13 Jan 04

My name is Bill Johnson. I'm was born and raised in Ashland, Ky and still reside here to this day (spent a few years in a small town in Ohio which is 5 minutes from where I live). I was born on February 1st 1978. I guess one could say I was born to be a frogger. As a child I would spend all of my free time scouring streams and ponds, lurking for various native Rana and Hyla as well as any other amphibians I could find. I also actively observed the many slamander species we have here and still do to this day (I find them much easier to catch than rana ;) I've always had a passion for the tropical species of amphibians and redeyes have always been one of many favorites of mine. Dart frogs came into the picture during my elementary school days when our class would have 'Library Day'. I would always head to the non-fiction section and pull as many Reptile/Amphibian books as I could and would read them in awe from cover to cover. Many of those books had nice images of dendrobatidae portayed in them and those would strike me the most. I would sit there with those books, daydreaming about somehow keeping them in captivity. Of course, this was always just a dream and I was not aware that it coule even possibly be done. My parents simply could not be persuaded into allowing me to keep anything like this so I had to 'perservere' until I moved out on my own. The dream was put on hold for some odd years and they began to settle just out of reach in my mind. About 5 years ago, while I was finally able to keep a few geckos, I stumbled upon a dart frog related website and the dream was rekindled into a burning desire. Shortly after marriage, I managed to convince my wife, Jessica, into allowing me to construct a 20 gallon vivarium to house a species of her choice. We were looking through several breeders site's and when she took a good look at a nice photo of an azureus, she demanded that we start with that species. How could I argue with such an excellent choice! They were and still are, one of several favorite species of mine (D. reticulatus being my prime fav). I built the 20 gallon vivarium in about a month and after allowing it to settle in for another month, we headed up to the Columbus, Ohio reptile show. Through the tight crowds of people, we came across Bill Weirt's (QualityExotics) table and spied his offerings. The largest container on the table held what looked to be a couple dozen azureus. I purchased a couple of these as well as 4 32 oz ff cultures and a bag of media and a few other supplies. To this day I remember the excitement of 'that first frog' and refused to take my eyes of of the 2 blue beauties the whole 2 hour drive back home. I got them home and placed them in their new viv and fed a few dusted flies. They immediately began eating and were very bold! Both of these azureus are still in my collection as adults and I lucked into getting a pair. I was clearly hooked and still am to this day! Two years have gone by since then and I have learned alot along the way and have met many, many great people whom share a common vision. My collection is still rather small but it is evergrowing and I hope to acquire a few new species this year. -Bill J.


_______from the notes and contributions of Frognet Patrons_______