Variegata UVB

[Ben W]

Yes they are doing well, very pleased they are coming on so well, obviously from good stock!!!

[colinm]

I have kept variegata periodically over the last thirty or so years under various conditions.I would question whether U.V.B. is necessary.
Certainly the adults do bask and like warm to hot temperatures.They will readily breed with a raise in water temperatures and higher light levels.U.V.B. bulbs do not tend to give out a very intense light .I would have thought that a natural sunlight tube such as a birdlight bulb would give good results as these have an intensity like natural sunlight.Do amphibians absorb U.V.B.?,I dont know and does U.V.B. help with spindly leg?
I know with my Phelsuma that I use a mixture of natural sunlight bulbs that give U.V.A. and U.V.B. There are two points worth considering, always use a reflector (or a piece of aluminium foil) to intensify the light.Then if you have the tube above guaze the guaze dissipates some of the light so you will need more U.V.A. tubes and a higher intensity U.V.B. tube.

[Alex M]

Originally Posted by colinm

I have kept variegata periodically over the last thirty or so years under various conditions.I would question whether U.V.B. is necessary.
Certainly the adults do bask and like warm to hot temperatures.They will readily breed with a raise in water temperatures and higher light levels.U.V.B. bulbs do not tend to give out a very intense light .I would have thought that a natural sunlight tube such as a birdlight bulb would give good results as these have an intensity like natural sunlight.Do amphibians absorb U.V.B.?,I dont know and does U.V.B. help with spindly leg?

Yes, as stated, i've also kept variegata without UVB and have found they do fine. In the 80's i kept them in indoor tanks without UVB etc. But, the question is, do they do better with it?. I 110% believe so. Current research being carried out on sun loving amphibians suggests this too, but it's perhaps too technical for me to understand exactly what they get out of the suns various emissions (and i don't believe that todays scientists really know yet either apart from the little we do know about the benefits of UVB). All i know, is that B.variegata goes out of it's way to bask in shallow bodies of water in full sunlight. Is it just because the warmth of this water speeds up development of the tadpoles? Possibly. But it would not explain why they seek the sun during autumn as well, also basking around the edges of pools. Same with countless other European anurans. They're getting something from the sun, no question, and as a keeper i feel it's my duty not to deny them what they so obviously enjoy. I will definitely be doing some experiments this coming season on various anurans and then we can all draw our own conclusions.

Nature knows best,
Al

[Alex M]

Originally Posted by Ben W

Yes they are doing well, very pleased they are coming on so well, obviously from good stock!!!

They're looking beautiful Ben, very very good indeed... i'll tell you now, if Cheryl Cole was a toad she'd be a yellow bellied toad. Nice one mate

[colinm]

I am only questioning whether they need U.V.A or U.V.B.Its a proven point that lizards need U.V.B. but I am not sure that amphibians do.They certainly like strong light as did the Bombina bombina that I bred.If the variegata have any green on their backs as sometimes happens with kolombatavecii this is enhanced with natural sunlight and therefore I would assume U.V.B.

[Alex M]

Originally Posted by colinm

I am only questioning whether they need U.V.A or U.V.B.Its a proven point that lizards need U.V.B. but I am not sure that amphibians do.They certainly like strong light as did the Bombina bombina that I bred.If the variegata have any green on their backs as sometimes happens with kolombatavecii this is enhanced with natural sunlight and therefore I would assume U.V.B.

I think you answer some of your own questions Colin, we know how important UVB is to lizards that bask, snakes that bask, so it would seem the obvious important element to basking frogs etc, no?. Do you still keep kolombatovici?. I have 3 more Bombina bombina joining my menagerie in the next few weeks.

Cheers
Al

[colinm]

I dont have any kolombatavecii any more,they died out over the years .Its a shame really as I bred loads but people were not interested in them and it seemed pointless to keep breeding them.Hamm is always a good place to get any unusual amphibians but its a long trip .I saw some B.bombina there but they are a bit trickier than the variegata.There were some pachypus there in September but by the time I had deliberated they had gone.Never mind there is always the next time.

[Alex M]

Originally Posted by colinm

I dont have any kolombatavecii any more,they died out over the years .Its a shame really as I bred loads but people were not interested in them and it seemed pointless to keep breeding them.Hamm is always a good place to get any unusual amphibians but its a long trip .I saw some B.bombina there but they are a bit trickier than the variegata.There were some pachypus there in September but by the time I had deliberated they had gone.Never mind there is always the next time.

I only have a single pachypus now, but do not have any kolombatovici anymore either. B.bombina... people seem to give up trying to breed these but as you know they need several stimulants in order to breed, whilst amplexing doing the usual conditioned cool water change but the difference being filling their pool till it's significantly deeper seems to do the trick (from 10cms depth filled to around 60cms).