starter frog question

[rwg]

Hey all,

My sister loves frogs, but has never owned a herp before. I'm thinking of getting her a frog for her birthday, and I wanted advice. Which frogs are the best to start with? Which are hardy and tolerant of variation in temps and humidity? Right now I'm thinking mostly of either a pacman, or a white's tree frog, but I'm open to any suggestion.

other Roy

[Double J]

Fire belly toads are ideal starter frogs.

They are thrive in a variety of setups..... from paper towel/water dish tanks, to half-land-half water paludariums, to mostly terrestrial vivarium setups with large water dishes. They are active, brightly colored, and have tons of personality. They do not require heat, have fairly small appetites, are long lived, and inexpensive. Plus, they are far more forgiving in terms of general husbandry than any of the frog species you have mentioned.

Here is a gneral rundown of fire belly toad care. This is actually an excerpt from one of my other posts on the subject:

These frogs prefer temps in the low 70s, and do fine in temps in the high 60s! A heat lamp will over heat and dry out these frogs ridiculously fast. So steer clear of heat lamps! Keep them at room temperature and they will be fine. all you need for lighting is a fluorescent light above, and the frogs and plants will thrive. There is no need to heat fire belly toads unless your house is consistently in the high 50's and low-low 60's.

As for housing... there are a variety of options, but here is the easiest:

Ten gallon tank with a screen top for two or three. Eco-earth or bedabeast or coco-husk fiber as a substrate. Have at least two inches deep to hold humidity. Have a large water dish, using dechlorinated water or spring water (not distilled!) for misting and for the water dish. For cover, use pothos plants or philodendrons.. they are hearty and will survive in a fire belly tank. You can have some flower pots of coconut shells as hides if you like. Live plant cover is a beautiful thing, as plants grow and look far nicer than fake ones. Dont fret about sterilizing your live plants when cleaning out the tank. There is no need to. Feed them dusted crickets, but avoid mealworms.

Again, that is the simple way of keeping them.

If you want something a little fancer (I keep mine in a somewhat fancy setup), you can go semi-aquatic. Have pothos plants floating and/or rooted in the gravel (the gravel is of course compleelty submerged). You can then use cork bark, or piled slate for an elevated land area. If you like, you may put eco earth on the slate if you want to plant plants directly in it, but it is not necessary.

Here is an old pic of my setup. The pic really doesn't do the tank justice. It is a rather old pic.. and the pothos have taken over considerably.... but it gives you an idea. The frogs have successfully bred in this enclosure as well.