Life Cycle of a Frog

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Life Cycle of a Frog

• Chapter 19 Zoology
• Ms. K. Cox
• http//allaboutfrogs.org/weird/weird.html

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True Love? We will start with mating.

• When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the
  female underneath in an embrace called amplexus.
  He literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms
  around her "waist", either just in front of the
  hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even
  around the head.

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True Love? We will start with mating.

• Amplexus can last several days! Usually, it
  occurs in the water, though some species, like
  the bufos on the right mate on land or even in
  trees!(photo courtesy of Emile
  Vandecasteele)While in some cases, complicated
  courting behavior occurs before mating, many
  species of frogs are known for attempting to mate
  with anything that moves which isn't small enough
  to eat!

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Spawn (egg-mass)

• While in the amplexus position, the male frog
  fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. Frogs tend
  to lay single eggs in masses, whereas toads
  usually lay eggs in long chains. Some frogs
  leave after this point, but others stick around
  to watch over the little ones. Some have very
  unusual ways of caring for their young.

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What do they look like?
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Egg

• Frogs and Toads tend to lay many many eggs
  because there are many hazards between
  fertilization and full grown frogness! Those eggs
  that die tend to turn white or opaque. The lucky
  ones that actually manage to hatch still start
  out on a journey of many perils.

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• Example
• Some frogs, like the Coast foam-nest treefrog,
  actually mate in treebranches overlooking static
  ponds and streams. Their egg masses form large
  cocoon-like foamy masses. The foam sometimes
  cakes dry in the sun, protecting the inside
  moisture. When the rain comes along, after
  developement of 7 to 9 days, the foam drips down,
  dropping tiny tadpoles into the river or pond
  below.

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Frog Life Cycle

• 1. Amplexus
• 2. Life starts right as the central yolk splits
  in two. It then divides into four, then eight,
  etc.- until it looks a bit like a raspberry
  inside a jello cup.
• 3. Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still
  feeds on the remaining yolk, which is actually in
  its gut! The tadpole at this point consists of
  poorly developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. It's
  really fragile at this point. They usually will
  stick themselves to floating weeds or grasses in
  the water using little sticky organs between its'
  mouth and belly area.

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• 4. Then, 7 to 10 days after the tadpole has
  hatched, it will begin to swim around and feed on
  algae.5. After about 4 weeks, the gills start
  getting grown over by skin, until they eventually
  disappear. The tadpoles get teeny tiny teeth
  which help them grate food turning it into soupy
  oxygenated particles. They have long coiled guts
  that help them digest as much nutrients from
  their meager diets as possible.By the fourth
  week, tadpoles can actually be fairly social
  creatures. Some even interact and school like
  fish!

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• 6. After about 6 to 9 weeks, little tiny legs
  start to sprout. The head becomes more distinct
  and the body elongates. By now the diet may grow
  to include larger items like dead insects and
  even plants.The arms will begin to bulge where
  they will eventually pop out, elbow first. 7.
  After about 9 weeks, the tadpole looks more like
  a teeny frog with a really long tail. It is now
  well on it's way to being almost fullgrown!

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Young Frog, or Froglet

• 8. By 12 weeks, the tadpole has only a teeny tail
  stub and looks like a miniature version of the
  adult frog. Soon, it will leave the water, only
  to return again to laymore eggs and start the
  process all over again!
• Goes with or in between 1 and 2. Usually, about
  6-21 days (average!) after being fertilized, the
  egg will hatch. Most eggs are found in calm or
  static waters, to prevent getting too rumbled
  about in infancy!

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• 9. By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water
  and food supply, the frog has completed the full
  growth cycle. Some frogs that live in higher
  altitudes or in colder places might take a whole
  winter to go through the tadpole stage...others
  may have unique development stages that vary from
  your "traditional" tadpole-in-the-water type life
  cycle some of these are described later in this
  tour.Now these frogs will start the whole
  process again...finding mates and creating new
  froggies.

