Krasnobrryuhaya zhrylyanka: photos, interesting facts, description

One of the most interesting amphibians, which is sometimes found in the role of a pet, is a small frog - a red-bellied toad. She got her name for a tuberculate skin on a red abdomen with dark spots, reminiscent of frozen volcanic streams. There is a popular belief that the fox dwells near the fire-breathing mountains (terrestrial vents). Unka, kumka - and so they call these frogs for the characteristic sounds that the males make during the breeding season.

Description

The size of the frog usually does not exceed 6 cm. In this case the females are somewhat larger than the males. The appearance of the red-bellied mink is distinctive. Description of the unusual coloration of these amphibians deserves special attention. The upper part of the frog is gray or almost black, covered with dark green spots. On the red or orange abdomen there are spots of bluish-black color with a lot of white dots. The bright red coloration on the area does not exceed the dark one. There are many small red spots on the lower surface of the legs. Such a coloring frog warns other animals that hunting for it is dangerous and can lead to poisoning. It is known that the skin of the moth is capable of releasing the poisonous substance freonolin. It covers the entire body of the frog at the moment of danger, protecting it from enemies.

The membranes are only present on the hind legs of the muzzle, and on the front ones are absent. Another distinguishing feature of this amazing frog is the pupils. They have an unusual triangular shape, reminiscent of hearts.

Habitat and distribution

This species of frogs is most common in Central Europe (before Germany and Austria) and in the East - up to the Urals, including the Kirov region, Udmurtia and Bashkiria. The north-western boundary of the distribution of the moth lies from the south of Denmark and Sweden, and the southern boundary - to the north-west of Turkey, the Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol.

The red-bellied frog prefers to settle in shallow, well-heated standing reservoirs. It can often be found in small lakes, ponds, marshes and ditches with muddy bottoms, especially where there is a lot of duckweed and coastal vegetation. Occasionally one can meet this frog in semi-flowering small streams. She can move from one reservoir to another, making movements overland for a distance of up to 700 meters.

Lifestyle

The frog is a red-bellied frog - a predominantly aquatic animal. It is active at an air temperature of 10 to 30 ° C. Almost all the warm season is spent in the pond, and in October-November it goes to wintering, which is usually carried out on land. As a refuge, rodents' burrows, sand pits along the banks of reservoirs, sometimes the place of wintering of the moth is found under residential buildings and in cellars. Hibernation usually lasts 150 days - until March or April. Two weeks after its completion, the frogs begin a breeding season.

Food

In natural conditions, the red-bellied toad (frog photo is in this article) feeds on small invertebrates and insects - worms, dragonflies, beetles, etc. The diet largely depends on the habitat. So, in the Volga region and in Kazakhstan it is dominated by various beetles, in the Voronezh region - earthworms, and in the Caucasus the main food is the larvae of Diptera. Among frogs of this species can sometimes be found cannibalism, when large individuals eat small ones.

If the contents of the moth are kept in a terrarium or aquarium, it can be fed with bloodworms, flour worms, pipeworms, crickets, small daphnia, and also special forages sold at pet stores. In the diet of domestic frogs must necessarily include vitamin and mineral supplements. Young animals are fed daily, and adults are enough to give food every two days.

Reproduction

The red-bellied fox becomes a sexually mature specimen only in the second, and sometimes even in the fourth year of life. The breeding season is very prolonged and lasts all summer. In shallow water areas where there is no current, the female lays eggs at night, which is attached to the stems of plants and algae. On average, for the season, the number of eggs laid is 300 pieces.

After about 10 days, tadpoles appear. They have a length of 3 to 5 mm and a wide caudal fin, by means of which they can move a considerable distance. Turning them into a frog takes about 3 months.

Content in captivity

Perfectly feels the fox in the home terrarium. If in a natural environment frogs rarely live long, then in captivity their life expectancy is 10-15 years, and even more. Put the fries in one terrarium with other amphibians is by no means impossible, since their poison will be disastrous for neighbors. It is important to comply with certain requirements, which experts impose on the content of these animals:

• The volume of the terrarium should not be less than 30 liters. It should have a small pond up to 6 cm in depth and a land area.
• Presence of downward heating. The temperature should be maintained at 20-26 ° C in the daytime and 16-20 ° C at night.
• The soil consists of a drainage layer, earth and a small amount of moss. Surface of land is best covered with sphagnum.
• On the surface of the water it is necessary to place a raft on which the frog can get out.
• The inhabitants of the terrarium need green. These can be aquarium plants in pots (anubias, cryptocoryns, etc.) or freely floating on the surface of salvynia, ricia, elodea.
• From above the terrarium is covered with a grid so that its inhabitants can not jump out.

With good care, a frog can survive long enough in the house, like a red-bellied fox.

Interesting Facts

Quite unusual behave these frogs. The tongue tongue has some features of the structure. Thanks to this, hunting for insects, it does not throw it forward like other frogs do, but jumps on prey, wide open with mouth.

At the sight of a predator, the frog turns over on its back, showing its orange abdomen. This is a signal that it is poisonous and it is better to stay away from it.

During the mating season, males settle down at the depth of the pond and begin pounding the water with their paws, showing rivals that the territory is occupied.

Biologists carefully observe these amphibians, because they are rare enough and listed in the Red Book.