# Frogs & Toads > Frogs >  Golden Sedge Frogs (Hyperolius Puncticulatus),

## StephenLS

Hi All

I've got hold of some captive bred Golden Sedge Frogs (_Hyperolius puncticulatus_), 6 to be exact :EEK!: , and was wondering if anybody has experience with them and set up suggestions as the information I've found tends to be contradictory!

I was planning to set up an aquaterrarium with a couple of islands of land situated in a main body of filtered and heated water with tall reeds and plent of aquatic plants. The rear of the tank will be a textured background with a couple of plants grafted!

What do you think?

Ta

Steve

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## John Clare

You mean this frog? : CalPhotos

A very beautiful _Hyperolius_ species.  I doubt you'll find anyone experienced with this exact species - I've never encountered them on importers' lists before.  Terry or Darryn may be able to give more information on how they live though.  I'll send this to them.

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## Kurt

I have never kept them, but I do keep plenty of treefrogs and your set-up seems fine as long as it has adequate ventilation.

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## Terry

_Hyperolius puncticulatis_ is listed as endangered and wild populations are decreasing.

*IUCN*: "It is not known whether or not it occurs in the international pet trade, as records of it in trade probably refer to _Hyperolius substriatus_. In any case, the level of such trade is not likely to be sufficient to constitute a threat to the species."

In Rodel's book, *Herpetofauna of West Africa*, mentions that _H. puncticulatus_ is a synonym of _H. picturatus_ (a frog found in western Africa).

According to the *Journ**al of East African Natural History*, two synonyms:
_Hyperolius puncticulatis_ (Pfeffer, 1893) Broad striped sedge frog
_Hyperolius substriatus_ (Ahl, 1931)

Photo of _H. substriatus_
Query results from the SysTax database

One problem with the positive identification of species within _Hyperoliidae_ is all of the various color and pattern morphs. I don't know if this helps or makes it more confusing. :Confused:  If I find anything new, I'll post it.

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## StephenLS

That's the one John! 

I know you guys in the states don't get that much from Africa, and Hyperolius identification is a bit hit and miss, but I couldn't resist the chance to get hold of some captive bred and consequently, very healthy specimens!

Some of them are quite young but it looks like I have at least 2 males!  

I'm trying to replicate the pond type environment I've read they are most often found in and will be aiming to breed once they're old enough.

I'll post some pics of them and the set-up asap!

Thanks All


Steve

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## Terry

Hi Steve:

They are beautiful frogs. I did find a description of these frogs in my Malawi frog field guide, it might help you in positively identifying your frogs:

"Color golden or brown; a broad light band, heavily outlined in black, bordering the upper margin of snout,often continuing over and behind eyes and along dorsolateral position. Behind eyes, line may be broken into spots. Black dots sometimes present on back and legs; heel often with light spot, but no light spots on outer surfaces of legs. Length 1.75 inches (43 mm)".

Evidently there is a great variation in color and patterns in this species. Females are larger.Males have a distinct yellow gular disc over the vocal sac. Length of disc is two-thirds its width and the margins are dotted with fine black pigment cells. Hope this helps!

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## Terry

Sorry for the multiple threads. There is a web site you may be interested in about breeding Hyperolius puncticulatus Hyperolius puncticulatus

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## Alex Shepack

Steve-
Congrats, they look like beautiful frogs.  Your set up sounds great as well, thats usually the recommended set up for any Hyperolids.  

Best of Luck,
Alex

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## StephenLS

:Big Grin: Thanks for alll the info guys, much appreciated.


Steve

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## John Clare

My hat is off to Terry on this one - thank you for going the extra mile.

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## Buck Rogers

Sorry for the late reply on this, you know there are so many species of Hyperolius in Africa that for me to give you spot on advice will not really help you.

I can tell you a bit about the species we have in Southern Africa and that might help. Most live around water pans that dry up in winter. Temps in the day around water holes/pans get hot and humid, evenings are also warm (I would say mid to high 20 degrees C) and also humid in Summer months. Winter months would get dry but hot and maybe a bit chillier in the evenings. Heavy rainfalls, usually late afternoon and evening showers, its very rare to have morning or mid day showers. I would think they feed on small flying insects, mosquitoes and perhaps small spiders. I tried keep a similar species a while back and had low success rates, but I think my temps were not high enough. 

