Almost three months into The Woods, the first show has launched!
Ace first stepped foot into these lands on November 27, 2023; we haven't looked back ever since. We have learned much about the big three animals to inherit these lands first. Ace, Wellsboro, and Esther appear to be cohabitating well. The Sony FX30 has been brilliant in capturing 4K60FPS images. Finally, the flagship project for the media brand was unleashed. We have a lot to cover in this update.
Ace has continued to thrive. We found from ultrasounds that she was gravid and carrying eggs. She was also given a dewormer and began to slow down for the winter. Despite all this, She has picked herself back up, and she sits in the tank at the point of writing this in a proud stance, her head up in the center of the enclosure while Wellsboro and Esther are more inactive due to the winter. She is carrying the show, upcoming documentary, and a piece of Frog Week 2024 on her shoulders. She has demonstrated power by gobbling up two prey items at one time. Ace has seemingly become more active at her own discretion. She continues to show up in the most significant moments of the show. Ace continues to embody excellence and majesty. It will be incredible to see how she responds to the ever-changing ecosystem of her new home. As of January 4, she remains the dominant creature in the woods. As she should.
Pictures of Ace
Wellsboro has entered The Woods. He has made his presence felt. "The Golden Toad" has already declared the lands belong to him. He was calling and mounted Ace on multiple occasions. His entrance was nothing short of a spectacle. He threw Ace aside and stood beside her on his first night. He has yet to challenge Ace for food at the target they are all trained to eat at. I have added two so he can eat. Ace has not tried to take food away from him. There appears to be a truce or some understanding because he has stopped mounting her, and she does not want to starve him as she did five years ago. Wellsboro has been a fantastic asset to this ecosystem because he can maneuver gracefully around the land. Logs, holes, rocks, and other objects are no problem for Wellsboro. He looks very comfortable in there. How will he respond to new members in his home? Wellsboro has notoriously been semi-aggressive to smaller frogs and toads. What will he do when the last two anurans join the ecosystem? One thing has not changed over five years. Wellsboro is still a star, and he can thrive in open spaces. I am glad he is in The Woods.
Pictures of Wellsboro
Esther has been inspiring to watch. She is like a ninja because she is very nocturnal and moves silently without detection. She has been able to handle herself catching crickets and other feeders that get away from the targets for the toads. Esther will eat prey on the target but is more inclined to pursue and hunt prey down herself. Her ability to catch prey gives her an essential edge over a much larger toad attempting to starve her. She will hunt and make sure she gets enough to eat. I had witnessed that when she was hungry, she immediately and with ease took a cricket from Wellsboro before he could attempt to catch it. He would bully her in the smaller quarantine enclosures when the two were kept together. She can handle her own in this setting. She was even featured in an episode with Wellsboro. Esther has been in The Woods just as long as Ace, but her activity is more challenging to film. She begins activity around 1 am. I have seen her more adventurous and willing to move around compared to the smaller quarantine enclosures. She was very lazy inside the 40-gallon quarantine enclosure. When she is active, she is very alert, and it is impressive to watch her move through the enclosure. She is also not able to leap through the entire enclosure in just one leap. She must leap three or four times to go from side to side. This extra space has improved her mood, activity, and hunting prowess. Seeing how she interacts when another wood frog leaps into The Woods will be fascinating.
Pictures of Esther
The next animal to move into The Woods is Baldwin, the male American toad rescued on a busy street with a broken wrist in two places. He might be the most expensive toad I have ever kept. His vet bill is around $4K for the surgery, care by a vet, and all the resources to help him recover. He is in the last stages before the "cast" is removed in two weeks. If he can survive quarantine for the next two weeks, he will begin protocols to begin training to move into The Woods. He is a much smaller toad than Wellsboro. Will he be accepted by the big three, or will he be an outsider? Let's wish Baldwin the best to recover and enter The Woods. More information on him in the next update, assuming he survives and gets the cast off.
Pictures of Baldwin
We are preparing for the Black Field Ants to wake up from dormancy and then be shipped. The ants will not be able to live inside the enclosure because six frogs and toads would ravage the colony in days. As the ants grow in population, they will be regulated by the frogs and toads. I will drop them into The Woods as feeder items. Ants are a very abundant prey item and are present in many gut and stomach studies for American toads, and one can assume wood frogs since they overlap in habitat niches. I am very excited to see how this stimulates the frogs and toads when they see ants fall from the sky. Watching the ants as pets in their habitat will be interesting. I would love to give them a massive woodland enclosure as an additional part of the PA Woods, where they are the dominant creatures. They will not be the only colony of insects. Both Canyon Isopods and Dubia Roaches are intertwined parts of this ecosystem. The ants will need the roaches as a food source and rely on the isopods to be a clean-up crew (and possibly a snack.) The ants, like the frogs and toads, will be treated as a top priority. I will have updates once the ants come from Mack and Tar Heel Ants.
Picture by Mack Pridgen and Tar Heel Ants
This show will feature breathtaking scenes of the animals, tech and camera gear, specific music artists, artificial weather, and much more. The Woods Uncut: is a show that features the best of the 242-Gallon. The animals, weather, ecosystem, tech, music, and more are featured in this show. Watch the most cinematic content featuring the animals and critters of this massive enclosure. Check out the cinematic footage from the Sony FX30, iPhone 13 (iPhone 15 Pro coming soon), and Eversecu Security Camera. Listen to impressive tracks by Scott Buckley, Alex Productions, Aerohead, Your Friend, Ghost, Lemmino, KV, and YouTube Studio Artists! Feeder insects are all from Josh's Frogs—Black Field Ants from Tar Heel Ants. The Woods Uncut: is shot in crystal clear 4K60FPS.
Show features:
Ace Highlights
Following Wellsboro and Esther
Ace vs Wellsboro: The Rivalry
Music Showcase
Camera Showcase
Weather Showcase
Swarms Battles (Feeding Videos)
Slow Motion Showcase
Night Vision Showcase
Timelapse Showcase
Tag Team Feeding Video Showcase
Quarantine Updates (New Pets)
Shorts and Reels
More Coming Soon!
Stars Animals:
Ace - Female American Toad
Wellsboro - Male American Toad
Esther - Female Wood Frog
Baldwin - Male American Toad
Baby Wood Frog
Black Field Ants
Dubia Roaches
Canyon Isopods
Musicians Featured:
Scott Buckley
Alex Productions
Aerohead
Your Friend, Ghost
Lemmino
KV
YouTube Safe Music
Featured Tech:
Sony FX30
iPhone 13 (iPhone 15 Pro Soon)
Eversecu Security Camera
Weather:
Cold Front
Warm Front
Thunderstorm (Isolated, Scattered)
Rainstorm
Windy
Fog Storm
Full Moon
New Moon
Sunny Day
Normal Day
Normal Day Sunset
More Coming Soon!
The following episodes will feature an Ace Highlight Reel and The Story of Esther. Get ready to experience the most incredible story about frogs, toads, ants, and the woodland biome inside the massive 242 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium.
What are you most excited about with the new show? Let me know in the comments what you want to see next.
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Watch the playlist on YouTube in the link below!