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Hello all you frog fans! My name is Aaron Klugh, and I am currently the frog keeper with the exhibit, Frogs—A Chorus of Colors. It's certainly never boring working with these critters! Like all animals, they require daily upkeep. Because they drink and breathe through their skin, they must always have clean water and a clean enclosure. Believe it or not, some of the frogs are real characters! For instance, one of the Waxy Monkey Frogs will follow you with his eyes when you walk passed. We call that one, Creeper. There is also a giant African bullfrog named, Jabba.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"39662","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"175","height":"146","title":"Frogs: A Chorus of Colors","alt":"Frogs: A Chorus of Colors"}}]]I have always had a passion for animals. My father was a high school biology teacher and I always had reptiles and amphibians as pets, as well as a dog. I went to school at a college in Florida called, Santa Fe College, and they have a Zoo Animal Technology program where you are taught to become a zookeeper. They even have an AZA accredited zoo on the campus where I did my training. I have been traveling with the frog exhibit for six months of the year; first in Denver, then New York City, and now Indianapolis! Indy, is a beautiful city.
Everyone always asks me what my favorite frog is. It's a tough decision! They all have unique characteristics. For example, the Long-nosed Horned Frog is perfectly camouflaged to resemble a dead leaf on the ground, while the Chinese Gliding Frog is speckled to resemble the spotted leaves on which it sits. However one of the most impressive frogs to me, are the Poison Dart Frogs. The Golden Dart Frog is the most poisonous animal on Earth! Dart Frogs get their toxins from insects they eat, such as ants and beetles. The insects acquire their toxins from certain rainforest plants they eat. The toxins go right down the food chain and into the frog. Certain chemicals in the frog magnify the toxins making them deadly poisonous to any potential predator. In captivity, the frogs are fed fruit flies, and they lose their toxicity.
Amphibians are the foundations of our ecosystems and it is important to conserve these delicate species. Learn more about these cool critters in Frogs—A Chrous of Colors here at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through January 2, 2012.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"39662","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"175","height":"146","title":"Frogs: A Chorus of Colors","alt":"Frogs: A Chorus of Colors"}}]]I have always had a passion for animals. My father was a high school biology teacher and I always had reptiles and amphibians as pets, as well as a dog. I went to school at a college in Florida called, Santa Fe College, and they have a Zoo Animal Technology program where you are taught to become a zookeeper. They even have an AZA accredited zoo on the campus where I did my training. I have been traveling with the frog exhibit for six months of the year; first in Denver, then New York City, and now Indianapolis! Indy, is a beautiful city.
Everyone always asks me what my favorite frog is. It's a tough decision! They all have unique characteristics. For example, the Long-nosed Horned Frog is perfectly camouflaged to resemble a dead leaf on the ground, while the Chinese Gliding Frog is speckled to resemble the spotted leaves on which it sits. However one of the most impressive frogs to me, are the Poison Dart Frogs. The Golden Dart Frog is the most poisonous animal on Earth! Dart Frogs get their toxins from insects they eat, such as ants and beetles. The insects acquire their toxins from certain rainforest plants they eat. The toxins go right down the food chain and into the frog. Certain chemicals in the frog magnify the toxins making them deadly poisonous to any potential predator. In captivity, the frogs are fed fruit flies, and they lose their toxicity.
Amphibians are the foundations of our ecosystems and it is important to conserve these delicate species. Learn more about these cool critters in Frogs—A Chrous of Colors here at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis through January 2, 2012.
