The Learning Center is just that, a place to find information to further your skills in keeping reptiles and amphibians.

Articles by Us

As we have rebuilt the site, we are working on hosting and uploading PDFs of the various articles we have posted in the past, published in herpetocultural media, published in the Herp Alert, the newsletter of the Central Illinois Herpetological Society, and written for the herpetological society article share list serve.

Dart Frog Care

Basics of Fruit Flies: Culturing and Feeding to Dart Frogs is an essential read to anyone interested in keeping poison dart frogs as pets. “Your success with fruit fly culturing is crucial to your success in dart frog care.” This article covers making cultures, media recipes, how to feed, and nutritional supplement rotations.

Health

Treating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)/Chytrid is a how-to guide for using over-the-counter medications to treat amphibian Bd in your collection, all supported by research.

Amphibian Emergency Care and Supplies is an overview of medications, treatments, and supplies needed to support the care of your amphibians.

Species Profiles and Care

Solomon Island Leaf Frogs Care and Breeding

Here is the presentation on Solomon Island Leaf Frog Care and Breeding given at the National Amphibian Expo in 2014: https://youtu.be/iV_T3iZilSg?si=t2XeJwNlzcz9GJeK

General Herpetocultural

Captive What? An article for new hobbyists on the system of 1.0.0 to abbreviations of FB, LTC, etc.

Suggested Reading Links

Chytrid- the amphibian pandemic

Chytrid is a fungus that is a global issue that attaches to an amphibian’s skin and can be fatal. Amphibian Ark (non-profit) has a terrific breakdown of the fungus and how it harms amphibians. https://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/chytrid-fungus/

Chytrid Testing

RAL (Research Associates Laboratory) is what we use to test our collection and newly imported specimens. https://www.vetdna.com/test-type/reptiles

Husbandry and Quarantine

The American Zoological Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing zoos and public aquariums in conservation, education, science, and recreation. The largest zoos in America follow their research-based guidance. Here is a copy of the 2012 Amphibian Husbandry Resource Guide.

Hobbyist Conservation

This article discusses how private hobbyists are keeping fish species alive in captivity better than institutions. A road map to what herpetoculture can accomplish. Link to the Article: Yale 360: Basement Preservationist: Can hobbyists save rare fish from extinction?