AmphibiCast

In last week's episode I was joined by professional zoo keeper, Mason Kleist and we discussed animal husbandry from a zoo keeper's perspective. However,  a few days after our discussion, there was an incident at the El Paso zoo involving a woman who unlawfully entered a primate exhibit. The story made international news, she was subsequently arrested after her video went viral, and she i...

In this episode I'm joined by Mason Kleist of the El Paso Zoo. Mason is a professional zoo keeper and we discuss animal husbandry  and care from a zoo keeper's perspective.  Mason is also an avid dart frog hobbyist and we discuss his experiences with keeping amphibians both personally and professionally. 

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, wat...

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, tar...

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 an...

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 ou...

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 ho...

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 dedicat...

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 movin...

Tonight I had a unique opportunity to talk with Dean Jansen directly from Victoria Australia. Dean is an avid vivarium enthusiast, and showcases many of his builds on his Youtube Channel Viv_scape. We start off discussing some of the nuances that go along with successful vivarium and paludarium builds, why Dean enjoys  horizontal to vertical conversions, and all the usual elements including lighti...

Jay Sommers of Sandfire Dragon Ranch is my guest tonight and in this episode we talk about the Neurergus genus of newts, their care and the current status of caudates in the hobby. Kaiser newts are arguably one of the most beautiful species in the hobby. But there are many more incredible species in the Neurergus genus and Jay has worked with them all. Many of you may remember Jay from Episode 27...

Earlier this month a listener asked me which substate was best for a certain species. I started thinking about the different substrates that I have used over the past thirty years and rather than choose one, I thought it would be interesting to discuss some of the pros and cons associated with various substrates. When choosing a proper substate it is important that we consider the animal's na...

Hobbyists, zoo keepers and breeders all understand the value that quality prey items have in a captive diet.  As our understanding of amphibians increases, so does our concern for their well-being. There are many different prey items to choose from, yet there is one that's always had a bit of mystery surrounding it. Of course I am referring to... -the silkworm.  Silkworms have been in the tra...

Jay Sommers has successfully kept and bred hundreds of species in his 30 year tenure working with herps. He is currently heading operations at Sandfire Dragon Ranch and in tonight's episode we discuss a variety of topics including his work with Phyllomedusa sauvagii (commonly known as the waxy monkey tree frog), his attitudes towards hobby staples vs. uncommon species, and his thoughts on the...

Kathy Wormald is the CEO of Froglife,  a UK based charitable organization that works towards the conservation of native UK species. In this episode we talk about the goals of Froglife, concerns unique to UK herps,  engaging the public and much more. 

Finding a veterinarian familiar with amphibians can often be a challenge.  As amphibians continue to become more popular, both experienced and new keepers will in all likelihood need access to veterinary care at some point.  As such, it is my pleasure to  have  Dr. Andrew Logan DVM and my guest tonight.  Dr. Logan is a veterinarian committed to furthering veterinary concerns unique to amphibians....

Islands around the world are homes to amphibians that face unique challenges. Life on an island can be tough... But no place is tougher than New York...  Many people don't realize that the NY Metropolitan area is comprised of several  islands. In fact, The Bronx is the only Borough of NYC connected to then mainland.  Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties all reside on Long Island, whi...

In this episode we once again venture outside the glass box, and into the world of chameleons. My guest tonight is the one and only Bill Strand. Bill is the host of the Chameleon Academy Podcast and operates the Chameleon Academy website. Bill has decades of experience keeping and breeding chameleons and in this episode we talk about some similarities in our respective hobbies,  husbandry issues,...

Stefania (AKA the Dart Frog Queen)  is my guest tonight.  We talk about her journey through  the amphibian hobby and why she created her influential Youtube Channel.  Although Stefania is not actively involved in the hobby anymore, she was kind enough to come our of retirement and share her insights with us.  Some of the topics we discuss include the importance of a good mentor, mossy frogs (thele...

In this episode Josh Coppola joins me from the UK by way of Italy. Josh and I discuss some of his experiences keeping newts and salamanders in captivity as well as how Bsal has significantly effected European salamander populations. We also discuss Josh's website salamanderland.com. Salamanderland.com contains a wealth of quality  up to date information, care sheets and husbandry insights.  I...

Joe Smith comes to us tonight from the UK. In this episode we talk about the learning curve in the Hobby. We discuss rookie mistakes we made in our early days keeping frogs, a few DIY vivarium hacks and how Joe started his Youtube Channel as a way to connect with other frog keepers. 

Nick Stacey is one of the cofounders of the Fragile Planet Wildlife Center in Texas. In this episode we talked about how the center started, his Atelopus Project and what ultimately lead to his successful captive breeding of Atelopus balios. If you've ever been interested in the Atelopus genus this is the episode for you.