Bumblebee Toad Melanophryniscus stelzneri
Bumblebee Toad Melanophryniscus stelzneri
Description: Also known as the Pampas toad. A small, attractive toad, actually a frog, from savanna areas of Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Males are about 1" long and a large female can grow to 1½ ". The upper side of the body is black with yellow markings; the belly is yellow and black. The underside of the feet and thighs are red. This subspecies is thought to be M. stelzneri fulvoguttatus. Another type is a little smaller with far less yellow and a red and black underside is thought to be M. stelzneri stelzneri. Temperature: A wide temperature range is tolerated. 75° to 80°F is preferred, can withstand temps down to 44°F for short periods. Humidity: 60 to 80%, a humidity gradient throughout the enclosure is preferred. Lighting: Plant lights are necessary for live plants, use a timer, 12 hours on / 12 hours off. Seasonal day length fluctuations are not needed but could help to stimulate breeding. A dim night light is required for viewing nocturnal activities. Feeding: Eager eaters that consume a lot of prey for their size. Tiny crickets, fruit flies, termites, tiny mealworms, tiny waxworms and other suitably sized insects can be fed. A good vitamin/mineral supplement should be given once a week for adults and more often for young, growing frogs. Clean water should be available at all times. Habitat: A 10-gallon tank with a ventilated lid is sufficient for a small group Set it up as a savanna habitat with hollow logs, caves and live or artificial plants. Bark, coco fiber or plain potting soil are all good substrates. A shallow water dish should be provided. Moderately high humidity is needed but wet conditions should be avoided. Sexing: Males are smaller and thinner than females. Breeding: Condition the females by cooling them down to around 50°F for a few days, no more that 5 days are needed. Males may not need the cooling cycle. After warming them back up, feed the females very heavily for a week or two. Use a rain chamber to simulate a heavy rain for up to two hours and raise the water depth to 1" to 2". Continue with the rain for another hour or so and be sure they have places where they can climb out of the water. Amplexus may start to occur by this time. Breeding is best accomplished in a planted aqua-vivarium with a large, 1" to 3" deep water area. If eggs are not laid by the end of the next day, they should be put back into their regular enclosure to try again at a later date. Offspring care: At about ¼ of an inch in size, the tiny black froglets are difficult to feed. Start them off with springtails and other very tiny insects. Fortunately, they grow quickly, often more than doubling in size within the first month and should be able to handle small fruit flies at this stage. |