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My, What Big Ears you Have!

• Frogs can hear using big round ears on the sides
  of their head called a tympanum. Tympanum means
  drum. The size and distance between the ears
  depends on the wavelength and frequency of a male
  frogs call. On some frogs, the ear is very hard
  to see!
• Ever wonder how frogs that can get so LOUD manage
  not to hurt their own ears? Some frogs make so
  much noise that they can be heard for miles! How
  do they keep from blowing out their own
  eardrums?Well, actually, frogs have special ears
  that are connected to their lungs. When they hear
  noises, not only does the eardrum vibrate, but
  the lung does too! Scientists think that this
  special pressure system is what keeps frogs from
  hurting themselves with their noisy calls!

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Tympanum
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Different purposes for feet

• Feet For Flying!
• Feet For Digging
• Feet For Swimming
• Feet For Climbing

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What are these feet for?
Feet
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What kind of feet are these?
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What are these feet for?
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What kind of feet are these?
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I Only Have Eyes For You!

• Frogs have variable kinds of eye types. The
  colored part of the eye is called the iris
  (EYE-riss). They can be brown, green, silver,
  red, bronze, and even gold. The pupils come in
  all kinds of shapes too!
• (1) Round pupils Some frogs have round pupils
  just like you and me. Newts and Salamanders also
  have round pupils. (2) Vertical pupils
  Vertical pupils that look like a cats eye are
  really good for night vision and respond quickly
  to changes in light. (3) Horizontal-Shaped
  pupils These are the more common pupil, good for
  normal day-vision. (4) Heart-Shaped pupils
  I'm not sure if it serves any purpose, but it
  sure looks neat! Oriental fire-bellied Toads have
  this type of pupil. Some frogs have Triangular
  pupils, and some even have Star-Shaped pupils!

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WHAT KIND OF EYES DO I HAVE?
A
C
D
B
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WHAT KIND OF EYES DO I HAVE?
A Round pupils
C Horizontal-Shaped pupils
D Heart-Shaped pupils
B Vertical pupils
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Lab Focus Today

• Hibernation  The frogs that live in colder
  climates hibernate.  Some dig holes or find
  cracks in logs or rock areas.  Their heart beats
  and breathing slow down and their body
  temperature reaches close to the outside
  temperature.  They have a lot of glucose in their
  bodies and it keeps them from freezing. 
  Half-frozen frogs will thaw out and live.  Some
  frogs hibernate under water.  These don't breathe
  and get their oxygen from the water through their
  skin. (Cutaneous Respiration)

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How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female

• It can be hard to tell if your pet frog is male
  or female.
• Do some measuring. Males are noticeably smaller
  than females in most species of frog. A typical
  male frog is one and one half to two and one
  quarter inches long from head to bottom. Females
  are two to three inches long.

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How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female

• Be a good listener. Males croak at night. This
  sounds like a duck quacking and sometimes a dog
  barking. Males will croak to the sound of
  vacuums, running water, loud noises, to attract
  females, and sometimes for no reason at all.
  Females, on the other hand, don't really make any
  noises.

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How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female

• Understand that if you still can't figure it out,
  you can ask an experienced breeder or a
  veterinarian.
• Look at the throat. Most male frogs have a dark
  patch on their throat because as they croak it
  creates friction on the throat and darkens their
  throat.
• Check the ear. The ear of the frog is near the
  brain. If its big, its a male but if it is small,
  then its a female.

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Do Frogs Have Teeth?

• Actually, yes! But not like in this silly
  picture!

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Frog Teeth

• Most frogs do in fact have teeth of a sort. They
  have a ridge of very small cone teeth around the
  upper edge of the jaw. These are called Maxillary
  Teeth.Frogs often also have what are called
  Vomerine Teeth on the roof of their mouth. They
  don't have anything that could be called teeth on
  their lower jaw, so they usually swallow their
  food whole. The so-called "teeth" are mainly used
  to hold the prey and keep it in place till they
  can get a good grip on it and squash their
  eyeballs down to swallow their meal.Toads,
  however, do NOT have any teeth.

