I rushed into ownership, please help!

[DVirginiana]

Five gallons is big enough for a baby, but you will need a 10 gallon by the time it is full grown.
For babies, crickets or nightcrawler chunks fed every other day (or every day depending on how young) are good. Wait until they get older to feed things like fish and mice, and then only once or twice a month. Feeding too many mice can case health problems because of the high fat content and also lead to impaction.
Read the caresheet on this forum. Daytime temps should be 80-85 and night temps should be 75-80. Humidity should be around 85%; putting saran wrap over part of the lid helps keep humidity up. You absolutely need a tank heater. If you get a heat mat, put it on the side though not the bottom. You need to get an in-tank thermometer and hygrometer to monitor temp and humidity. Stress from improper housing can make frogs stop eating and even kill them, so you should take care of that ASAP.

Also, from someone living with seven separate reptile/amphibian/fish tanks in a small apartment with a dog and another person: Bookcase. If it's ten gallons or less, get a bookcase, modify it, and tier the setups.

You can use your fish's water dechlorinator to treat tap water for the frog. Take the water out of that plastic container, dip some paper towels in dechlorinated water, and put him on that until you get him a real home. Being soaked in water like that in an air-conditioned apartment could be a death sentence.

I'm really not trying to be rude, but why would you buy a pet without first getting an enclosure for it? Purchasing an animal without even trying to prepare a home for it beforehand is irresponsible.

[Ra]

I'm really not trying to be rude, but why would you buy a pet without first getting an enclosure for it? Purchasing an animal without even trying to prepare a home for it beforehand is irresponsible.

They told him/her it wouldnt need anything bigger for another onth. They also said it didnt need any supplemental heat source.

[BowserFrog]

I like how people always blame the big bad pet stores, don`t people know when they are prepared to take in a living animal? I am sorry if this comes off as rude but there are so many of these threads, does anyone read a care sheet or do anything before ? Seems like a lot of these threads, the real problem is the owner, not the pet store. Never take on a living animal until 100% ready to do so.

[GrifTheGreat]

You know I wish I could get my hands on the MORON!!! that told you they need no heat, lighting, or humidity!!!! If I were you I would not ask anything more from where you purchaser this frog. Obviously they are a bounty of uselessness and bad information. You've been given great information from the members above. I suggest that you follow it and next time DONT rush into a situation that you yourself are not prepared for. These frogs do require a lot of care at baby and juvenile stages. FOOD being the most important. You will need to feed your frog every night YES NIGHT!!! they are nocturnal so you will need to provide a day night cycle 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. So 7:00 am to 7:00 pm or 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

My main suggestion for housing as of now is a medium to large critter keeper with one once of Coconut Fiber substrate. A UTH(Under Tank Heater) for Hermit Crab enclosures placed on the back of the keeper. (Hermit Crab UTH are safe for plastic) That should provide enough heat for a small enclosure. Cover the top of the lid for the keeper with Saran Wrap leaving the vents on the ends uncovered and the viewing lid in the center uncovered so you can drop food in. Substrate needs to be moist, but not mud so just heavily damp. Place the water dish in the farther corner away from the UTH. Water dish NEEDS TO BE SHALLOW!! No deeper than half the height of the frog so there is no possible way it can drown. Pacs are terrestrial and are not good swimmers.

Get a Calcium Powder supplement that contains Vitamin D3 and dust the frogs food with it every other feeding. Also purchase a Multivitamin. I suggest Herptivite and dust the food with it once a week, BUT do not dust with both at the same time in the same feeding.

Use small crickets as the main food source and I mean the tiny quarter inch to nearly half inch sized ones. Also use Earthworms/Night Crawlers and cut appropriately sized pieces off the worms starting at the tail and offer them to your frog. Rule of thumb is to not offer food items larger than the distance between the frogs eyes. DO NOT USE MEALWORMS OR SUPERWORMS!! The chitin their exoskeleton is made of cannot be digested by your frog and can cause an impaction(Severe constipation cause by intestinal blockage).

You MUST de-chlorinate any water used for your frog. So you will need a de-chlorinating agent to treat the water before placing it in the frogs enclosure. This includes the water used for misting, expanding substrate, and water dish.

Hopefully everything has been covered here. Any in depth questions feel free to ask.

Don't worry if your frog invests some of the coco fiber while hunting. It almost always passes through without harm. to minimize this issue you will need to teach your frog to tong feed which was stated in the above posts. Also break the hind legs off the crickets before offering them to your frog. This makes them much easier for your frog to catch and also will reduce substrate ingestion.

Keep us posted on the little ones progress.

[kero kero]

Thanks to everyone so much for their replies, it really means a lot to me. I again, apologize for my carelessness. I would never want to mistreat an animal, and although it is my fault for not doing my own research before purchasing, I trusted this man because he's been raising exotic reptiles, fish, and amphibians for years throughout his adulthood. I just felt a bit more secure in his teachings because of how well my roommate's snakes are doing (which he also sold to her and helped set up). But yes, I know, snakes =/= frogs.

