What kind of frog did we find?

[Lynn Thompson]

Hey everyone! I'm trying to figure out what kind of Frog my boys found?!?!


Thanks from the Thompson Family

[Namio]

Looks like a bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) to me.

[Lynn Thompson]

You think? hmmm.. any tips for bullfrogs?

[Froggiefressh]

My tip for bullfrogs would be to let it go. They need a huge amount of space to be comfortable.

[Deac77]

Yea I'd let it go if not 100gallon tank is required at least 50/50 water/land ratio they eat a junk ton and are very skittish

[Namio]

You think? hmmm.. any tips for bullfrogs?

Assuming you've caught this critter in Minnesota, where bullfrogs are thought to be non-native, you can probably legally keeping it as a pet. Bullfrogs are aggressive yet skittish eaters, and potentially can thrive in captivity (eating large crickets), so in reality you can keep you if you'd like. Especially this little one looks to be about 2 inches in length? Just be aware like Greg & Deac77 said they need quite a bit of space eventually as they can grow up to eight inches. Bullfrogs also possess powerful back legs so they'll likely banging themselves against the wall of the enclosure a lot.

In California we consider bullfrogs as pests. They're introduced to the west coast (native to the east coast, however) and outcompete other native frogs so personally I would kill it if I caught one in California for another reason that I'll mention below.

Whether you choose to keep it as a pet temporarily, or letting it go, please be aware that bullfrogs are often carriers of a fungal pathogen, chytrid fungus, that are often lethal to most other amphibians. Unlike other members of chytrid, this chytrid pathogen is a waterborne fungus without a resting stage, so desiccation will kill it. If I were you, I'll definitely treat this particular individual as an infected frog. Keep in mind that chytrid fungus is completely NOT harmful to humans or other animals (except amphibians).

If you have other amphibian pets, I would avoid cross infection by disinfect anything that made contact with this frog by soaking it with 1:10 bleach solution (1 part bleach mix in 10 parts water) for more than 2 minutes.

Like Deac77 mentioned earlier, bullfrogs are highly aquatic so they need a lot water in their terrarium. But don't forget, the water and substrate they come in contact with probably have chytrid fungus in them.

With caution, I would keep a bullfrog as my pet (which I have done). After all, it's a cool animal and the experience can be rewarding.

by the way, guess what happened to the bullfrog that I had keep before?

Yes, I killed it.

(If you know me, I'm really not an evil person, lol)

[Namio]

By the way, this one you have appears to be a male.

[Justonian]

I am 100% positive that this is in fact a female Northern Green Frog. You can tell because it has dorsolateral fold on its sides. Also, a tip on determining the gender of Green Frogs and Bullfrogs alike, males will have a bright yellow chin and females will have a cream-colored to a white chin. Males also have a tympanum (ear) larger than the eye. Females will have an ear the same size as their eye.

[Ra]

Thats a Green Frog.

Kids dont need a fishing license to fish in mn, so they can catch and keep as many frogs for personal use as they want.

The bare minimun gaging could be a large plastic sweater box with a shallow amount of water with a log for it to sit on when it wants out of the water. Use an aquarium water dechlorinator to treat the water, or let it sit out for 24 hours before using. Change the water daily and scrub down the whole thing with a mild bleach solution weekly, rinsing liberally with HOT water and then allowing the conatiner to FULLY AIR DRY. So it would be easiest to get two sweater boxes, and just put him into the already cleaned one while the other one is being cleaned.

Feed it lots of nightcrawlers and minnows.

Make sure the sweater box has lots of ventilation...read the article on the forum about how to make a cheap terrarium. Use a cheap heating pad or a reflector lamp with a 25 to 40 watt red bulb to heat the enclosure to about 80 degrees.


I hope you didnt follow the advice of letting it go because you were erronously told it was a bullfrog when it is not. Green Frogs can do pretty well in a terrarium and live for many years.