Mating Behavior?

[mentat7]

I care for 1.3.0 D. leucs. They are about 13 months OOTW. recently one of the females spent two days, following the sole male around the tank. she would mount him, stroke his side with a foreleg, etc. Are they pairing off ? The other two females pretty much hang out by themselves. Sometimes toward bedtime the girls will all gather up together for the night. no eggs yet. I put the cocohut back in the tank w/a shallow dish of water inside.
TIA fellow froggers,
God Bless America and our new President

[divingne1]

Have you heard any calling from the male?
Candy

[kristy55303]

i was going to ask the same thing candy did. also are you putting water underneath the cocohut? that could be the issue if that is what you meant. they dont need water under the cocohuts. they lay on smooth flat surfaces such as a petri dish, leaf, or a lid of some sort underneath that is just naturally a bit moist from the humidity in the tank. most people will only put water dishes in the viv for egg deposition sites etc. it sounds like they are attempting to breed. It could be a little too soon yet. but never know. i believe 15-18 months is more typical for leucs. good luck with the breeding project and keep us posted. kristy

[mentat7]

Yes, the male has been calling for several months now. It's just that until now the girls woudn't give him the time of day. ... and yes I have placed a shallow plastic lid, just smaller in diameter inside the cocohut with about 1/4" of froggie water.

froggie water= RO water that has been sitting in a jug for a few weeks w/ a few drops of Exoterra Biotize conditioner. I also use this water to refill my misting/tank wash down bottle.

[kristy55303]

ok bud. if i am understanding you correctly....this is what i would do personally. I would place a dry dish under the cocohut dry. Its entirely possible you could find eggs after this. and male darts are notorious for sexually maturing befor efemales so if you do not, dont worry too much. the females will indeed stroke the males after they call and the males will usually lead the females to a laying spot. after they have laid, the males will either stay in there to fertilize the eggs or he will go and come back to do so. Its good to just let the eggs be to make sure they are feretilized for atleast 24 hours. After that you have two choices. not a bad idea to keep dish in the viv itself with water if you plan on leaving the eggs. Or if you want to artificially rear them, i would wait 24-48 hours at the least and then remove them. hope this helps and answers your question. kristy

to answer your main question, they are probably pairing off

[earthfrog]

that's what mine do just before eggs show up.