The Hyla arborea project..
Posted by Miqe on March 22, 2007
I am going to try to breed Hyla arborea , European Green Tree frog this year. The project is going to be an outdoor one.
I have recently reconstructed the bathroom in my house, leaving a shower unused, of rather exchanged to a bathtub. Now, this shower is to be made into a hopefully suitable outdoor vivarium for these little frogs. I have never had an outdoor viv before, so this is going to be really exciting to me.
First, I have to make sure that the little buggars don´t get out of there, therefore I am planning to put a meshroof on the top. First I have to build a rim, and then put the mesh in it. The mesh have to be made of stainless steel, not only not to rust, but as a protection against birds. Crows and Magpies, mainly.
There have to be sufficient airflow in the vivarium, so the lower half of the backpiece is also going to be made out of stainless steel-mesh.
In order to make the frogs in the right “matingmood”, there have to be water running from a mouthpiece of a shower for a couple of days. A pump that transtorts the water around, from the little “pond” in the bottom of the shower to the mouthpiece and around again.
I sure hope that my nextdoor neighbours can stand the noise from the calling males, they have good voices and can reach up to 90 decibel..
Hopefully I will find some good plants to put in as well..
Miqe said
I have actually kept the frogs in a outdoorvivarium since late July / early August, and that have worked fine. Some days ago, I had to take them inside for hibernation, due to cold weather in Sweden.
I must have looked as a complete moron, standing there with a flashlight attached to my head, with a plasticbox in one hand and the other hand trying to find all frogs. On top of that a hailstorm came, making me both cold and wet.
Anyhow..
I know that I let 6 animals out in the viv before, but I had only seen 4 at a time when I looked into the viv. So, after catching 5 frogs I was not sure that there where more in there. The following night was very cold with temperatures -3 degrees Celcius. I thought that if it actually was a frog still in there, it must have died due to the temperatures, but I decided to go and have another look. This time is was still daytime, so I did not need the flashlight. Started to look thought the plasticplant that was the only plant left there, nope.. No frog..
Ok, I thought, if I was a frog.. Where would I go? I started to look through the substrate of Sphagnum sp. moss and bark used for orchids, suddenly I saw a little movement under a piece of moss.. The frog!! I had found it!! A quick rush to the garage and to the refridgerator that had the hibernationbox with the other frogs in it. Gently put the little fellow inside it with the rest of the group. Ahh.. All 6 toghether again. What a relief..
Se you about “five minutes to spring”, little green frogs..
cat said
cool idea! what do you call an hibernation box? could you explain it? do you have pics?
Miqe said
Thanks Cat!
Well, it is a plasticbox prepared in a special way. Used for hibernating my herptiles in.
Hopefully there is a link below, showing a scetch of it..
http://www.terrariummorbidum.se/coppergall/albums/userpics/Breed~0.jpg