A Garter Staple - the Amazing Pacific Chorus Frog

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

Yes, I know this is a garter forum, but I just wanted to give credit to all those wonderful little dudes who so often end up in the bellies of our slithery friends.

The Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudachris regilla) [previously Pacific Tree frog {Hyla regilla}] mat be found throughout most of CA, OR, WA, NV, western ID and MT, as well as southern parts of BC, Canada and northern Baja in Mexico.
It is currently under proposed taxonomical revision (and may be separated into 3 distinct species).

In my neck of the woods these guys are everywhere, and their color schemes are incredible. I have raised them in captivity with about a 98% success rate.
My garters are very "happy" about this.

Anyways, just thought I'd like to share some of their colors with you...

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

P. regilla have 3 main color phases (there are likely others) that exist in any one given population: greens, browns, and intermediaries. The greens and browns usu. always keep their colors (may lighten somewhat, and appendages or laterals may take on coppery metallic hues at various light spectrums and temperatures. Intermediaries can change from green to brown, but rarely as dark a green or brown as the "non-changers". These 3 phases are a survival strategy that allows any one population to adapt to fluctuating environments (vegetation states, temp, etc). There might be less browns in a wet "green" year, or there might be less greens during a dry year...

In the case of the blue frog - P. regillas, which are green are so because white light bounces off of iridiophores (pigment cells), which is reflected as blue light; this light then goes through xanthophores (yellow pigment cells), which are at the surface of the skin, thus blue + yellow = green. Blue frogs have a recessive trait where the xanthophores don't work!

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

[ssssnakeluvr]

awesome photos!! I used to catch them all the time where I grew up. there's a very tiny spot in Utah where they are also....some pond on some hillside in the middle of the desert....so the DWR people won't let ya keep them here as pets.... neat little froggies tho!!!

[guidofatherof5]

Great looking photos.
Seeing them and knowing their relationship to the garter populations is "food for thought" To the garters, they would be "thought for food"

[charles parenteau]

Just awesome!!!Your pictures show their real color its crazy how beautiful they are!!!

[drache]

those are very cool frogs - amazing variety
when you say "success in raising" what exactly do you mean?
do you breed the parents, or do you collect spawn or tadpoles and raise them?

[ConcinusMan]

I actually for a while (after my concinnus pair died) kept one male and several females together (that frog) in a tall clear cylinder with live climbing plants and an inch or two of water in the bottom. They did quite well, feeding on flies and worms. After about 2 years, I was blessed with a gelatinous glob of eggs. Yippy! They're pretty cool. I like them, and the eggs/tadpoles are very easy to rear. Very abundant in my area. Usually green, brown, or a combo. Of course, when my snakes were still alive, I collected those frogs as food. I released my frog captives when I finally just couldn't take that male waking me up with his croaking!

I've never seen a blue one, are you sure that's not a hoax??! That's amazing. of course, when I first moved to San Diego some years ago, I was shocked. I found those frogs in seasonal streams at canyon bottoms and found them in weird colors. Bright orange, (with or without green spots) metallic gold, metallic bronze. Those were so unusual, but blue? Wow! I want a pair. Get me some blue ones!

[jitami]

Great pics! Add me to the list of those who used to catch these by the hundreds growing up. Lived near a pond where they were quite prolific. Just love the cute little guys

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

those are very cool frogs - amazing variety
when you say "success in raising" what exactly do you mean?
do you breed the parents, or do you collect spawn or tadpoles and raise them?

I have done both. They are quite easy once you have a good set-up. I feed the frogs flies, fruit flies (from the compost!), crickets, waxworms, and small earthworms. The tadpoles need a constant supply of algae, but will graze on algae wafers. I keep my tank outside in part sun/part shade. Tadpoles will often bask in the shallows where the water is warmer. I always however have to monitor the temperature during the summer (I simply offer more shade if it's too warm). There is a 10 gal. tank filled with rocks and then soil substrate that I put inside the large tank; I also have floating cork and local aquatic plants. The tank is 3/5 water, 2/5 land.