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Super Skin

• Frogs have very special skin! They don't just
  wear it, they drink and breathe through it.
• Frogs don't usually swallow water like we do.
  Instead they absorb most of the moisture they
  need through their skin. Not only that, but
  frogs also rely on getting extra oxygen (in
  addition to what they get from their lungs) from
  the water by absorbing it through their skin.
  Because frogs get oxygen through their skin when
  it's moist, they need to take care of their skin
  or they might suffocate. Sometimes you'll find
  frogs that are slimy. This is because the frog
  skin secretes a mucus that helps keep it moist.
  Even with the slimy skin, these frogs need to
  stay near water. Toads on the other hand have
  tougher skin that doesn't dry out as fast, so
  they can live farther from water than most frogs.
  

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• In addition to jumping in water, frogs and toads
  can get moisture from dew, or they can burrow
  underground into moist soil. Frogs shed their
  skin regularly to keep it healthy. Some frogs
  shed their skin weekly, others as often as every
  day! This looks pretty yucky...they start to
  twist and turn and act like they have the
  hiccups. They do this to stretch themselves out
  of their old skin! Finally, the frog pulls the
  skin off over it's head, like a sweater, and then
  (this is gross) the frog EATS IT!!!! (EEEEEWWW!)

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How Long Do Frogs Live?

• Amazingly, this is the hardest question I've been
  asked about frogs!
• It turns out that very little is known at all
  about the natural lifespan of frogs. Partially,
  this is because it's pretty hard to track a frog
  all its life! (I guess they havent figured out a
  good way to put little tiny collars around their
  necks!)
• However,some records show that in captivity, many
  species of frogs and toads can live for
  surprisingly long times. They seem generally
  average somewhere between 4 and 15 years!
• Recently I ran across a page where people were
  posting data about how long their species of
  frogs had lived in captivity. The longest
  lifespan entered was a European Common Toad (Bufo
  bufo ssp.) at 40 years!!!!!

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• Other species which live to ripe old ages
  include
• Giant Toad (Bufo marinus) ranging between 7 and
  24 years
• Green And Black Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates
  auratus) ranging between 7 and 17 years
• Oriental Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis)
  ranging between 11 and 14 years
• Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata) ranging
  from 5 to 12 years

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examples of albino frogs.

• This weird looking guy was found in a garden pond
  in the UK.Species unknown.

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Pac-Man Frog.

• Here is the albino version of the same species,
  the Pac-Man frog.(Photo from the Best Buy
  Commercial from 1997, featuring this website!)

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Horned Frogs

• Horned Frogs (Ceratophrys), like this Gastrotheca
  ceratophrys have a projecting flap, or "horn," of
  skin above each eye. Click on the image to see it
  full sized.

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Frogs and Myth

• Lots of different cultures have all kinds of
  interesting myths pertaining to Frogs.
• Frogs and Weather Frogs have been associated with
  weather in a lot of ancient cultures. I guess
  this really makes a lot of sense if you consider
  that they tend to make a lot of noise before rain
  storms.
• Some Australian aborigines and Native American
  groups believed that frogs were the bringers of
  rain.
• In India, frogs were believed to personify
  thunder in the sky. Even the word for "frog" also
  meant "cloud" in Sanskrit!
• In China, they see the "TOAD", not the "man" of
  the moon. The toad is also considered "one of the
  five poisons of yin." They say that eclipses
  happen when the "toad in the moon" tries to
  swallow the moon itself!

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• Frogs and Luck Sometimes, cultures associated
  frogs with good and bad fortune.
• In Japan, frogs are the symbols of Good Luck. One
  myth I read dealt with the idea that bullfrogs
  are descended from a great ancestor who could
  suck all the mosquitoes out of a whole room in a
  single breath!
• Some myths are less favoring to frogs and toads.
  Some folklorists have claimed that "If the first
  frog that you see in the spring is sitting on dry
  ground, it signifies that during the same year
  you will shed as many tears as the frog would
  require to swim away in."

