AmphibiCast

In this episode I discuss the care and breeding of Epipedobates anthonyi, commonly known and the Phantasmal Dart Frog 

When we think of vivariums we almost immediately think of plants. Well planted vivariums are not only visually appealing, but in many situations plants are a vital part of amphibian husbandry.  In this episode I am joined by Zach Goodnow of Equatorial Ecosystems and we discuss some of the finer points of keeping plants successfully in a vivarium setting.  We cover topics that include lighting, water quality, substrate choices, plant selection and placement, and how to  best plant a vivarium to accommodate a specific species.  If you are looking to  up your plant game then this is the episode for you. 


if you'd like to support the show check out 
https://www.patreon.com/Amphibicast

For listener discounts on In Situ Vivariums visit https://insituecosystems.com/?ref=amphibicast

Have you ever been curious about the tarantula hobby? Well, in this episode of Thinking Outside the Glass Box I am joined by Richard of the Exotic Pet Collective Podcast and we talk about all things tarantula. Richard has been keeping tarantulas for over 2 decades, he hosts the Exotic Pet Collective Podcast and he runs the successful Tarantula Collective YouTube Channel.  We discuss the hobby, tarantula care, enclosure builds  and overcoming arachnophobia.  In fact, if you are an arachnophobe, I highly recommend giving this episode a listen. You may be surprised by how many similarities the tarantula and amphibian hobbies share. 

Feel free to check out the Exotic Pet Collective Podcast for more content that includes an interview with your host -Dan Drobates - that is all about dart frogs! And subscribe to the Tarantula Collective on YouTube 

In this episode I'm joined once again by Mike Novy of Rainforest Junkys. We talk all about the care and breeding of the highly coveted  Cruziohyla crasoedopus , and later into the episode we talk about members of the Glass Frog Complex and some current issues involving legislation in the hobby. 

Microfauna are an integral part of naturalistic vivariums. Many keepers are utilizing isopods as supplemental cleanup crews and, as the hobby develops, they are becoming more and more popular. Rachel Schindler of Pet Pedes and Pods was kind enough to sit down with me tonight and share some of her insights into isopod keeping. Rachel breeds and works with dozens of different varieties of isopods and millipedes; and in this episode we not only talk about how to keep  isopods successfully as cleanup crews, but also how to keep some of the more collectible species on their own.  We also get into millipede care and the state of the isopod hobby. 

Feel free to follow Pet Pedes and Pods on Instagram and visit www.petpedesandpods.com

No hobby is complete without a set of tools to go along with it and in this episode I share some of my experiences with some of my favorite husbandry tools. From day-to-day maintenance tools,  to emergency necessities,  these are all must have items for any frog room. 

For listener discounts on In Situ Vivariums visit https://insituecosystems.com/?ref=amphibicast

If you've ever spent some time on YouTube looking for dart frog videos you've definitely come across Mike Tytula's channel.  Mike keeps a wide variety of herps and his channel is a great place to go for top quality content. In tonight's episode Mike and I talk about his channel, what makes for good care advice, the exotics hobby in Canada and much more. We also share some of our personal insights with each other in terms of  how the hobby has grown, how to advise beginners and Mike gives us an update on his upcoming projects (which include  podcast of his own). 

Have you ever wanted to know everything there is to know about the Xenopus genus? Well, this is the episode you have been waiting for. Tonight my guest is Dr. Marko Horb of the National Xenopus Resource and we discuss the genus from top to bottom. Xenopus (commonly known as African clawed frogs) have been model organisms in labs for almost a century and are also an extremely popular genus among hobbyists. Our understating of them has grown tremendously over the years and they have been instrumental in the development of medical applications for humans. Marko walks us through their beginnings in  early labs, their lifecycles, husbandry specifics, and much more. Dr. Horb is also the Lab's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Chairman, and we go on to discuss the specifics of amphibian animal welfare and high standards  that the lab consistently exceeds.  This episode is packed with  information that any amphibian enthusiast can appreciate so sit back and enjoy it. 

In honor of World Frog Day I thought it would be fun to do a top-ten beginner species count down. In this episode I share some of my experiences and insight regarding ten species that  I have personally kept. Bear in mind, this episode is just for fun, and there are many other beginner species out there that could easily be in a top ten list. Many of the species that I cover have their own dedicated episodes, so I encourage you to go back and check those out if you haven't already.  Also, there are many different acceptable methods of  keeping different species. I share some of mine here.  This episode isn't meant to be a definitive guide for each species on the list and I always advise beginners to do as much research as possible before committing to one. 

We often think of amphibians as simple creatures who crawled out of of the primordial oceans millions of years ago and ultimately evolved into what we humans see in the mirror each morning.  However, this example is clearly not the case and there is a great deal more to the story of amphibian evolution.  Before amphibians even existed, early tetrapods evolved into limbed creatures capable of moving on land.   This crucial development took millions of years to achieve and you may be quite surprised as to how it all took place. 

In this episode I have the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Julia Molnar who is an expert on the mechanics of early tetrapod limbs and how they evolved. Julia is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine and also has advanced degrees in illustration from Johns Hopkins  and the Maryland College of Art.  She specializes in the studies of vertebrate locomotion and is also an accomplished illustrator.  Tonight, Julia shares her expertise with us on the subjects of early amphibians, what the word was like in the Carboniferous Period, how limb development occurred multiple times in the fossil record, and what some of the earliest amphibians looked like. 

For more information and to access some of Dr. Molnar's papers visit 

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/4/eabd7457.abstract

and:   www.juliamolnar.com