152: The Waxy Monkey Tree Frog with Philippe de Vosjoli

Today we take a close look at the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog. No, it is not a chameleon, but you will be much more successful with this species if you use chameleon husbandry rather than standard frog husbandry. And to introduce us to this unique frog is none other than Philippe de Vosjoli.

Welcome to another episode of the Outer Fringes where we explore an arboreal reptile – or amphibian – that chameleon keepers would be uniquely suited to understand. Today we are talking about Phyllomedusa sauvagii, the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog. This is the most unfrog frog. It climbs in the branches prowling about like a cat and it perches like an unusually cute gargoyle. It’s arboreal nature and its adaptations to a dry environment puts it firmly into husbandry conditions that many chameleon keepers will recognize.

I am very happy to have Philippe de Vosjoli back on the podcast. People who have been around recognize this name as the founder of the Vivarium magazine and the Advanced Vivarium Systems collection of herpetocultural reference books. He has a wide experience with reptile and amphibian care and, over these many decades, has been active in the legal status of reptile keeping and promoting the value of keeping reptiles in the first place. We will get insight into the care of Phyllomedusa sauvagii, but we will also touch on Philippe’s perspective on the role of the breeder in the community. If some of what we talk about sounds familiar to you regular podcast listeners it is because Philippe’s work was instrumental in forming my views.   I am pleased to bring you this interview.

The Chameleon Academy Podcast can be found on any smartphone podcasting app, but there is a free app dedicated to the Chameleon Academy that gives you undistracted access to the entire episode library! The episodes come to the app first and it keeps you from having to search. This app is available for both iPhone and Android phones. Click the appropriate icon below to go directly to the download page!

The Chameleon Academy Podcast started its first four seasons as the Chameleon Breeder Podcast. in 2020, the name was changed to tie it in to chameleonacademy.com which is the website base for the latest in chameleon husbandry.

Note: as of 7/18/20 there have been website issues with chameleonacademy.com and I am using this website for podcast episode accessibility until I can sort out the database issue…isn’t website maintenance a joy? If you are referencing this page after July 2020 chances are good that the website will have been back up and running for a while and you are welcome to check it out at https://chameleonacademy.com.