Frog/Toad Intelligence - what do you think?

[mpmistr]

While I love amphibians I doubt their intellect. They are quite frankly mindless eating machines. =)

[WTF97]

My whites tree frogs are pretty smart.They have learned how to escape their tank at night..and also go back to their aquarium in the morning no problems

[mpmistr]

My whites tree frogs are pretty smart.They have learned how to escape their tank at night..and also go back to their aquarium in the morning no problems

Tree frogs appear to possess bit more intelligent than other amphibians, I would assume because they need higher brain function to operate in a 3D environment unlike other frogs whose world is more flat.

I am partial to african clawed frogs since those are the only amphibians I keep at the moment, while they are not intellectual power houses they DO know me and they do clamor up to the front of their aquarium when they see me.. obviously for food not to say 'hi' though. : )

[findiviglio]

Hi Folks, Thank you. they can seem like eating machines at times - I recall White's Treefrogs that shared an exhibit with Diamond Pythons latching onto dead rats that were being tong fed to the snakes!..but unnatural situation, of course. They surely wouldn't approach a rat-sized mammal in the wild.

Re-entering the terrarium is interesting....some species seem to return to the same hiding spot over time, Ive seen this with a group of Cuban Treefrogs I kept in a huge greenhouse.

African clawed Frogs are very responsive indeed; one of my lifelong favorites. One of mine lived for 20 or so years, and that is not a record! Very interesting to breed as well; perhaps you'll enjoy this article.

Best, Frank

[tgampper]

Vision in Xenopus seems to be of little use. The eye is used mainly for protective arousal - that is, when a large object moves rapidly above the water, frogs that have been hanging at the water surface dive to the bottom to hide. This reaction helps protect them from birds, which are their primary predator. It is interesting that this reaction is restricted to objects above the frog. There is little or no reaction if an object passes along side the frog. Clawed frogs can identify objects in the air when it is underwater. It appears that fully grown frogs have some method (yet to be determined) to compensate for refraction.

Concerning some other unusual frog behavior. When I worked at the zoo, I found that many species of frogs preferred a "hot spot" to bask. It seems to be more common with toads. Among the clawed frogs, Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis, for example, will often leave the water to bask.

According to Elephandt, Xenopus is able to learn various tasks. They also demonstrate long-term memory and several forms of complex learning - they are capable of learning rules in its environment.

Yes, Michael, Xenopus are smart

[findiviglio]

Vision in Xenopus seems to be of little use. The eye is used mainly for protective arousal - that is, when a large object moves rapidly above the water, frogs that have been hanging at the water surface dive to the bottom to hide. This reaction helps protect them from birds, which are their primary predator. It is interesting that this reaction is restricted to objects above the frog. There is little or no reaction if an object passes along side the frog. Clawed frogs can identify objects in the air when it is underwater. It appears that fully grown frogs have some method (yet to be determined) to compensate for refraction.

Concerning some other unusual frog behavior. When I worked at the zoo, I found that many species of frogs preferred a "hot spot" to bask. It seems to be more common with toads. Among the clawed frogs, Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis, for example, will often leave the water to bask.

According to Elephandt, Xenopus is able to learn various tasks. They also demonstrate long-term memory and several forms of complex learning - they are capable of learning rules in its environment.

Yes, Michael, Xenopus are smart

Thanks very much...you are only the second person I've run across, over many years, to have obs basking in a relative! Re refraction correction, I've worked with archer fish and was always amazed at their abilities in this regard. They even aimed at keeper's eyes, and never missed! Best, Frank

[tgampper]

Thanks very much...you are only the second person I've run across, over many years, to have obs basking in a relative! Re refraction correction, I've worked with archer fish and was always amazed at their abilities in this regard. They even aimed at keeper's eyes, and never missed! Best, Frank

It really surprised me about the basking. I wouldn't have believed it, if I didn't see it with my own eyes

[findiviglio]

It really surprised me about the basking. I wouldn't have believed it, if I didn't see it with my own eyes

Same here, re the basking - the Bx Zoo curator and my co-workers never did quite believe me! Thanks for the note on their calls; I set up an exhibit for the Maritime Aq in CT, and the keepers there were interested in following up on that; budget and all is always a problem, but I'm hoping they will do some work on it. I've seen the males stiffen and "shimmy" when grasped by another male as well, not sure if I've heard the release call..best, Frank

[Cronopio]

My whites tree frogs are pretty smart.They have learned how to escape their tank at night..and also go back to their aquarium in the morning no problems

Ugh, I wish mine had! He learned how to escape, and has done so twice -- we had to track him down in the morning and put him up. So now his cage lid is firmly locked, but he is heartbroken -- he pushes, and pushes, and pushes, and then calls us bad names in Frogspeak. Poor Fred!