Breeding Horned Frogs
"Pac-Man"
frogs (or horned frogs) are pretty indiscriminate in what they eat,
and I have seen babies of equal size gobble each other down. However,
if you have adult frogs that are well fed, then it is possible to
keep groups of them together safely.
The first step in
breeding them is to determine whether or not you have specimens of
both sexes. Females grow much larger than males, and are silent.
Males will call, often after being sprayed with water. In fact, a
persistently calling male can drive you to distraction if you have to
share the same room with him.
If you have an
adult pair in good physical condition, you need to put them through a
cool, dry period to get them ready for breeding. This is done by
placing them in a tank with a deep layer of sphagnum moss, and
allowing it to dry out (by not spraying it). A water bowl should be
available at all times, however, so the frogs can seek it out if
necessary, even though they'll probably just go under the moss and
stay there. The temperature in their enclosure should be reduced to
approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Maintain the frogs like this for
about two months. They will probably not eat during this period.
Following this
cool, dry period, bring the frogs out and place them in a shallow
tank of water (with a place to climb out). When in the water, they
should be able to touch bottom with their feet to support themselves.
You then need to begin a vigorous program of artificial rain making.
This can be done by spraying the frogs several times a day, or you
can rig a misting system with a water pump and an overflow system to
the water doesn't become too deep. If you have only one male and want
to stimulate his amorous behavior, you can tape record his calls and
play them back to him. Males seem to be encouraged by the calls of
other males. It's useful to float some type of aquatic vegetation in
the water to which the eggs can be attached. Eggs are usually laid
within three or four days of the beginning of the "rains."
Following egg laying, the frogs should be removed from the tank.
Additional water should then be added, and the eggs should hatch
within two to three days.
Tadpole
management is very time consuming. The tadpoles are total
carnivorous, and can be raised on live tubifex worms. They will also
readily eat each other, and there are two ways of dealing with this.
The first is to place each tadpole into its own small jar, and the
other is to place all the tadpoles into a large tank of water that is
filled with masses of floating plants (real or plastic). Food can
then be placed on the floor of the tank and the tadpoles will swim
down, feed, and then swim back up to hide in the plants. Both methods
require labor. The first involves changing dozens of individual jars
to keep the water clean, and the other involves morning and evening
siphoning of the large tadpole tank. I prefer the large-tank method
myself, even though you may loose an occasional tadpole to cannibalism.
The tadpoles will
grow rapidly, and after about a month, they should begin transforming
into little frogs. They'll need a place to haul out of the water at
this point and, once again, you will be faced with a husbandry
decision. If kept together in large numbers, almost every day you
will find frogs with siblings' hind legs sticking out of their
mouths. The other alternative is to place each frog into its own
individual plastic cup. The little frogs are easy to feed, they will
eat anything that moves, such as crickets, mealworms, other frogs,
small goldfish, or your fingers. They will grow quite rapidly. Horned
frogs are really fun to breed, but be prepared to spend a fair amount
of time on your project in order to succeed.
Wegner, Ernie. 1996. Breeding Horned Frogs. Reptiles 4(4):12-14, April 1996. Available online: http://www.sonic.net/melissk/ornata2.html
Ernie Wegner
Reptiles 4(4):12-14, April 1996