Looking into getting a frog!

[kristimw]

Hello all! I am new to the forum. I was searching around and this seemed to be the most active as well as informative.

I am looking in to purchasing a frog. I currently have a bearded dragon but before him I had a jackson chameleon who sadly died. However I still have his tank and I would like to fill it with a frog!

My tank is 12x12x18 it has screen on the top and glass doors in the front. I am unsure on what would be my options for this size of a tank. I also thought about having two frogs.

I am not really picky, I would like something cute but have also found the fatness of pacman frogs to be adorable!

Maintenance is not an issue. My dragon eats a ton of live food and I have a mister and such from my chameleon. I am interested in holding them a little, by that I mean I dont want to be scared to hold him.

I appreciate your help and knowledge!

Thank you

[StephenLS]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The othe guys and gals from yopur side of the pond will have a better idea of whats available to you over there...but Fire Bellied Toads are usually a good starting point!

[John]

Welcome to the site and thanks for the compliments! Stephen's got a good idea there with the fire-bellied toads - they're available at any petco or petsmart in the US. However if you are looking for a pacman, they are a little trickier to maintain. Your main concerns will be temperature and humidity. Pacman (also known as Horned) frogs require warm tropical temperatures of 70-80 F (early 20s Celsius) at night and about 80-90 F (mid 20s to early 30s Celsius) during the day. They require a high level of humidity but they also need good ventilation, so you will have to mist them regularly and provide them with a nice moist substrate in which to burrow. A water bowl in which they can submerge, is also advisable.

From a pet point of view, Pacman frogs are not very entertaining except at feeding time - they spend 99% of their time just sitting perfectly still, doing nothing. Stephen's recommendation of Fire-bellied toads is a better one from this point of view - these little toads are always doing something, especially when you have a few together (which you can't do with Pacman frogs, since they may eat or bite each other).

So there are some things to consider.

[kristimw]

Thank you for the quick replies!

I think I just like the look of the pacman over the other types but I would like something active. The temperature and humidity issues are no problem for me since I regulate all of that at my higher temps with my beardie.

I think I will go for something more active then.

What about the tree fogs v. fire belly toads? They had both at Petco.

[Kurt]

Treefrogs are nice too, White's are handable up to a point, but keep in mind that treefrogs are nocturnal, some more so than others. They will be pretty much like the pack man during the day, sleeping in one spot until darkness falls upon its enclosure.

Dart frogs and mantellas are diurnal and quite active, however they are more advanced then you are ready for at this point.

Given the choices this far, fire-bellies are a good place to start. They are active, sometimes comically so, readily available, relatively cheap. The down side is the are wild caught and should be treated for gastrointestinal parasites, but then again unless you are buying directly from a breeder, you should always treat new frogs for them.