in the wild. Then, you
    should try to reconstruct this habitat as closely
    as possible. Most often this can be accomplished
    in a plastic or glass tank, as these are water
    impermeable.

47
  • Because salamanders can climb, aided with fluids
    or mucous secreted from their bodies, you should
    have a fitted lid for your enclosure. Salamanders
    often need such high levels of humidity, so a
    screen or mesh top may not be a good idea. Many
    people prefer to use a plastic lid with holes
    drilled into it.

48
Housing continued
  • the tank has been set up and running for at least
    a few days before your salamander arrives
  • Because salamanders are cold blooded and cannot
    produce their own heat, their temperature will
    essentially match that of their surroundings
  • Most salamanders, even terrestrial species, will
    require a high humidity. Generally this level is
    50 percent or more.

49
Housing Continued
  • These animals absorb water through their skins
    rather than drinking it. Humidity may be
    increased and maintained in several ways. One way
    is to keep a bowl of water in the enclosure,
    although some people prefer to have a wet area of
    substrate rather than standing water.
  • Plants may also be used in the enclosure in order
    to help maintain humidity. These will allow shade
    to your animals in addition to collecting water
    droplets on their leaves. You may want to mist
    the enclosure several times a day as well

50
Housing Continued
  • Most salamanders will appreciate a hiding area in
    their enclosures. This can be created with leafy
    plants or with as simple an item as a cardboard
    box. This will provide it with a place to feel
    secure. Even aquatic salamanders will probably
    appreciate a floating plant that they can hide
    under. Many people like to place one hide box in
    each end of the enclosure. That way, the animal
    can thermoregulate without having to remain in
    the open.

51
  • Because amphibians have very sensitive skins, you
    should try to be extra careful to remove all
    chemical residue from the enclosure after
    cleaning.
  • There are two types of cleaners available for
    your use mechanical and disinfectants

52
Housing continued
  • Generally it is best to keep salamanders of the
    same species together if you plan on having more
    than one salamander in each enclosure. Because
    salamanders may secrete toxic fluids, different
    species can actually be poisonous to one another.
    Also, salamanders may eat other salamanders, so
    cage mates should be roughly similar in size.
    Although some people choose to keep their aquatic
    salamanders with fish or aquatic frogs, this may
    cause the animals to be more susceptible to
    disease, and it may be difficult to keep them
    from eating the fish.

53
Diet
  • Most salamanders are carnivorous and feed on
    invertebrates, but nutrition requirements can
    vary from species to species.
  • Generally, terrestrial salamanders can be
    encouraged to feed by movement. Aquatic
    salamanders may be stimulated by odor, touch, and
    movement.

54
Diet continued
  • Try to feed your animal a wide variety of
    appropriate dietary items. This will not only
    keep it from developing an aversion to or
    "boredom" with the food, but it will help ensure
    that your salamander is getting a nutritionally
    balanced diet. Most salamanders will need to be
    fed a few times a week however, younger
    salamanders may need to eat more often because
    they are growing.

55
  • Most salamanders will eat insects
  • White worms, bloodworms, and mealworms are all
    available for purchase and can be fed to your
    animal. Many people choose to use kingworms or
    superworms (Zophobas sp.), rather than mealworms.
  • Other insects including roaches, crickets,
    locusts, slugs, and flies are available for
    purchase as well. Some salamanders eat small
    feeder fish like guppies or goldfish, and others
    may eat pinkie mice.

56
Diet
  • Just make sure that the food items are fully
    thawed before they are offered to your
    salamander. If possible, warm the prey item up to
    the temperature it would have been when it was
    alive.

57
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58
Pro-active care
  • Salamanders shed their skin every few days, every
    few weeks, or every few months. In colder
    temperatures, they may not shed at all, as their
    metabolism and body functions slow. If the level
    of humidity in the enclosure is appropriate for
    your salamander, there should generally be no
    problem with this process.

59
Pro-active care continued
  • However, sometimes salamanders may experience
    incomplete sheds, known as "dysecdysis". This
    means that some part of the animal's skin has
    been retained. As it dries, it can shrink,
    cutting off blood flow to the tissues underneath.
    If you notice that your salamander has retained
    some skin after its shed, it may be advisable to
    soak the area in tepid water before gently
    massaging it to remove the skin. If your
    salamander's skin is too delicate to handle, you
    should consult a veterinarian.