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• If, on the other hand, the first frog of spring
  jumps into the water, you'll experience
  misfortune all year! However, if the springs'
  first "hoptoad" come jumping in your direction,
  you will have many friends if it jumps away from
  you, you will lose some.
• Some less enlightened people associate frogs, and
  Toads in particular, as evil incarnations of
  demons or devils!
• Frogs and Warts Some say that you get warts from
  touching frogs and toads.

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• You get warts from human viruses, not from frogs
  and toads!Frogs have slimy skin to stay moist
  when it is dry, and toads have bumpy skin to help
  camouflage them in their habitat. Some frogs and
  toads have paratoidal glands which secrete
  poisons as protection which can cause skin
  irritations and may be poisonous to some species
  of animals, but warts have nothing at all to do
  with the frogs themselves!
• The French and the Frogs For some reason, the
  French have been given the nickname Frogs...There
  are many different theories about how this came
  to be...

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• The story I had always heard was that the
  nickname dates waaay back to sometime around the
  18th century, when Paris was surrounded by many
  swamps...The French nobility that would visit
  Versailles apparently tended to refer to
  Parisians as frogs because of the swampy
  surroundings...and only later did the term get
  picked up to describe the French in general.
• Another story I've heard was that American
  soldiers adopted the nickname for the French
  during the World War II because they ate frog
  legs and hid well when camouflaged.
• I've also heard that a frog used to be on the
  French Flag, before the Fleurs de Lis was adopted
  when King Clovis took the throne....

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• Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as
  frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.Ranidaphobia-
  Fear of frogs.Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.

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End of Frog Section
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Introduction

• These are amphibians and are of the order Caudata
  in the scientific system of classification. The
  word "salamander" generally refers to any tailed
  amphibian lacking claws or ear openings. This
  means that newts are essentially salamanders. The
  definition of "newt" is a matter of great
  controversy and may vary from area to area or
  from country to country. Usually, the type of
  salamander known as a newt in many places is not
  as slimy as the majority of salamanders are,
  having rougher skin. Newts, unlike many other
  salamanders, may be semi-aquatic. Some people
  refer to salamanders that have a life stage known
  as the "eft" stage as newts. Again, however, such
  definitions may not hold true for everyone. For
  the purpose of this document, the word salamander
  will be used to indicate all types of salamanders
  including newts.

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Housing

• you should first determine what sort of habitat
  your animal is native to in the wild. Then, you
  should try to reconstruct this habitat as closely
  as possible. Most often this can be accomplished
  in a plastic or glass tank, as these are water
  impermeable.

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• Because salamanders can climb, aided with fluids
  or mucous secreted from their bodies, you should
  have a fitted lid for your enclosure. Salamanders
  often need such high levels of humidity, so a
  screen or mesh top may not be a good idea. Many
  people prefer to use a plastic lid with holes
  drilled into it.

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Housing continued

• the tank has been set up and running for at least
  a few days before your salamander arrives
• Because salamanders are cold blooded and cannot
  produce their own heat, their temperature will
  essentially match that of their surroundings
• Most salamanders, even terrestrial species, will
  require a high humidity. Generally this level is
  50 percent or more.

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Housing Continued

• These animals absorb water through their skins
  rather than drinking it. Humidity may be
  increased and maintained in several ways. One way
  is to keep a bowl of water in the enclosure,
  although some people prefer to have a wet area of
  substrate rather than standing water.
• Plants may also be used in the enclosure in order
  to help maintain humidity. These will allow shade
  to your animals in addition to collecting water
  droplets on their leaves. You may want to mist
  the enclosure several times a day as well

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Housing Continued

• Most salamanders will appreciate a hiding area in
  their enclosures. This can be created with leafy
  plants or with as simple an item as a cardboard
  box. This will provide it with a place to feel
  secure. Even aquatic salamanders will probably
  appreciate a floating plant that they can hide
  under. Many people like to place one hide box in
  each end of the enclosure. That way, the animal
  can thermoregulate without having to remain in
  the open.