I would consider a set up to be all water, with a fish tank heater in to raise temps and humidity, plants in ceramic holders and even some bamboo and such. They will not come down to land or swim, but this is natural to what they live like.

As I said this is just based on my observations of similar species and may not be spot on.

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## salad dodger

i have a pair of these & have been keeping them in a 12x12x12 exo 
i have about 2 1/2 - 3" of really moist coir & a gravel filled water dish 
the tank is lightly planted & they spend most of the day half concealed 
night time is a different matter though , they are really active & noisy .
they are thriving on size 1 crix which i dust once weekly .
ive had them for about 10 months now & have to say they are extremely entertaining .
if i had to pick a favourite of all my phibs i think these would be top of the list .
im hoping to expand my colony at the next ahs at donny as they are always available there (not far from you)

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## Mike

I am considering getting some of these guys for a Tanzanian biotope enclosure, but had some more questions.  I was looking at the ad here:  kingsnake.com Classifieds: REED FROGS:GREEN GLASS, ARGUS, GOLD SEDGE, RETICULATED AND MORE. and it looks like two types are sold.

The gold sedge which look like this: Hyperolius puncticulatus_2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

and the reticulated which look like this:  Spotted Reed Frog (H. puncticulatus) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Are these two variations within the same interbreeding population and should be mixed in captivity, or are they different subspecies/morphs that don't interbreed in the wild and should be kept separate?

Also I know they can be loud but just how loud are they in comparison to say.. Dendropsophus ebraccatus?  Trying to compare their call to a frog I have so I know what I may be getting myself into..

Mike

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## Kurt

> Are these two variations within the same interbreeding population and should be mixed in captivity, or are they different subspecies/morphs that don't interbreed in the wild and should be kept separate?


According to Alan Channing and Kim M. Howell's _Amphibians of East Africa_, "A  visit to any pond where this species is breeding will show a remarkble array of color patterns" So I would say that you can mix the different color patterns in the same enclosure.

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## StephenLS

Hi Mike

I can confirm the noise produced by these is particularly loud - I would say on a par with if not louder and more irritating than American Green Tree Frogs!

I keep mine downstairs and they are still loud enough to wake me - and my rather annoyed girlfriend in the middle of the night - having said that - I absolutely love them - there is always 1 visible during the day and activity kicks off about 2 hours before lights out. They are very active and really interesting to watch - you could try installing a moonlight bulb!

I would second the comments in the article referenced above - plenty of light and heat = happy frogs.
Mine get 12 hours of bright light a day and the temperature in the enclosure is 27C (sorry can't work in farenheit)
The tank is 50/50 water and land but I'm rethinking this and maybe going for the whole water with reeds and branches approach shortly.

Under these conditions they have been breeding regularly!


Ta


Steve

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## Kumka

Hello! 
I support H. puncticulatus «Tanzania". This species reproduces well when confined in terrariums 40x40x30. In this terrarium 5 (2.3) frogs. Lot no. At the bottom of the water 5-6 cm Many Scindapsus. Background temperature of 24-28. Feeding cockroaches (up to 1 cm), through the day. Every day - fruit fly. Tadpoles feed Tetra. First feeding young - Drosophila. 

Sorry: the text is translated from the Russian home computers.

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## yosefl

someone know where i can buy this kind of frogs?

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## Kumka

I recommend you contact Aleksandras Naryškinand Aleksandras Nary and Ilze Dunce Ilze Dunce | Facebook. They are bredthis species of amphibians.

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## Lompsu

Hi!
This thread is a bit old, but maybe there are others still having _Hyperolius puncticulatus._ 
I got a group of six frogs just couple days ago and they seem to be doing well. At least the 20 or so crickets that I put in the viv had dissappeared during the night. I still have few questions about these frogs as it seems very hard to find more specific information about these frogs.
How much and how often do you feed your frogs? Will the frogs eat too much or do they stop as they get full? I don’t want to overfeed...
Is it normal to not see all your frogs moving during the night? 
Last night I could spot only four out of six. So I am a bit worried... Rationally I know they are very good at hiding but I am still worried about not seeing them all moving during these first nights.
My frogs were already adult sized and the males are calling during the night. There are also couple that I suspect to be females as they are brighter coloured and bigger sized.

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