Introducing Amphibians

Amphibians are more than just frogs. They are some of the most colorful pets that you can imagine, and watching them can provide hours of fun. Not only is the amphibian pet enjoyable, but you can also plant the terrarium to make it an attractive feature. And one positive is that these animals are very easy to keep.

Before any mammals ever set foot on planet earth their were amphibians slithering, crawling and leaping all over it. These amazing creatures are an important step in the evolution of man. Their name is from the fact that they can live on both land and in water: Amphi is Greek for life, and bios is the Greek word for both. Typically amphibians spend most of the first part of their life cycle in water, and the second part of the life cycle on land.

Ectotherms cannot regulate their own body temperature, and rely on the external environment to regulate their body temperatures. Amphibians are ectotherms, and they hibernate in cold climates in order to avoid the most extreme temperatures. In captivity your pet amphibians may need a heat mat or lamp in order to keep warm. Although the heat lamp must be guarded by mesh to avoid burning flesh. You will note that your amphibian sheds its skin from time to time, and then eats it. The tropical pet amphibian is certainly an interesting one.

One thing that you may remember from a school science class is that amphibians are vertebrates with a full skeleton. They even have toe bones. They do have teeth, but these are to hold the prey before it is swallowed rather than to chew. The skeleton helps protect the internal organs of the amphibian.

When it comes to reproduction amphibians produce soft, jelly eggs and they lay them in water. These eggs are in clumps and they are laid by the thousands as amphibians tend to congregate in the same places to lay their eggs. Despite the fact that masses of eggs are laid, only a few eggs survive to the next stage of thee life cycle. Not only are there many natural predators, but also schoolchildren wanting to bring frogs home.

These are just a few basic pieces of information about these exotic pet amphibians. You will learn more if you decide to keep them. One final interesting fact is that they both breath and drink through their skin. So make sure you provide them with good quality water as this water-permeable skin makes them very sensitive to their environment.

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