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• Because amphibians have very sensitive skins, you
  should try to be extra careful to remove all
  chemical residue from the enclosure after
  cleaning.
• There are two types of cleaners available for
  your use mechanical and disinfectants

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Housing continued

• Generally it is best to keep salamanders of the
  same species together if you plan on having more
  than one salamander in each enclosure. Because
  salamanders may secrete toxic fluids, different
  species can actually be poisonous to one another.
  Also, salamanders may eat other salamanders, so
  cage mates should be roughly similar in size.
  Although some people choose to keep their aquatic
  salamanders with fish or aquatic frogs, this may
  cause the animals to be more susceptible to
  disease, and it may be difficult to keep them
  from eating the fish.

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Diet

• Most salamanders are carnivorous and feed on
  invertebrates, but nutrition requirements can
  vary from species to species.
• Generally, terrestrial salamanders can be
  encouraged to feed by movement. Aquatic
  salamanders may be stimulated by odor, touch, and
  movement.

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Diet continued

• Try to feed your animal a wide variety of
  appropriate dietary items. This will not only
  keep it from developing an aversion to or
  "boredom" with the food, but it will help ensure
  that your salamander is getting a nutritionally
  balanced diet. Most salamanders will need to be
  fed a few times a week however, younger
  salamanders may need to eat more often because
  they are growing.

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• Most salamanders will eat insects
• White worms, bloodworms, and mealworms are all
  available for purchase and can be fed to your
  animal. Many people choose to use kingworms or
  superworms (Zophobas sp.), rather than mealworms.
  
• Other insects including roaches, crickets,
  locusts, slugs, and flies are available for
  purchase as well. Some salamanders eat small
  feeder fish like guppies or goldfish, and others
  may eat pinkie mice.

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Diet

• Just make sure that the food items are fully
  thawed before they are offered to your
  salamander. If possible, warm the prey item up to
  the temperature it would have been when it was
  alive.

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Pro-active care

• Salamanders shed their skin every few days, every
  few weeks, or every few months. In colder
  temperatures, they may not shed at all, as their
  metabolism and body functions slow. If the level
  of humidity in the enclosure is appropriate for
  your salamander, there should generally be no
  problem with this process.

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Pro-active care continued

• However, sometimes salamanders may experience
  incomplete sheds, known as "dysecdysis". This
  means that some part of the animal's skin has
  been retained. As it dries, it can shrink,
  cutting off blood flow to the tissues underneath.
  If you notice that your salamander has retained
  some skin after its shed, it may be advisable to
  soak the area in tepid water before gently
  massaging it to remove the skin. If your
  salamander's skin is too delicate to handle, you
  should consult a veterinarian.

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Health

• In order to select a healthy salamander,
• (signs that it may not be healthy) be sure that
  the animal you pick is not bloated, or emaciated,
  
• (signs that it should be in good health) but it
  should be plump. It should not have visible bones
  or inflammation on any part of its body. The skin
  should be clean and should not be discolored,
  cut, or scratched. The eyes of a healthy
  salamander are bright and clear, and there are
  generally no secretions around the eye, nostrils,
  or mouth areas. Healthy salamanders are usually
  active and will try to escape you if you attempt
  to pick one up

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care

• Some salamanders have very fragile skins and are
  not physically able to be handled. Their skins
  can be damaged by the oils in our skins, or by
  simple friction. Also, some salamanders can
  produce toxic secretions irritating to human
  skin.
• After your salamander has been handled, be sure
  it has access to water or some other way to keep
  moist. Some species of salamander will let you
  know when they are stressed by arching their
  backs to show the bright warning colors of their
  bellies.

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health

• Some salamanders will naturally produce a
  protective slimy coating over their bodies and
  handling can disrupt this.
• Some salamanders can regenerate limbs and tails
  if they lose them. However, this process is
  physically stressful for the animal and
  detrimental to its health.

