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Pickerel frogs can be distinguished from Leopard frogs by their square-ish dorsal spots and the bright yellow wash on the inside of the hind legs. It’s also noteworthy that Pickerel frogs exude fairly toxic skin secretions. Do not eat them.

Pickerel frog.

As a lifelong snake person myself, I have pondered this issue extensively, and have known many people who had animals that they have eventually lost interest in or otherwise could not care for. There aren’t really that many differences between the fish hobby and the amphibian/reptile hobby...

Nice looking tank.

I don't often feed them to fish, but my newt larva are raised almost exclusively on blackworms- and go on to live long healthy lives.

When I buy fruit flies, I typically buy from Josh's Frogs. If I just want melanogaster, Petco usually has them, but beware- Petco doesn't always remove the dead or dying cultures from the shelf. Melanogaster are smaller than hydei, but more productive and easier to culture in my experience.

I second the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It does a fantastic job removing algae, and being white makes it easy to see where you might have missed a spot. They are easy to clean, and are reusable.

I'm planning a half land/half water vivarium for newts. The land portion will consist of bog plants, with continuously wet soil. Does anyone have any recommendations for a soil that will work well for this? I'm trying to avoid making this a muddy disaster. Suggestions regarding plants, or any...

A frog.

My dog.

I’m partial to tetras.

I watched for a while in west central Minnesota.

I’ve tried to culture wild scuds several times - but not hard enough to get them going.

I used to have a very large paludarium. The lower portion was mostly water. I had multiple species of small tetras, as well as Nigerian clawed frogs, in the water. The tetras thrived and reproduced. Later, I reconfigured it to have more land, and a shallow pond. The geckos thrived, but the...

My wife once thought it would be a good idea to hide the dirty dishes in the oven. Guess how I discovered that she had done this.

If you can collect or culture daphnia, you will probably find them to be easier to work with than the brine shrimp. They can also eat chopped blackworms right from the start.

I will listen to almost anything except rap, hip hop, or heavy metal. Weekdays, I like smooth jazz while I work or drive. Evenings, while I’m doing chores in the herp room, I like stuff from the 70’s and 80’s. Weekends, I like country music.

No, I have never kept fire bellied toads. However most amphibian species will be hiding most of the time, if given the chance. If you are leaving crickets or other small prey in the enclosure, they are almost certainly eating. They most likely come out at night. As an example, I keep a few blue...

I’ve been there myself, Magnum Man. I don’t really have many fish, but I keep reptiles and amphibians- lots of them. Sometimes, they have health issues that just can’t be resolved. Other times, a seemingly healthy animal dies unexpectedly. Just yesterday, I lost one of my original breeder...

Non-profit hospitals in the United States are required, by law, to offer “charity care” at free or reduced cost to those who cannot afford it. I don’t know the income guidelines or anything, but I think it’s something you should research.

Yes, insects should be dusted. I use Repashy calcium plus. Incidentally, frogs are not reptiles. They are amphibians. Gotta learn the lingo if you're gonna do this.

My wife finally admitted to me that if we ever won the lottery, she would take her half, and leave. ”In that case,” I said, “I won twelve bucks on a scratch-off last week. Here’s your half.” ”I’m gonna miss you.”

I’ve kept my fair share of leopard frogs. Since they are strong jumpers, they should be kept in the largest enclosure possible. Although they are at home in or around water, they aren’t really aquatic, so the enclosure should be mostly land. A four inch deep water dish sounds ideal. Change the...

You should be able to chase them into the water (they will float) and then scoop them up with a brine shrimp net.

If organization and teamwork are measures of intelligence, humans would rank near the bottom. Ants and bees would rank near the top.

Axolotls were historically found in a few lakes in and around Mexico City. Due to draining and pollution, there is very little habitat left. Last I read, researchers were unable to find any in the wild, so if they aren't extinct, they are close to it. Axolotls are nearly extinct in captivity...

I would keep them separately. My biggest concern is that the fish would eat most of the food, leaving the frogs to starve.

Yes. I have owned kept and/or bred hundreds of snakes over the past fifty or so years.

If the snails don't get them first, I feed them to my turtles.

I’ve had good luck with Modern Aquarium.

You could try Gammarus. They’ll consume dead plant matter.

I’ve only been to the Shedd and the Tennessee Aquarium.

I prefer the poly tanks myself- however, I question the dangers of using a galvanized tank. I had a group of goldfish that lived for over twenty years in one. I'm not saying that they are not toxic; perhaps, though they are not "very" toxic.

My guess is that they are dying, and being consumed by snails before you can discover them.

I grew up out in the country, and my first aquariums as a kid were native fish. I have many fond memories of seining, dip netting, and trapping them. Today, I only have one native tank, and it only has two fish in it- a green sunfish, and a madtom (legally procured, of course). Some natives may...

I’ll be cleaning turtle tanks today. It’s a big miserable chore, that involves a sump pump, garden hoses, disassembling and cleaning disgusting homemade filters, and dealing with big angry turtles. And water everywhere.

I live in Minnesota, and it was very cold this week. Or so I’m told. I spent the week in Las Vegas, on business.

I've been saving my various business cards since I entered the workforce in the early 80's. I have quite a few- I could almost be considered a job hopper. One of these days I'm going to arrange them all in one of those business card holder book things.