Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HELLO ,
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO SEX ADULT BLACK-EARED MANTELLAS AND ADULT PAINTED MANTELLAS.
I AM NEW WITH THESE FROGS SO I WAS WONDERING ALSO, HOW DO YOU CLEAN THE FROG'S SUBSTRATE WITHOUT DISTURBING THEM OR DO YOU HAVE TO ALWAYS TAKE THEM OUT BEFORE YOU CLEAN IT? IS IT OK TO KEEP HANDLING THEM ?

THANKS

Someone else should be able to tell you how to sex them. But handling them is not good. The standard set up for them is a planted tank with a false bottom, so the water drains though and you don't have to clean it. It goes something like this(guys correct me if I'm wrong) you have your tank and you put spacers in the bottom(usually little peices of pvc pipe)and use those to hold up a grating(like the kind used to filter florescent lights-easily purchased at a hardware store) and use rust proff screen or some mesh over top of it and place a layer of gravel on top of that(at least 1" thik) then you use a few inches of chemical free soil and then plant it, I have moss and various plants in mine, you will also need a peice of glass or saran wrap over much of the top to keep the humidity up. And don't let these frogs get up and over 80 degrees because it will kill them. There are a few people on here with a lot of experience with mantellas and they should be able to tell you anything I left out or messed up, as well as tell you how to sex them.

Hi,

Mantellas are some of my favorite frogs to keep. Brightly colored, diurnal and have interesting behavior, what more could you want? All species are unfortunatly rather sensative frogs and are not the easiest species to care for. I think the first thing that I want to say is do some more research, especially if these are your first frogs. Have a look at these two great websites:

- http://www.easyamphibians.co.uk/mantella/
- http://www.amphibian.co.uk/mantella.html

The best way to tell apart male and female mantella frogs is to listen. Healthy sexually mature male frogs will call. Females will not call. Males in general often have a slender shape to their bodies when compared to females. These are the two best methods but it can be hard. A thin female might seem like a male and a large male that is quiet can look a lot like a small female.

Do handle amphibians and especially don't handle mantella frogs. Amphibians have very sensative permeable skin. Leftover soap, lotion and even just the natural oils that occur on human hands will harm amphibians. Mantella frogs are small and very delicate as well. They will become stressed easily and should never be handled. Mantella milotympanum (black-eared mantella) in particular is a very sensative species that you should be very careful with. When you need to move them from their cage to a temporary holding tank use a small clean plastic deli container. You can use the lid to push the frogs into it.

How often the cage needs to be cleaned and how this is done depends on many things including how many frogs are in the cage, what size the cage is, what substrate is being used and how well you are keeping up with spot cleaning. A large terrarium that you keep well and spot clean regularily might not have to be fully cleaned and have the substrate changed more than every few years. In a simple setup with a paper towel or foam rubber substrate the substrate will need to be cleaned more often, once a week at a minimum. Good luck with it all,
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Devin
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com
3.2 Dendrobates tinctorius 'Dwarf French Guiana'
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5.1 Mantella aurantiaca
1.1 Mantella crocea
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0.1 Hyla chrysoscelis or versicolor
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0.0.1 Salamandra salamandra
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