Translucent bull frog.....

[Rhacsetc08]

Hey,
I go looking for frogs at this one pond near my house. Occasionally we find weird looking colors of bull/green frogs. One times i found a green one with black lines all throughout the body. But lately, only at that pond i've been finding very very dark bull frogs. With solid black eyes and wierd patterned legs on the top usually a little bit of yellow throughout the whole body, and on the whole bottom of the frog, it is completely translucent. You can see everything! Its really cool. I was wondering how much this would be worth. I'm sure its genetic because i keep finding that same morph in that pond.
I'll try to get some good pix of him. Oh and it also has a pink throat.

Thanks for the help

[Rhacsetc08]

NO ONE KNOWS????????? ANY MAJOR FROG BREEDERS ON HERE??????

[Rhacsetc08]

Hey, we just went to the pond today and found a few more trans. We found 1.2 full trans juvies and .1 het trans. The het trans does not exhibit the solid black eyes or the translucent stomach. Only the trans throat and legs. It also shows the color of the full trans. The full trans are the same as described above.
I will be breeding them in the spring.

[Donn S]

A picture would probably be the most perfect thing for you to get some replies on this thread... I'd be interested in seeing some pictures.

[scrletbegonias]

pictures would be cool.

[Yoshi4d]

Im not totally sure. but you may want to ask the people on this forum, they are very experenced people on this forum. I'm a member there myself. http://talkto.thefrog.org/

[lestat]

They're still just bullfrogs, no matter what morph they are. They're not easy to keep in captivity since they need very large tanks, and not many people want them. Pictures would be cool, but you're not going to be making a bunch of money off the frogs.

[Yoshi4d]

LOL

OMG its lestat! i feel at home now!

[Rhacsetc08]

I'll get some pix up as soon as i get a cam.

Lestat, i NEVER said that. your putting words in my mouth. I didn't plan on making money off these frogs i would like to breed them because i'd like to see the different things that pop out. This is a WC line and i want to see what will come of it. I am aware of the care of bull frogs, and i can assure you that i am on top of things.

[erika]

You may want to look into your local laws regarding keeping native MI species, but as far as I know it is illegal to keep native species. Providing areas for them to breed in an outdoor pond where you can observe them may be a better alternative.

[lestat]

Hey Yoshi. I lurk around a lot of forums. You'd be surprised where I might pop up.

Lestat, i NEVER said that. your putting words in my mouth.

Never said what? No need to get defensive, Rhacsetc08. lol The only question I see in your post is how much they're worth, so I answered and explained why. I never implied you said anything.

[Rhacsetc08]

I don't plan on selling any of them within the near future at all. I probably will never sell them. i want the poplulation to grow in other ponds instead of just that one. so once i start breeding them i plan on releasing the offspring in other ponds, and that one. I asked about prices for my cousins. They think i'm going to sell them and every time i catch one they say Ebay ebay! I try explaining that its illegal to sell w/c animals, but they don't really understand that.

[Way2Crafty2]

When do we get to see pictures?

[Donn S]

Oh yeah. This is from the MI DNR website:

"The State of Michigan has enacted legislation to provide for the protection and regulation of native reptiles and recently amphibians. Rare and declining species are now protected from persecution and exploitation, and all species are affected by limits on numbers that can be taken or removed from the wild. Shooting of snakes and other reptiles is prohibited. Anyone wishing to take or study reptiles or amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders) in Michigan should contact the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division for details and licensing requirements."

Also, this:
for the Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana
RANGE AND STATUS: statewide, but numbers have been reduced locally due to over-harvesting for "frog legs." Now rare over much of state.

Now, you said the bellies were white or translucent? If you search "bullfrog" on the 'net you'll see that the belly color ranges from black speckled to a very light white. Belly variation appears to be quite normal.

The other issue I see is moving them to other ponds. I would suggest not doing this. Frogs around the world are dying from a fungus. You could risk spreading any kind of pathogen to a pond that was not affected (if there is such a thing as an unaffected pond). The second reason not to is it could totally upset a local pond's ecology. Bullfrogs are the largest frog in this state and are known to eat anything they can stuff into their mouths. (Search "bullfrog eating bird" to see some wild examples of this.) They will also eat fish and other amphibians. To move a colony of bullfrogs to a pond that does not already have them, is akin to moving a pride of lions into a Michigan forest. Ok, not quite but it's close.
Bullfrogs are considered an invasive species out west and are actually endangering a good handful of indigenous animals.

So, the risk of spreading deadly diseases and disrupting local pond ecologies just to spread a (possible) interesting gene is not really worth it. Let nature and natural selection do it's thing.

[Rhacsetc08]

ok, after reading that last post, i released all frogs. So there will be no pictures. Sorry guys i just felt rly rly bad about keeping them in captivity.

Thanks