What I'm going to do today is make a little shopping list, do some online window-shopping and run to our local PetSmart to evaluate just how much a decent set up will cost me. I'm also going to take my trusty tape-measure and grab the dimensions of a larger enclosure and see what I can fit in here. As DVirginiana suggested, use a book shelf. Well, I already actually have one of my 5.5 fish tanks on the bookshelf and it takes up nearly the whole shelf! Haha. But, I'll do a bit more pushing and see what I can do.
If all else fails, I'll just have to return him, even if the store doesn't accept money-back returns. I want to promise him a good home, he's really stuck to me. And from this experience I have learned to never again buy a pet without being prepared beforehand.

[GrifTheGreat]

Follow the setup I suggested and space will not be an issue.

[kero kero]

I really love this little guy, unfortunately my parents (who help pay for my rent) told me that it's not the best idea to invest into another pet just yet.. because of money and college right now. I was so sure I'd be able to afford it! But they are uncertain, and I like to stay on their good side. So I'm taking him back. But I do vastly appreciate everyone's help here, and I'm going to keep it all in the back of my mind for the near future. I promise to be back someday with a happy frog in a healthy home environment! Also, here's a picture of him before I hit the road..

[BlueisallIneed]

Thanks to everyone so much for their replies, it really means a lot to me. I again, apologize for my carelessness. I would never want to mistreat an animal, and although it is my fault for not doing my own research before purchasing, I trusted this man because he's been raising exotic reptiles, fish, and amphibians for years throughout his adulthood. I just felt a bit more secure in his teachings because of how well my roommate's snakes are doing (which he also sold to her and helped set up). But yes, I know, snakes =/= frogs.

What I'm going to do today is make a little shopping list, do some online window-shopping and run to our local PetSmart to evaluate just how much a decent set up will cost me. I'm also going to take my trusty tape-measure and grab the dimensions of a larger enclosure and see what I can fit in here. As DVirginiana suggested, use a book shelf. Well, I already actually have one of my 5.5 fish tanks on the bookshelf and it takes up nearly the whole shelf! Haha. But, I'll do a bit more pushing and see what I can do.
If all else fails, I'll just have to return him, even if the store doesn't accept money-back returns. I want to promise him a good home, he's really stuck to me. And from this experience I have learned to never again buy a pet without being prepared beforehand.

Its carelessness if you didn't do the research. Its smart to do futher investigation and not listening just to the dumb **** that sold you the frog So good for you on trying to do the right thing!

[DVirginiana]

That sucks. I've got so much spare reptile gear lying around I've forgotten how expensive it is to actually go out and purchase an entire new setup.
If I were you I'd go find the guy who sold him and complain... loudly... while his manager is in the room. Everyone eventually learns the 'petstore employees are clueless' lesson, but I think that guy wins the gold.

I was ticked when I read that first post because it sounded like something that you'd normally hear from someone who isn't really serious about giving their animal the care it needs. The fact that you listened to what people on here were saying and actually are actually acting on it, even though that means finding another home for the frog, shows otherwise. Sorry for sounding harsh in that first post.

[kero kero]

That sucks. I've got so much spare reptile gear lying around I've forgotten how expensive it is to actually go out and purchase an entire new setup.
If I were you I'd go find the guy who sold him and complain... loudly... while his manager is in the room. Everyone eventually learns the 'petstore employees are clueless' lesson, but I think that guy wins the gold.

I was ticked when I read that first post because it sounded like something that you'd normally hear from someone who isn't really serious about giving their animal the care it needs. The fact that you listened to what people on here were saying and actually are actually acting on it, even though that means finding another home for the frog, shows otherwise. Sorry for sounding harsh in that first post.

I know I was completely careless... and I felt terrible. I did return the little guy and plan on buying one when I'm ready in the near future. Luckily the store sells tons of fish supplies, so I was able to use store credit to spoil my other pets today.
It's alright, you were only harsh because you're a pet owner and you care about your animals. I'd feel the same for any creature with an inadequate set-up myself. Thanks for your input and I'll save it for later use. :-)

[IrishRonin]

I would like to thank you for giving 2 S***s about the animals in your care. I'm the curator at an animal exhibit and I see to many little ones(frogs,reptiles, mammals and birds) brought in by people who bought them on a whim without any knowledge or an drive to find some, like you did, to properly care for them. The sad part is by the time I get them they are usually on there last leg, I do what I can and there are some success story's but most are to far gone to do much. I have almost lost my job a few times for letting them know how I feel about what they have done to a poor helpless animal. Anyway I look forward to your return to our community when you do finaly get another frog, I bet everyone will agree with me on this, now you've been bitten but the amphibian bug and you'll never be able to shake it, see you soon.

[arielgasca420]

I wont chastise your impulsive decision because i have done it myself. For the sake of the animal please consider taking it back before it is too late to return it. I would stick with the bettas and practice with those because 1 year is too short for a betta if kept in good condition. ive had mine for at least a year but I make sure the temperature and nitrogen fixation is good. I would wait until you have more knowledge and experience because frogs are very difficult to keep in captivity. If I were you maybe think of researching aquatic frogs since aquatic seems to be your thing. I would hold off thought because you are young and a long term commitment animal is something you dont need right now.