Keeping, Breeding, and Maintenance of Zooculture of the Ladakh Toad, <i>Bufotes latastii</i> (Boulenger, 1882)

Abstract

In this paper we present results of laboratory reproduction of the Ladakh toad (Bufotes latastii) for three generations. Two pairs of animals, which were collected in April of 2013 in Jammu and Kashmir (India), became founders of a laboratory population. The first female gave offspring four times, while the second only once. The number of eggs in clutches obtained from the first female was 6804 – 10149 and from the second was 4080 eggs. Males, which were born in laboratory, started to vocalize at the age of 3 – 4 months after metamorphosis and at the age of one year successfully reproduced. Females become mature at the two-year age only. Thus, B. latastii is a fast-growing and early-maturing species. The number of eggs in clutches of 2-year-old laboratory females ranged from 31 to 6420 eggs (n = 28) and 3-year-old females from 19 to 6859 eggs (n = 21). Clutches were single- or double-row strings. The average thickness of egg strings was 3.2 – 5.9 mm. The diameter of eggs was 0.8 – 1.9 mm. The duration of embryonic development (until separation of pre-larvae from egg strings) was 2 – 5 days. The total body length of pre-larvae was 2.0 – 4.3 mm. The first larvae that started swimming and feeding were observed within 2 – 3 days after separation of pre-larvae from egg strings. The body length of larvae at the time of start of exogenous feeding was 2.9 – 4.3 mm and the length of tail was 1.6 – 6.3 mm. The total duration of embryogenesis was 4 – 8 days, larval development was 86 – 125 days, and overall development was 90 – 127 days.