New to the frog world

[Misschievou2]

What is the point in having a padlock and telling the child to not handle his pet? Did you grow up "just looking"? As a child I used to pick up everything living i could get my hands on and try to take care of it. Children are trying to learn and be involved. If that were the case the man would have let his child enjoy his fish if it were "just for looking".

Leopard geckos are WONDERFUL for children. They are very easily handled and they don't necessarily need the whole lighting set up!

The bearded dragon is a social and expressive lizard that is very good with children. Also the blue tongued skank is very similar to the bearded dragon besides some small adjustments.

You are completely right about the tail detaching but usually the tail only detaches if the animal is stressed and trying to get away and if the child grabs it by the tail. This can be spoken about to by the child to be aware of. All animals give bites - and reptiles are known for biting. We can discuss every single animal that bites but I just don't see it getting anywhere. The main point is children are wonderful caregivers with animals and they learn tons from taking care of them but it is important to pick out the right animal. I just do not recommend a fire belly toad if the child is planning on handling them. If you plan on doing all the cleaning and care and he or she is just watching from a distance than I agree with boaman just padlock it.


check out this site about best pet lizards for children:
Top 5: The Best Lizard Pets :: VIVAPETS

[Kira Hudson]

no u can handle fire bellys u shouldnt but you can as long as you 1. was your hands before with very mild soap and rinse very well 2. limute it as short a time as possable this dose stress them even if you have a tamer one like me 3. wase your hands compleatly after i have one that wont eat unless i hand feed him while cupping him in my hand i know its nuts but scardy cat is a weird one and i use a reg fish filter i have modifed it with the help of a fourm goer it works great
fbt are a great starter frog anuther to consider is green tree frogs they are also cheep but nocturnal so wont do as much and whites are good to

[fyrfytr]

All points well taken, however as far as things go it is as much a pet for him as well as it is a learning experience for later pets down the road. We have a freshwater tank with african cichlids and he has a beta fish, so we are ok with "hands off" pets. With those he helps us with cleaning (he holds the bucket for me when I am using the gravel vac on the freshwater tank and he is the official cup holder when my wife cleans the beta bowl) but he knowes his limits. Although he is a boy, he is definatly a mamas boy and doesnt like to pick up worms and other slimy insects, so getting hands into the tank is not a fear at this point. I thought a frog tank would be a fun addition to his room as he does like to sit and watch the fish in the fish tank out in the living room and if I set up a small LED moonlight (marine tank talking here) they could "share" a nightlight and maybe help ease the scared of the dark issues.

[Niima]

Well to "the no touch thing" I have fire belly toads and I don't touch them, but I show my two year old son all the time and he can't keep his eyes off of them. He doesn't even need to touch them. He cries when I take them away to let them unstress. And you can touch them very delicately, plus they are amazing even to watch. Plus I'd always be worried that if my son was holding something and he squeezed too hard, or dropped it, or it even got away that'd it be gone. I guess it depends on your child.

[Hoppity100]

If you have a child that won't squeeze it, it should be alright. This was meant for person writing about padlock, its a great learning experience for kids especially when they learn how to care for and handle pets. But, if a child is too young, what would you do if frog jumps and gets hurt from falling or hitting something too hard while falling? I would tell the child frog has to be handled in conditions where frog is protected from jumping from fear. If I had small kids I'd feel better if they held a turtle or hermit, something slow moving.

[MantisMan]

i would set up the tank like this:
get clean, rinsed gravel and put a half inch down
make a raised land area ramp on one half (start the ramp halfway so a third of it is above water)
the top of the land area should be about 4 inches
spring or dechlorinated water ONLY!! fill until you come close to 4 inches of water
cover the exposed land area gravel with some moss (NO ECO EARTH!)
dont worry abt exposed water gravel, they wont accidentally swallow it if it's underwater
put a small fake cave on land and in water float and insert plants into gravel, real or fake depending on budget
lamp over land with 40 watt bulb and u r good to go!!
make sure to siphon the water/gravel (swirling it and collecting the junk with a betta net works well, no filter needed, weekly water cleanings needed and every 3-4 months take apart everything and rinse it
also, if the kid holds the frog, be sure they wash their hands afterward

[Hoppity100]

Sounds good, I have my tank carefully decorated. I love cleaning it and putting it back together in fact! I do not have a filter because I clean tank often anyway. Plus I don't want an extra obstacle in it. The natural set up is too nice. I don't handle frogs unless its necessary.