Care for your pet FROG
New Sabah Times, 12 Nov 2006

 
There are over 2500 varieties of pet frogs and toads that exist throughout the world. Frogs and toads are different in many ways. Frogs possess bodies that are more streamlined and elongated than those of toads. The legs of your pet frog are elongated and ideal for leaping and swimming whereas those of toads are shorter and used for walking and stalking prey.

Frogs, and other amphibians can be purchased at any pet store, or even gathered from their natural habitats. The following sections will detail care of frogs regarding frog food, frog nutrition, and frog housing. Enjoy your pet frog!

Things to Think About When Considering a Pet Frog

• Frogs in captivity are quite long lived (with proper care), so be prepared for a long term commitment. Average life spans are typically 4-15 years, although some have been known to live longer.

• Keeping frogs’ enclosures clean can be a lot of work. Many frogs have fairly simple light, temperature, and humidity requirements, but they are very sensitive to contaminants and waste in their environment.

• Some people find frogs boring, though some of the smaller frogs are quite active. However, many of the larger frogs are quite sedentary and don’t move around much.

• You need to handle insects to feed most frogs. Some of the larger frogs will even eat pinky mice.

• It can be difficult to find someone to care for your frogs if you plan on traveling at all (keeping in mind you could have your frog for years, you may eventually need someone to look after your frogs for a significant length of time).

Frog Housing & Environment As with any other kind of pet, doing lots of research prior to deciding on the type of frog that best suits your needs is the best way to make sure you and your frog will be happy.

Set up a tank with everything needed before getting a frog. Things to consider include:

• Grown size of frogs. Some of the smallest frogs you might see in a pet store grow into giants. Sometimes their name adds to the confused expectations—“pixie” frogs, which sound like they should be small, are actually African bullfrogs which grow to be 8-9 inches long and very fat. They get their cute name from their latin name, Pyxicephalus adspersus.

• The kind of tank they will need – aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal, or semi-aquatic (or half land and half water, which is probably the trickiest to set up and one of the most common types of tank needed for frogs).

• The type of food required – many frogs need a variety of insects, and the larger types can even eat pinkie mice

• Does the frog need to hibernate?

Although frogs are adaptive to any environment in which they are placed, do your best to duplicate the frog environment from which your pet frog came from. Maintaining a constant environmental temperature and proper humidity within the frog housing is essential to your frog’s health.

The right frog environment that your pet from housing creates depends upon the species of frog that you own. Tree frogs need homes that are taller than those of their ground-loving peers, complete with plenty of tree branches and foliage on which to climb.

Most pet frogs are housed in glass aquarium-type frog environments fitted with secure tops that prevent escape, but give adequate ventilation. Sphagnum moss is ideal for lining the floor of your frog’s housing, for proper care of your frog! Make sure to keep a thermometer and humidity gauge – temperatures should be between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with humidity around 75 to 80 percent in the frog housing.

Frog Food & Nutrition Feeding live frog food to your pet frog is recommended in order to stimulate and promote normal natural feeding behavior. Crickets are the ideal food, as they are inexpensive and easy to obtain. Crickets can be purchased from most pet stores or can be gathered from around your home. Before feeding the frog food to your pet frog, make sure to feed the crickets tropical fish food or a commercial cricket diet loaded with nutrients to booster their nutritional value.