RESEARCH ARTICLE Meeting Ultraviolet B Radiation Requirements of Amphibians in Captivity: A Case Study With Mountain Chicken Frogs (Leptodactylus fallax) and General Recommendations for Pre‐Release Health Screening Benjamin Tapley, 1 * Matthew Rendle, 1 Frances M. Baines, 2 Matthias Goetz, 3 Kay S. Bradfield, 4 David Rood, 5 Javier Lopez, 6 Gerardo Garcia, 6 and Andrew Routh 3 1 Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, United Kingdom 2 Greenfield, School Lane, Govilon, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom 3 Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor, La Profonde Rue, Trinity, Jersey, United Kingdom 4 Perth Zoo, South Perth, Western Australia 5 Veterinary X‐Rays, Regent Park, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom 6 Chester Zoo, Upton‐by‐Chester, Chester, United Kingdom Conservation breeding programmes are a tool used to prevent amphibian extinctions. The husbandry requirements of amphibians are complex. Ongoing research is needed to ensure optimal management of those captive‐bred animals destined, in particular, for reintroduction. The UV‐B and vitamin D 3 requirements of amphibians are largely unknown. Metabolic bone disease has been reported in a number of species. These include the Critically Endangered mountain chicken frog (Leptodactylus fallax) reared in captivity on diets supplemented with a high‐calcium multivitamin and mineral supplement containing vitamin D 3 but without UV‐B provision. Captive‐bred L. fallax being reared for reintroduction to Montserrat were provided with UV‐B radiation from metamorphosis and were fed on insects supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Overlapping heat, light and UV‐B gradients were provided, mimicking what we believe best represents the natural situation and thereby facilitated self‐regulation of UV‐B exposure. A subset of 10 frogs was periodically radiographed to assess skeletal health. Radiographic bone density and anatomical integrity appeared unremarkable when compared with a wild caught L. fallax. In addition to other routine health‐screening, we recommend that radiography be performed to a structured schedule on a subset of all captive‐bred and reared amphibians to assess skeletal health and to gauge the appropriateness of captive husbandry. We demonstrate here that, through the appropriate provision of a combination of both UV‐B radiation and dietary supplementation, L. fallax can be bred and reared in captivity with healthy skeletal development. Zoo Biol. XX:XX–XX, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: amphibian; conservation; husbandry; UV‐B; Leptodactylus fallax INTRODUCTION Amphibians are in decline world‐wide [Alford and Richards, 1999] with extinction rates up to 211 times the background rate [McCallum, 2007]. Conservation breeding programmes are one of the tools used to prevent amphibian extinctions [Griffiths and Pavajeau, 2008]. These pro- grammes should aim to maintain genetically representative populations of amphibians in captivity for future population supplementation, reintroduction, or translocation pro- grammes [Baker, 2007; Shishova et al., 2010; Browne and Figiel, 2011]. Amphibians are often cited as being ideal candidates for conservation breeding programmes due to their small size, high fecundity, and low maintenance requirements, and consequentially the cost effectiveness of such programmes when compared with programmes for other à Correspondence to: Benjamin Tapley, Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, United Kingdom. E‐mail: ben.tapley@zsl.org Received 07 March 2014; Revised 12 July 2014; Accepted 06 August 2014 DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21170 Published online XX Month Year in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Zoo Biology 9999 : 1–7 (2014)