60
Health
  • In order to select a healthy salamander,
  • (signs that it may not be healthy) be sure that
    the animal you pick is not bloated, or emaciated,
  • (signs that it should be in good health) but it
    should be plump. It should not have visible bones
    or inflammation on any part of its body. The skin
    should be clean and should not be discolored,
    cut, or scratched. The eyes of a healthy
    salamander are bright and clear, and there are
    generally no secretions around the eye, nostrils,
    or mouth areas. Healthy salamanders are usually
    active and will try to escape you if you attempt
    to pick one up

61
care
  • Some salamanders have very fragile skins and are
    not physically able to be handled. Their skins
    can be damaged by the oils in our skins, or by
    simple friction. Also, some salamanders can
    produce toxic secretions irritating to human
    skin.
  • After your salamander has been handled, be sure
    it has access to water or some other way to keep
    moist. Some species of salamander will let you
    know when they are stressed by arching their
    backs to show the bright warning colors of their
    bellies.

62
health
  • Some salamanders will naturally produce a
    protective slimy coating over their bodies and
    handling can disrupt this.
  • Some salamanders can regenerate limbs and tails
    if they lose them. However, this process is
    physically stressful for the animal and
    detrimental to its health.

63
  • Zoonoses are diseases that are transmissible from
    animals to humans. People that are most at risk
    are those who are immunocompromised or
    immunosuppressed, patients undergoing
    immunosuppressive therapies, infants and young
    children, the elderly, and those with a chronic
    disease that compromises the immune system.
  • Potential zoonotic risks Aeromonas,
    Campylobacter, Citrobacter, Cryptosporidia,
    Enterobacter, Erysipelothrix, Klebsiella,
    Mycobacterium, Proteus, Pseudomonas,
    Salmonellosis, Serratia, and Yersinia
    enterocolitica.

64
health
  • The best way to avoid these and any other
    zoonoses is to maintain sanitary conditions and
    to wash your hands before and after handling your
    salamander. If you suspect that you may have
    acquired a zoonotic disease, you should certainly
    bring it to the attention of your physician.

65
Diseases
  • Bumblefoot - inflammation of digits that can
    cause the animal limitations in mobility or great
    discomfort.
  • Physical Symptoms - swelling of the digits. In
    extreme cases, the skin may split over the digit
    or the entire digit may drop off.
  • Cause/Transmission - bacterial infection.
    Stressed animals or animals in otherwise poor
    health or poor husbandry conditions may be more
    susceptible.
  • Treatment - bathe affected area in a bactericidal
    solution formulated for tropical fish. Usually
    three drops in a pint of water will resolve the
    infection if the animal is bathed twice a day for
    ten minutes in this solution. Consult your
    veterinarian.

66
  • Burns - skin damage caused by excessive heat.
    These may be general, covering the whole animal
    in extreme cases, but are more usually found
    localized over specific areas of an animal.
  • Physical Symptoms - visible damage to the skin,
    varying in extremity and ranging from areas of
    gray or red coloration to blistered areas.
  • Cause/Transmission - caused by direct heat
    touching the animal's skin. They may be
    occasionally caused by an exposed heating element
    in the animal's enclosure.
  • Treatment - for serious burns or burns covering a
    large area of your snake, consult your
    veterinarian. Less serious burns may be rinsed in
    a povidone iodine solution.

67
  • Dehydration - desiccation of amphibian.
  • Physical Symptoms - dry, wrinkly skin, emaciated
    look.
  • Cause/Transmission - exposure to heat, lack of
    water, low humidity.
  • Treatment - soak or mist affected amphibian to
    rehydrate. Keep amphibian clean to avoid
    opportunistic skin infections.

68
  • Dropsy - heavy accumulation of serous fluid in
    the amphibian's body.
  • Physical Symptoms - abnormalities or softening of
    abdominal skin bloating.
  • Cause/Transmission - metabolic disruption or
    abnormality caused by poor husbandry and possibly
    bacterial infection.
  • Treatment - consult your veterinarian. Generally
    he or she will use a needle to aspirate the body
    fluid before disinfecting the resulting puncture
    wound.

