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Bogalog
Pondweed
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
 Posted - 30/08/2010 : 00:34:31
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Hi all
I'm a long time frog lover, and recently have been tempted by owning my own frog.
First off, sorry, as I'm sure you get this sort of question all the time.
Anyway, I have been reading about keeping frogs and the two that seem to pop up quite a bit are the white's tree frog and the horned frog. The "chubbiness of the horned frog and the smaller required area appeal to me, but so does the more handling-friendly nature of the white's frog.
I have seen frogs sold in what seem to be very small starter kits, I assume the frog would need to be moved fairly quickly into a larger enclosure?
Can anyone give me advice on keeping these?
Also, does anyone know of any good shops for frogs and necessary items in the Poole/ Southampton area?
Thanks,
Josh
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 23:51:40
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I wouldn't advise choosing a frog by how handleable it is to be honest. Yes White's tree frogs are known to be handleable, but the truth is they do better when they aren't, same as other amphibians. Another truth is, in my experience they don't feel particularly pleasant to handle anyway. lol
To confuse you even more, I would extend your list of possibles to include fire bellied toads. Not frogs, but still similar and easy to keep, and also don't take up as much room as say White's, or eat you out of house and home like horned frogs. They're more active than either as well. Only thing is, they need a proper water area as well as a land area.
I should add, I don't keep fire bellied toads or horned frogs. I keep White's tree frogs and dart frogs (darts definitely not good beginner frogs, I am starting out with them and not having the best start). White's however are big nocturnal frogs that to be honest don't do a lot, except shout at you loudly if you disturb them. I love mine, but they aren't for everybody.
If you want a herp you can handle though, I would recommend looking away from amphibians, and towards bearded dragons, crested geckos or leopard geckos. My beardies are extremely tame, feel quite nice to handle and take no harm from been handled. :)
Ade |
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Bogalog
Pondweed
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 31/08/2010 : 01:02:29
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Hi Ade, thanks for the reply
I realise that frogs won't be as tame as other animals, but they have long since been my favourite animal, I was concerned that the horned frog is known to bite, and I know that transferring them to a temporary enclosure is needed when you clean them out.
I appreciate the advice about the reptiles as possible alternatives, but to be honest I don't feel the same way about them as i do about frogs (apart from perhaps leopard geckos, which I will do some research into)
Whatever I get, it will need to be kept in my room, so nocturnal frogs could be an issue, which I didnt think much into
Thanks for the advice mate, I will look into fire bellied toads too. I will be looking at buying a ready-built enclosure rather than building my own, and im sure there are ones with water areas available.
Thanks again for the input |
Edited by - Bogalog on 31/08/2010 01:06:03 |
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 31/08/2010 : 12:45:28
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Probably not a good idea to keep White's in your bedroom then, the males have a LOUD call when mature. Hear for yourself, that was recorded on my phone and is quieter than it is 'in the flesh' so to speak. They can drown out the noise of our washing machine on it's spin cycle...
Putting a water area into a normal viv (exo-terra type one) isn't difficult to do, just use gravel or similar to create the base of the land are, and put your normal substrate on top of this, using something like hydrofleece to keep them separate, or you can do it properly by siliconing an acrylic divider in the bottom, you can make this look more natural by siliconing slate to it. Just make sure to use aquarium silicone, normal tends to contain mold inhibitors that are harmful to amphibians. There's only really the plastic firebelly landing thing with a built in water area, but honestly they are far too small.
I would agree with you that frogs are much cuter than lizards, they just don't make good handling pets. ;)
Ade |
Edited by - Ade on 31/08/2010 12:45:56 |
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Bogalog
Pondweed
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 02:46:32
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Thanks for your reply ade, I appreciate the help.
I've now decided on keeping a horned frog, and have started looking into things I need to buy.
I've found:
30x30x30cm tank
Coco husk
Thermometers/ hygrometers
Round plastic ended tweezers
Calcium/d3 supplements
Heat mat
A family member willing to look after my frog if I go away ;)
Anything I've missed? Other than the frog itself of course
The only thing I have seen mentioned but haven't found is a calcium supplement to put in the water bowl, and an amphibian friendly cleaner for the tank.
I appreciate any advice people have for me :) |
Edited by - Bogalog on 01/09/2010 11:29:18 |
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 15:00:38
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I use Ark-Clense to clean my vivs, you still have to rinse it off though before your frogs go back in.
For liquid Vitamins/Calcium have a look on livefoods.co.uk for B.S.P Drops (vitamins) and Zolcal-D (calcium+D3). Keep in mind with the D3 though that liquid versions are said to be less effective, but the calcium is still there.
Oh and the one thing you haven't mentioned is what you plan to feed. ;) You might find the cheapest way is to set up a wormery in your garden. lol
Ade |
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Bogalog
Pondweed
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2010 : 21:43:07
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I was on the verge of reserving a horned frog when I noticed amazon milk frogs a couple of tanks over.
I spoke to the guy who was looking after the area of the shop and he said his milk frogs were his first and were easy to keep. My only concern with keeping white's frogs or milk frogs is possible noise at night. What do you think? I will have to keep whatever I get in my room, but I could probably manage ear plugs.
Any experience with these? I have heard they are similar in difficulty to keep as white's frogs
Oh! and I'm planning to get a kricket keeper and some mealworms for food.
Edit: I realise that tree frogs require bigger areas, ive seen anything from 30x30x45 to 45x45x60. Do i need to think about keeping multiple tree frogs together for company also? |
Edited by - Bogalog on 01/09/2010 21:48:38 |
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Ade
Tadpole
United Kingdom
153 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2010 : 15:08:00
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I think if noise at night is a problem you should avoid tree frogs or leaf frogs entirely. lol
Hmmm, more of a challenge, and a fair bit more expensive, but have you considered poison dart frogs? So long as you can meet the challenge of culturing fruit flies along with managing their temperature and relative humidity (needs to be higher for darts than for tree frogs), then you could well do ok with some of the species suitable for novices. Yes it's usually better to start with easier frogs, but at the end of the day so long as you do your research and preparation, as with any species, they don't need to be that difficult to keep. They are also diurnal, so you will see more of them (especially if you pick a bold species like dendromates leucomeles) AND they will be asleep at night, not shouting to each other... Oh and you can keep pairs of even tinctorius in a 40x40x40 and I have a trio of leucomeles in a 45x45x60, so they don't need quite as much space. With tree frogs, the bigger the better, as even smaller species love space.
I think your best pet at this point though is perhaps to have a nose on dartfrog.co.uk, even if you don't get your frogs from there it will give you an idea of the frogs you can get. Then make a short list of frogs you like and research their care needs before making your final choice.
Ade |
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Kazerella
The Amphibian Administrator
United Kingdom
969 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2010 : 10:30:23
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I would still go for the horned frog I think
They are great pets, although they do have a nasty bite on them. Just stay away from the serrated jaw  |
 
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Frog Meister
Pondweed
Australia
4 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2010 : 23:23:40
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Well horned frogs do seem like awesome pets but if its the noise and the space thats restricting you, than you might consider african dwarf frogs, just a 10 gallon tank should be able to house 2 and because they're aquatic frogs i don't think they'll be able to croak. Plus they can be handled but to a minimum as they are small and fragile. They also are quite active as they like to frolick about in their aquarium, and horned frogs aren't very active. But then again it's what ever suits you i guess.
Frog Meister :) |
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Newbie prospective frog keeper
