Captive husbandry and breeding of the reticulated glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium valerioi (Anura: Centrolenidae)

Abstract

The reticulated glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium valerioi) from Central and South America is a species that has been widely collected from the wild for the pet trade. An ex situ population of this frog was recently established at Slimbridge Wetland Centre, UK, in the hope of learning more about the husbandry and biology of this species. We report on the captive husbandry of adults and the successful breeding and rearing of larvae to metamorphosis. Clutch size was 28 eggs. The eggs hatched at 15-18 days after laying and tadpoles reached a total length of 34 mm. The first individuals started metamorphosis 147 days after hatching at water temperatures of 22-28 °C. Hyalinobatrachium valerioi is still being collected from the wild for the international pet trade and to our knowledge this is the first documented breeding of this species in the UK. The husbandry methods described here could be used to breed this and other Hyalinobatrachium species in captivity and so reduce collecting from wild populations.