I'm not sure if body habitus gives a clue about a female being "gravid," or not. Azureus tend to pig out and become somewhat obese in the gut whether they are in the mood for breeding or not. In my experience, their breeding activity has more to do with seasons and temperatures, and most likely ambient light, which will vary from place to place, of course. My azureus tend to breed in late winter and spring, laying several batches of four or five eggs at intervals of 3 to 4 weeks, whether or not I remove the eggs to raise myself. Then during the summer, they go through a resting period and start again in the late fall. This would probably vary, depending upon where you live. Our summers here have very long daylight hours, so in spite of artificial lighting of 12 on and 12 off, they still tend to breed when the normal light hours are more or less equal. This is just an impression I have gotten from my own situation, and may not be true elsewhere.



I may be wrong, but I really don't think that dart frog females show "gravidity" like other amphibians or herps may do. I think the stimulation to lay eggs is more or less immediate, stimulated by the breeding activity itself, which matures the females' ova to be laid on a rather short-term basis.



I have observed D. reticulatus females the size of my fingernail lay 3-4 absolutely huge eggs, the total volume of which I wouldn't have thought would fit back into their tiny bodies, just before the male fertilized them, all without being actually able to tell the difference between the male and female before the event. You have brought up a very interesting question of being "gravid" that I've actually never heard before, nor thought about.



I hope some others chime in here.
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Patty

Pahsimeroi, Idaho



D. auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, galactonotus orange, galactonotus yellow, fantasticus, reticulatus, imitator, castaneoticus, azureus, pumilio Bastimentos. P. lugubris, vittatus, terribilis mint green, terribilis orange.

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