The current debate surrounds a particular person who insists upon citing a captive care book sold in pet stores. I have never recommended these books simply because of the horrible generalizations that they make. I have all too often had someone ask me questions about herps and disagree by citing one of these books.
In an effort to show just how horrible today's popular literature is I am enclosing a letter I sent to Reptiles magazine that I wrote about their last issue that had an article about bullfrogs. After reading this letter, remind yourself that Dick Bartlett is also on the contributors list of the magazine.
fancy@neodata.com
reptiles@fancypubs.com
Bullfrog article complaint
Reptiles magazine, September 2003
Page 30
I am continually disappointed by the information provided in your magazine. In the past I have shrugged it off in said "oh well", but after reading the article on bullfrogs in your September 2003 issue, I feel as though I have to speak up.
What really bothers me with this article is that the authors have made many of the common mistakes that beginners make, and some of their recommendations go against common knowledge amongst amphibian keepers.
Although the author does include several important warnings, including the problems associated with breeding, not releasing any animals into the wild, and specifying that they require a large tank space. But the author's recommendation for the size tank is absolutely ridiculous. He recommends a 20 gallon aquarium as a minimum cage size for individual animals. This in no way replicates their wild habitat, there is simply not enough room to provide a thermogradient, a dryland area, sufficient water volume to dilute waste products and still provide hide spots for such a large animal. This would be equivalent to keeping a Burmese python in the cabinet under your kitchen sink! A large bullfrog can quickly and easily foul five gallons of water, I would say that the animal needs at least 20 to 30 gallons of water available, and even that should be filtered. I always recommend at least a 75 gallon tank with filtered water, including biological filtration.
The author recommended using aquarium gravel to create the land side. The author is guilty of promoting one of the most horrific ways of keeping animals. Aquarium gravel is in no way compatible with keeping animals in captivity. The number one problem is impaction. These animals have large mouths and can easily shovel a half a dozen pebbles into their mouth, and there's no guarantee is that it will come out the other end. The gravel also makes for extremely unsanitary conditions, which is compounded by the fact that is difficult to clean. I cannot say enough bad things about gravel, especially with all the horror stories I have heard from naive pet owners who have insisted on using this because publications like yours promote it. It is great that they emphasized the need for clean water, but this simply is not possible in a small tank with such a small volume of water.
The author's explanation of Red leg disease is typical. It does not adequately describe the symptoms and the causes, or the treatments. I have never seen anywhere that chlorinated water recommended can be used to treat a bacterial infection! I can't imagine what he would base this treatment on, other bullfrog owners that keep them in 20 gallons? A pathogenic condition such as this should only be diagnosed, and treated by a veterinarian, and the author should have said so.
The author does not do anybody any favors about clearing up the misconceptions about the use of tap water. I cannot believe that with the vast majority of water supplies being sanitized with chloramines, that you would allow him to publish a statement about letting it age overnight. Anybody who knows anything about aquariums knows that chloramines do not dissipate into the atmosphere, and must be treated chemically with a dechlorinator that not only removes chlorine and chloramines, but also ammonia itself (such as Amquel). On top of this, apparently the author has missed the numerous reports of water quality of bottled water that have come out in the past few years. Most brands are not any cleaner, and sometimes worse in water quality than tap water.
The author made quite a few mistakes when it comes to feeding as well. He failed to mention the use of giant and hissing cockroaches as a great alternative to captive bred food sources large enough for bullfrogs. I cringed when I read the part about using mice. Obesity is no more common in animals that are fed mice than ones that are fed exclusively insects. The problem with using rodents is that they are high in vitamin A. that will eventually lead to metabolic bone disease, the number one nutritional disorder of captive reptiles and amphibians. The same principle leads to brittle bones in humans. Please consult the Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry book for a thorough explanation. People are under the false impression that amphibians can be fed mice (especially pacmans) in large quantities, when this will actually cause them to have a slow and painful death. Thanks to your article, amphibian enthusiasts are not any closer to understanding this. The author also recommended feeding boiled spinach to bullfrog tadpoles. This could be a disastrous mistake. Spinach as well as broccoli and rhubarb has a chemical called oxalic acid, that will prevent the use of calcium and could lead to metabolic bone disease. These facts are well-known among turtle keepers.
If I had the time I could write you a letter just like this almost every single month. It completely baffles me why you would publish a picture on page 48 of a lizard’s water bowl that is absolutely filthy and has a dead cricket in it.
Can just anybody publish an article in your magazine? Where is your peer review that adds credibility to your publication? With as much misinformation as there is about reptiles and amphibians and their captive care, we all depend upon publications like yours to set the record straight. I am just completely baffled by your inability to provide correct information that has been thoroughly researched and checked. I will NOT be renewing my subscription to Reptiles magazine; I am no longer interested in providing support for publications like yours that do nothing to advance the welfare of captives herps. In my opinion, making appalling mistakes in publishing articles like this only adds fuel to the fire of the Humane Society. I am embarrassed to be a professional in the field and to own your magazines.
-----
*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.
".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)
