Issue 3

Phyllobates bicolor

An article written by a hobbyist who keeps and breeds this Colombian frogs for 4 years now. He gives us a look into his methods of keeping and breeding these true poison dart frogs.

Brazil, Cristalino's Dendrobates

A traveling story by Han Peper and his wife Anja de Baas with breath taking pictures. They take us with them on their journey to Cristalino, the Brasilian amazone. This article tells us about their trip, with a highlight of their journey....an illusive yellow galactonotus, which probably is a completely new species.

Cauca Valley, Colombia

The zoos of Zürich, Switzerland, and Cali, Colombia have entered into a cooperative relationship aimed at conservation of amphibians in Valle del Cauca (Cauca Valley). As elsewhere, the amphibians in this valley are badly affected by biotope destruction, pesticide use, capture by animal traders, and of course, the infamous chytridiomycosis fungus, which is present here as well. Present on the site in Colombia is Dendrobatidae Nederlands member Fred Vosse, assisting at manufacturing and furnishing terrariums. The author of this article visited Cali and Zürich to see how this initiative is taking shape

Epipedobates in Ecuador

The western and northwestern parts of Ecuador are home to three Epipedobates species. Generally speaking, these are very shy animals that you will very rarely see, even though you will hear them all around you in the field. Some of you may be familiar with Epipedobates boulengeri, an animal available in hobby circles that is sometimes offered on DN events.We would like to use this second article on Epipedobates to introduce these three species to you.

Agalychnis Callidryas

This article is written by an hobbyist, in his greenhouse he already raised hundreds of these wonderfull tree frogs. Now he likes to share his story about his care and breeding succes with us.

Sapo pingo de ouro 

As a matter of course, being poison dart frog enthusiasts, each of us is familiar with the abundance of dazzling colours present among the Dendrobatidae, but many of us have also developed an interest for Madagascan Mantellas. Unsurprisingly, many a holiday has been spent in South America and Madagascar, leading to a host of encounters with brilliantly coloured frogs. Even so, there are still considerable numbers of colourful frogs that are much more obscure to most of us.

Scientific news

Yet again. Erik H. Poelman provides us with interestin scientific news.

A small selection of this issue:

• Epipedobates darwinwallacei
• Hyloxalus italoi
• Poison as protection against colour blind predators
• Preservation of colour variety within populations
• Competition for deposit locations.

Allobates talamancae 

The inconspicuous Allobates talamancae (Colosthetus talamancae) has been around in the hobby for many years. Fortunately, these little known and often less popular frogs have withstood the test of time, managing to secure their place within the hobby. Their numbers may not be impressive, but this is not strictly necessary for these animals in terms of hobbyist availability. All it takes is a few enthusiasts willing to offer them accommodation, which luckily has been the case so far. Remco Stuster feels it is about time to have a closer look at these wonderful whistlers.

Mantella Species Studbook

Mantellas are a genus of frogs which is endemic to only Madagascar, with all 16 species having been reviewed under the IUCN Red List.  The species range in status from Least Concern right up to Critically Endangered with the majority having a decreasing population trend under threat primarily from logging through its range to make way for agricultural land and human settlement.  Such population trends have been known about for some time, with the Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) being listed as vulnerable since 1996.  Breeding efforts have been made with this species for some time but it is important for all species within this genus to have guided breeding projects centred around them.

Oophaga granulifera

Jan and Ina Tuns tell about this beautifull little frogs they regularly observed in the wild.     (editor's note: this species is not imported legally; any animals presently on offer have probably been imported illegally.)

Issue 4

E.anthonyi 
 
In this article, Jan and José Verkade will show us the last missing Epipedobates species from Ecuador. 
Once again, they observed great variation in markings and colors, including populations displaying spectacular hues; striped with near-fluorescent patterns. 
 
A jewel in your living room 
 
You could be looking at your own terrarium in one of the next editions of our international edition of DN magazine. 
Since this is immensely popular in our Dutch issue, we decided to make this possible in the English version as well. 
If you'd like to know how to participate or are curious about the example terrarium we put into this article, you will like to read this article. 
 
 
Jan van de gevel's passion 
 
Well over twenty years ago, Jan van de Gevel decided to attach a conservatory to his house and arrange it like a section of tropical rain forest. The project taught him many things about construction, furnishing, vegetation, and the inhabitants. Health problems forced him to clear out the entire conservatory and rearrange it from scratch. However, there was an advantage to this setback, as it allowed Jan to correct any mistakes made during the initial arrangement. 
 
Tadpole rearing container 
 
A step to step guide by our fellow hobbyist, Jos van den Brand, on how to make an easy tadpole rearing container. 
Save yourself time and space while rearing your tads by following this clear guide on how to create such a container. 
 
Lighting 
 
Opinions on 'good' and 'bad' lighting differ widely between hobbyists. Ask a dozen people, 
and chances are you will not get a single straight answer. The main reason for this situation is that there is no such thing as good or bad lighting - there is only bad application of lighting. 
If you want to use just the right kind of lighting, you will need to understand what light actually is, as well as knowing the ways in which animals and plants use it. As it turns out, humans, animals, and plants experience light in different ways, and they need different parts of the color spectrum constituting light as we know it. Perhaps this explains why lighting is one of the most complicated aspects of the hobby: a factor that should not be underestimated. 
 
The paludarium-Raf Denier 
 
Raf Denier will give you a look into his latest work, a truly amazing root structure on the back wall of his terrarium. 
He will give a detailed description on how he reached this amazing result. 
Probably you will love trying this yourself in a future project after reading this article and watching at the result. 
 
Scientific investigation into the origins of color variations in Oophaga pumilio. 
 
Martine Maan, an evolutionary biologist shares some of her research to the evolution of color variation in Oophaga pumilio. 
 
Rio Napo 
 
Peter Ijzerman takes us with him on his trip to Ecuador, Rio Napo to be precise. 
A breath taking travel report that will make you want to follow in his footsteps and visit 
this great piece of paradise yourself. 
 
Breeding wax worms 
 
Breeding your own supply of feed animals is all about searching for insects that are easy to breed while yielding high production rates. 
Wax worms, the larvae of large and small wax moths, can be bred cheaply, quickly, easily, and in considerable numbers in an odorless process. 
Does this sound good to you? Then take a read trough this article and find out how to breed you're own supply.