Albino common frogs

bubo-bubo · #1 (**permalink**) 25-01-2009, 09:05 PM

Hi all, has any of you got any pics of albino common frogs ,(Rana temporaria) ?
I nearly stood on one last night when i went out to feed the owl :S,,,
i have a few pics taken this morning on my phone and will post as soon as get them on pc.
bubo

Mungo · #2 (**permalink**) 26-01-2009, 07:03 AM

Look forward to seeing them

Dogghound · #3 (**permalink**) 26-01-2009, 08:28 PM

Are you sure its a pure albino? its very rare for these to exist in the wild without being killed. Rana temporia is highly variable and is sometimes pale green or pale grey??

bubo-bubo · #4 (**permalink**) 26-01-2009, 08:57 PM

Hi dogghound, yes im sure, i own a reptile shop and selectivly breed "herps" for colour and pattern on a regular basis and have a sound understanding of the genetics behind the 100's of morphs i aim for.
Albino common frogs although quite rare are not that unusul to warrent a peice in the local papers (although one found in hull is new to me?), maybe too an amphibian sociaty ??? anyway im waffling, the reason i posted this Q is as a reptile shop owner im fully aware of the satus of our native herps and was hoping for some kind of "link" or "idea"as what i should with it, law says put it back, heart and mind says take care of it, (poss breed in hope of breeding it back too offspring (poss het albinos) to produce albinos),, thing is, i own 4 cats, a raccoon, an eagle owl, 2 dogs , 3 children, and thats just at home, so if i do release it i wouldnt give it much hope in my back garden where it was found (i do have a pond but it came from under owl inclosure),
The fact its nearly 2" long gave me hope but then its just been brumating and as such out of the way given the time of year im not sure it will be alive in 6 weeks time

Now like i said i do tend to waffle so ill stop now before an essay is infront of you, ive just got to find my phone to pc cable and my bright yellow frog with red eyes is yours

regards bubo

Dogghound · #5 (**permalink**) 27-01-2009, 03:49 PM

Yes they do exist, you do get areas with higher numbers in the population or a higher chance of a throw back. I dont deny your knowledge im sure you appreciate there are alot of posts on these forums of misidentifications or misdiscription. I was simply checking.

Why would you want to breed it to create more albino offspring?
Rana temporia is on the whole on a decline in the UK so its best to leave them in the wild and let them breed there when possible.

If it has reached 2 inches its not far off sexual maturity, although it may not be ready to breed for another year. My advice is if its reached this size, estimating its around 2-3 years old then its likely to be doing fine in the wild. They often enter and leave a kind of semi-brumation, before totally coming out of it, alternatively if its a cold night there metabolism will slow rite down which has nothing to do with brumation. It is relatively early but I wouldnt have thought it fataly early, after all it is a species that is often found in the highlands of Scotland in colder extremes, the worry is that its albino means that its body is less efficient at absorbing and keeping heat.

It is not illegal to keep them, I would advise that you perhaps keep it until late february and then release it away from your house in a sheltered location, Or alternatiely release it now.

bubo-bubo · #6 (**permalink**) 28-01-2009, 10:56 AM

A few pics guys, there is about a dozen pics in the forum Gallery, now im no photgrapher i just point n click so apologies for the quality n stuff.

bubo

ron1863 · #7 (**permalink**) 28-01-2009, 11:59 AM

When you mentioned "albino" I was expecting a white frog but that is really pretty for a frog. It looks almost like those tree frogs from the Amazon.

I would make sure it was fine before releasing it.

bubo-bubo · #8 (**permalink**) 28-01-2009, 12:08 PM

Hi ron, im going to keep it in untill the weather warms up a little bit and get it fed up. It looks a little thin at the back end but im happy with it as its taken over a dozen wood lice of me over the past 2 days. Pitty im no photographer as i think it would produce some stunnig pics.

bubo

Dutchess · #9 (**permalink**) 28-01-2009, 12:20 PM

Is that what an albino frog looks like? In that case we had one in our garden last year. I thought it was yellow, having lots of sandstone around here I thought it may have adopted a yellowy shade for camoflauge.

D.

galanthus · #10 (**permalink**) 28-01-2009, 12:27 PM

Not quite an albino frog, however, Shirl posted a pic of a yellow frog in her garden last year. It was amazing colours, here's a link.

It does open your eyes to the colour variation in our lovely common frogs tho doesn't it. Given that most peeps think common frogs are just olive green, you can imagine how surprised peeps are to come accross anything different.