69
  • Fungal infections - invasions of fungus over the
    animal's body, most often seen in aquatic
    animals.
  • Physical Symptoms - noticeable skin color
    changes, especially red or inflamed white
    tissues, ulceration of the skin. Slimy feel to
    skin, skin coated in fuzzy or creamy material or
    whitish threading.
  • Cause/Transmission - fungal spores or fungus in
    water, enclosure, or other amphibians or fish
    dirty conditions generally poor husbandry.
  • Treatment - consult your veterinarian

70
  • Internal Parasites - parasites inhabiting the
    host's internal organs. Varieties range from
    single celled parasites (such as Monocercomonas
    and Giardia) to worms (such as tapeworms).
  • Physical Symptoms - often there will be no
    symptoms although some animals may have decreased
    appetites, weight loss, or regurgitation.
    Subcutaneous parasites often can be felt just
    under the skin. Fecal or blood examinations by a
    veterinarian are the preferred methods of
    diagnosis.
  • Cause/Transmission - internal parasites are
    usually passed from one animal to another through
    direct and indirect contact between hosts which
    can include infected prey items.
  • Treatment - consult your veterinarian. Many will
    recommend medications such as Metronidazole,
    Oxfendazole, Fenbendazole, Levamisole, or
    Ivermectin.

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  • Metabolic Bone Disease - most commonly seen in,
    but not limited to, herbivorous lizards, a
    calcium deficiency that causes the animal's bones
    to soften or break easily. In severe instances
    when the disease is untreated, paralysis or death
    may result.
  • Physical Symptoms - squeeze the animal's jaw
    gently. If it feels soft or if it "gives", the
    bones may have become soft. Lethargy or bent,
    collapsed backs may be another symptom. Most
    commonly, swellings on the limbs are evident.
  • Cause/Transmission - diets low in calcium or
    inability to process calcium due to insufficient
    sunlight/UVB exposure.
  • Treatment - ensure your animal is fed a proper
    diet and that it has plenty of exposure to
    sunlight. Consult your veterinarian if the
    condition continues to worsen.

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  • Minor Cuts or Scrapes - minor skin damage caused
    by the abrasion away or slicing of the skin.
  • Physical symptoms - visible cuts or scrapes.
  • Cause/Transmission - sharp surfaces in the
    animal's enclosure which catch on the animal's
    skin, repeated contact with jagged or rough
    surfaces that has abraded the skin, physical
    skirmishes with other animals. Many times an
    animal will rub a part of its body, like its
    nose, repeatedly on a rough rock or screen and
    may abrade its skin. Live prey items can also
    scratch or bite your animal.
  • Treatment - clean the area with a povidone iodine
    solution. Consult your veterinarian.

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Breeding
  • The first step in breeding your salamanders is to
    determine its sex. This may sometimes be done
    visually. Males of many species have forearms
    thicker than those of females. Some also have
    more streamlined bodies than females, and they
    may also be smaller. Sometimes the tails of males
    will be broader, or they may have larger hind
    legs.
  • Usually the cloaca of the male will be much more
    swollen or obvious than that of a female.

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Breeding
  • Many salamanders can be encouraged to breed by a
    change in season. This may involve cooling then
    warming them to mimic the onset of spring, or you
    may have to aestivate your salamanders. Be sure
    to find out the specific requirements for your
    salamander in order to create a successful
    breeding situation.

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Breeding
  • Most salamanders have a rather different breeding
    process than many other animals. Often, it
    consists of a courtship display in which the male
    will induce the female to mate. Sometimes this
    will involve moving her into an aquatic area. The
    male may display his tail or crest to her, or he
    may climb on top of her and grasp her in an
    embrace known as amplexus. When the female
    salamander gives a sign that she is ready, the
    male will usually produce one or more
    spermatophores, or sperm-containing clumps.
    Sometimes these are cone-shaped.

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Breeding
  • The female must then take up the substance into
    her cloaca to fertilize her eggs. Sometimes she
    will do this independently, and sometimes the
    male will pull her across the spermatophores.
    Female salamanders may mate several times, and
    collect several spermatophores from different
    males. This is to ensure that her offspring are
    of varied genetic stock and that she will
    reproduce.

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Breeding
  • Although some salamanders might not show
    pregnancy obviously, others can become quite
    plump. There are a variety of birthing methods
    among salamander species. Salamanders may lay
    eggs that hatch into larvae. The larvae then
    develop into adult salamanders. Some will give
    birth to living larvae. Others will produce eggs
    whose hatchlings have no larval stage, rather
    they emerge from their eggs as miniature adults.
    Many will lay eggs one by one, attaching them to
    some surface. Aquatic plants or rocks are
    commonly utilized for such a purpose.

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Breeding
  • In the wild, young salamanders may be mistaken
    for tadpole frogs. It is usually best to separate
    any young salamanders from adult salamanders, as
    the mature animals may eat the babies. Babies
    should be fed the same food items as adults, but
    these items should be chopped small enough for
    the young amphibians to handle.
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