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• Zoonoses are diseases that are transmissible from
  animals to humans. People that are most at risk
  are those who are immunocompromised or
  immunosuppressed, patients undergoing
  immunosuppressive therapies, infants and young
  children, the elderly, and those with a chronic
  disease that compromises the immune system.
• Potential zoonotic risks Aeromonas,
  Campylobacter, Citrobacter, Cryptosporidia,
  Enterobacter, Erysipelothrix, Klebsiella,
  Mycobacterium, Proteus, Pseudomonas,
  Salmonellosis, Serratia, and Yersinia
  enterocolitica.

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health

• The best way to avoid these and any other
  zoonoses is to maintain sanitary conditions and
  to wash your hands before and after handling your
  salamander. If you suspect that you may have
  acquired a zoonotic disease, you should certainly
  bring it to the attention of your physician.

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Diseases

• Bumblefoot - inflammation of digits that can
  cause the animal limitations in mobility or great
  discomfort.
• Physical Symptoms - swelling of the digits. In
  extreme cases, the skin may split over the digit
  or the entire digit may drop off.
• Cause/Transmission - bacterial infection.
  Stressed animals or animals in otherwise poor
  health or poor husbandry conditions may be more
  susceptible.
• Treatment - bathe affected area in a bactericidal
  solution formulated for tropical fish. Usually
  three drops in a pint of water will resolve the
  infection if the animal is bathed twice a day for
  ten minutes in this solution. Consult your
  veterinarian.

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• Burns - skin damage caused by excessive heat.
  These may be general, covering the whole animal
  in extreme cases, but are more usually found
  localized over specific areas of an animal.
• Physical Symptoms - visible damage to the skin,
  varying in extremity and ranging from areas of
  gray or red coloration to blistered areas.
• Cause/Transmission - caused by direct heat
  touching the animal's skin. They may be
  occasionally caused by an exposed heating element
  in the animal's enclosure.
• Treatment - for serious burns or burns covering a
  large area of your snake, consult your
  veterinarian. Less serious burns may be rinsed in
  a povidone iodine solution.

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• Dehydration - desiccation of amphibian.
• Physical Symptoms - dry, wrinkly skin, emaciated
  look.
• Cause/Transmission - exposure to heat, lack of
  water, low humidity.
• Treatment - soak or mist affected amphibian to
  rehydrate. Keep amphibian clean to avoid
  opportunistic skin infections.

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• Dropsy - heavy accumulation of serous fluid in
  the amphibian's body.
• Physical Symptoms - abnormalities or softening of
  abdominal skin bloating.
• Cause/Transmission - metabolic disruption or
  abnormality caused by poor husbandry and possibly
  bacterial infection.
• Treatment - consult your veterinarian. Generally
  he or she will use a needle to aspirate the body
  fluid before disinfecting the resulting puncture
  wound.

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• Fungal infections - invasions of fungus over the
  animal's body, most often seen in aquatic
  animals.
• Physical Symptoms - noticeable skin color
  changes, especially red or inflamed white
  tissues, ulceration of the skin. Slimy feel to
  skin, skin coated in fuzzy or creamy material or
  whitish threading.
• Cause/Transmission - fungal spores or fungus in
  water, enclosure, or other amphibians or fish
  dirty conditions generally poor husbandry.
• Treatment - consult your veterinarian

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• Internal Parasites - parasites inhabiting the
  host's internal organs. Varieties range from
  single celled parasites (such as Monocercomonas
  and Giardia) to worms (such as tapeworms).
• Physical Symptoms - often there will be no
  symptoms although some animals may have decreased
  appetites, weight loss, or regurgitation.
  Subcutaneous parasites often can be felt just
  under the skin. Fecal or blood examinations by a
  veterinarian are the preferred methods of
  diagnosis.
• Cause/Transmission - internal parasites are
  usually passed from one animal to another through
  direct and indirect contact between hosts which
  can include infected prey items.
• Treatment - consult your veterinarian. Many will
  recommend medications such as Metronidazole,
  Oxfendazole, Fenbendazole, Levamisole, or
  Ivermectin.

