Hi Everyone! Thanks for checking out my campaign!
Short Summary
Poison frogs are popular pets all over the world because of their beautiful coloration and a broad variety of stunning behaviors. Although most of them are relatively easy to keep, there are some things about husbandry that can be improved. Observations from their natural habitats turned out to be essential for the way we keep and breed these stunning animals. This is where I want to contribute my part:
Having spent over 20 years keeping and breeding over 50 species of poison frogs and the last few years working with them in both the field and the laboratory, I would love to share my knowledge and experience. My focus will lie on Colombian poison frog species, especially on the spectacular egg feeding Oophaga sp., which are highly endangered in the Wild.
Through writing and publishing, I want to contribute to improving animal well-being, help improve ex-situ conservation projects, assure that my passion for frogs and the efforts will inspire fellow hobbyists and that it serves as a guide for both beginners to professionals.
A must have for everyone interested in keeping amphibians!
The manuscript will contain the following topics:
(Order and structure might change a bit, but not topics. Best case I add stuff, but won’t take things out!)
- Prelude
-
The secrets of husbandry
- Hygiene
- The vivarium
- Light vs. darkness, cold vs. heat
- Breeding frogs
- The toolbox
-
Diet
- Feeder insects
- Nutrients: From minerals to pigments to vitamins
- The importance of gut loading
- Do’s and don’ts!
-
Bromeliads
- Observations from the wild
- Water chemistry and implications
- Cultivation of bromeliads
-
Tales from the Wild
- The Biogeographic Chocó:
- Andinobates
- Dendrobates
- Epipedobates
- Oophaga
- The Colombian Amazon
- Allobates
- Ameerega
- Ranitomeya
- The Guyana Shield
- Dendrobates
- Extra toad stories: Atelopus
- Guest Chapter: Conservation by Ivan Lozano of Tesoros de Colombia
-
Closing remarks
The manuscript will cover the species that I have seen in the wild and observations from each biogeographic region that I have visited. It will contain trip reports written in my personal style with my sort of humor, and have detailed glossaries as well as contain brief summaries that will be provided for each topic.
It is an honor for me to have my friend and conservationist idol contributing to the book! So for those of you who don`t know Ivan lozano, here is a brief overview of what he is doing:
Ivan Lozano is a Colombian animal scientist and conservationist whose principal interest is to develop practical solutions to stop species extinctions in his country Colombia.
Ivan has been an International Wildlife Management Consultant for two decades and university lecturer for 8 years.
He created, and is the head of, two revolutionary conservation projects in Colombia:
La Reserva Biopark and Tesoros de Colombia Sustainable Farm.
The Biopark is a conservation themed park located close to Bogotá, where thousands of people, mainly children, get to understand their role in ecosystem and species conservation and welfare. It serves as a sanctuary for hundreds of wild animals rescued from the illegal traffic and has a leading ecosystem restoration project of high Andean forests.
Tesoros de Colombia is a project intended to protect the poison frog species which are being smuggled out of Colombia by offering a legal and ethic alternative to this demand and breed enough animals to start reintroduction programs. Also, Tesoros wants to create reserves for some species and looks to find economic alternatives to the communities that will protect this species once reintroduced.
What I need
Roughly €3000 will support me in finishing writing, self-publishing both digital and paperback forms. Everything raised above that goal will be inverted in quality of the prints and additional content!
When will it be published and why I am self-publishing
I am aiming to publish late summer 2020, preferably end of August.
This campaign is for an english version of the manuscript! A additional german version would be nice, but I would have to see how things go in terms of time and effort for the english version.
I love to have control over all processes and make sure that everything lives up to my standards in terms of quality and style. I will have and will seek input from professionals though, as I understand that publishing a book is a complex and time consuming process.
A whooping estimated 35% of the book is already written and/or prepared. So that at current pace, I should complete the first version of the manuscript by the end of January 2020.
Parallel to all processes, design and layout will be aligned with the requirements for the print.
After that, layout, editing and complementary material such as maps, frogs and other illustrations will consume the majority of the available time.
I am aiming for 50-75 pages, both sides printed, two-column text with large photographs, illustrations and maps. Format A4 (30cm x 21cm) for both the softcover and hardcover versions.
This edition will be limited to maximum 50 of each available style (Softcover magazine, Hardcover Books). All signed and numbered.
Due to the limited number of printed versions available they all automatically turn into something special, as it is going to be a one time project I do not intend to further commercialize.
Free PDF versions of the husbandry parts will be made available to whomever might be interested in ordering to assure the following:
The Impact
The manuscript is aimed at improving animal well-being in terms of standards for hobbyists and professionals. As I described earlier, some new observations have not made it into the hobby yet and as with everything, there is room to improve. I am convinced I can contribute significantly to that cause.
Risk and Challenges
As a person with Young onset Parkinson’s disease, I might have a few bad days every once in a while. So time will have to be very well spent and thoroughly organized without overwhelming me in the process.
As english is not my native language, though I’d say I am pretty ok at it, I intend to distribute part of the funds raised towards getting proof reading and editing done professionally.
Other Ways You Can Help
Share, share, share. Everywhere and all over social media :-)
About Me
My name is Andreas Zarling, I’m a biologist, traveler, enthusiast photographer and passionate story teller!
… and a long term (really close to 20 years) frog addict. Yes, a frog addict! We exist :-)
For as long as I can remember, frogs have been the most interesting creatures on this planet for me. Almost 15 years after for the first time setting foot in frog territory in South America, a good friend recently approached me asking why I haven’t published my stories and observations as a book yet. After a brief moment reflecting on that, I decided that it is a great idea!
My „frogger“ Curriculum vitae
- I am a Herpetologist (M.Sc)
- Kept and bred 50+ poison frog species and managed laboratory frog populations for a few years
- Have given twelve talks about frogs to international audiences so far!
- Co-produced and wrote two documentaries on poison frogs!
- Spent over five years living in Colombia and Ecuador studying poison frogs in the field!
- Over six years as a scientific advisor for an Ex situ breeding program for poison frogs!