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• Metabolic Bone Disease - most commonly seen in,
  but not limited to, herbivorous lizards, a
  calcium deficiency that causes the animal's bones
  to soften or break easily. In severe instances
  when the disease is untreated, paralysis or death
  may result.
• Physical Symptoms - squeeze the animal's jaw
  gently. If it feels soft or if it "gives", the
  bones may have become soft. Lethargy or bent,
  collapsed backs may be another symptom. Most
  commonly, swellings on the limbs are evident.
• Cause/Transmission - diets low in calcium or
  inability to process calcium due to insufficient
  sunlight/UVB exposure.
• Treatment - ensure your animal is fed a proper
  diet and that it has plenty of exposure to
  sunlight. Consult your veterinarian if the
  condition continues to worsen.

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• Minor Cuts or Scrapes - minor skin damage caused
  by the abrasion away or slicing of the skin.
• Physical symptoms - visible cuts or scrapes.
• Cause/Transmission - sharp surfaces in the
  animal's enclosure which catch on the animal's
  skin, repeated contact with jagged or rough
  surfaces that has abraded the skin, physical
  skirmishes with other animals. Many times an
  animal will rub a part of its body, like its
  nose, repeatedly on a rough rock or screen and
  may abrade its skin. Live prey items can also
  scratch or bite your animal.
• Treatment - clean the area with a povidone iodine
  solution. Consult your veterinarian.

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Breeding

• The first step in breeding your salamanders is to
  determine its sex. This may sometimes be done
  visually. Males of many species have forearms
  thicker than those of females. Some also have
  more streamlined bodies than females, and they
  may also be smaller. Sometimes the tails of males
  will be broader, or they may have larger hind
  legs.
• Usually the cloaca of the male will be much more
  swollen or obvious than that of a female.

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Breeding

• Many salamanders can be encouraged to breed by a
  change in season. This may involve cooling then
  warming them to mimic the onset of spring, or you
  may have to aestivate your salamanders. Be sure
  to find out the specific requirements for your
  salamander in order to create a successful
  breeding situation.

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Breeding

• Most salamanders have a rather different breeding
  process than many other animals. Often, it
  consists of a courtship display in which the male
  will induce the female to mate. Sometimes this
  will involve moving her into an aquatic area. The
  male may display his tail or crest to her, or he
  may climb on top of her and grasp her in an
  embrace known as amplexus. When the female
  salamander gives a sign that she is ready, the
  male will usually produce one or more
  spermatophores, or sperm-containing clumps.
  Sometimes these are cone-shaped.

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Breeding

• The female must then take up the substance into
  her cloaca to fertilize her eggs. Sometimes she
  will do this independently, and sometimes the
  male will pull her across the spermatophores.
  Female salamanders may mate several times, and
  collect several spermatophores from different
  males. This is to ensure that her offspring are
  of varied genetic stock and that she will
  reproduce.

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Breeding

• Although some salamanders might not show
  pregnancy obviously, others can become quite
  plump. There are a variety of birthing methods
  among salamander species. Salamanders may lay
  eggs that hatch into larvae. The larvae then
  develop into adult salamanders. Some will give
  birth to living larvae. Others will produce eggs
  whose hatchlings have no larval stage, rather
  they emerge from their eggs as miniature adults.
  Many will lay eggs one by one, attaching them to
  some surface. Aquatic plants or rocks are
  commonly utilized for such a purpose.

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Breeding

• In the wild, young salamanders may be mistaken
  for tadpole frogs. It is usually best to separate
  any young salamanders from adult salamanders, as
  the mature animals may eat the babies. Babies
  should be fed the same food items as adults, but
  these items should be chopped small enough for
  the young amphibians to handle.