Hello, Frog Forum. I have something I need opinions on...

[Gnag the nameless]

Hello! I am a frog owner at the age of 14, nearly 15. Of course, you will now presume I am a normal, stupid teenager who cares little for frogs. That's not true. I do love my frogs, and have spent over 500$ on my own two pet Juvenile Bullfrogs, Gnag and Bumpy, who are wild caught. They have been in my care since Sept 24th 2012. I shall give you a short description of them and their tank:

Gnag the Nameless:
3 inches long whilst sitting.
Green, black spotted, white chin and underbelly[Sometimes brownish skin on her back, part of my question I shall ask you later in this post]
Female
Estimated age: 10 months to 1 1/4 years old

Bumpy Digtoad:
2.4 inches long whilst sitting.
Green, black spotted, white chin and underbelly [Same as Gnag.]
Female
Estimated age: 8 months to 1 year old

Setup: 30 Gallon [YES! I know it is too small! I am getting a 55 Gallon soon, maybe an 100 Gallon after that if possible and when the time comes, giving away one frog (Most likely Bumpy, when she is larger) to a trusted friend of mine who also is an animal lover, and owns a man-made pond. Don't maul my post with anger and insults!]

Gravel on bottom of water section, water 3 inches above gravel, distilled store-bought water. 1/3 of tank is made up of land connected to a piece of Malaysian wood, which forms a partially underwater cave with three exits. Fake water reeds in water and fake hanging plants around land area. Fluval U2 underwater filter right bottom corner [In water]. Finally, a proper lid, and a background on the back of the tank.

They were placed in the tank on Jan 4th, 2013. During that time, Gnag's coloration was a fairly light green-brown. Bumpy's was a normal Dark Green. Since then, Gnag's coloration has degraded to an almost brown. I have not yet tested the water for Ammonia, PH, etc. There appears to be a faint blue on the surface of the area nearby the Malaysian wood when viewed with a LED book light. Also, I have not seen the frogs out of the cave during nighttime as of the last 4 days [Possibly because I haven't been staying up with the lights on for a very long time recently. They only come out during nighttime. The fact that I've been at school for the past 4 days reinforces the not-staying-up theory.] I feed the frogs every other night, 4-8 crickets [I am getting mealworms soon]. I rarely see the frogs eat, but I know they do as usually there are no crickets in the tank by morning except maybe one drowned one, which I remove. The frogs are also not skinny, but not overweight either. Another cause for the coloration of Gnag is: the frogs stay in the mainly-underwater cave for most of the day, and the current of the filter appears not to be strong enough to reach there currently [I slowed the current so it was not as loud, and so it did not disturb the frogs as much] so, bio-waste may be simply lying there, and as I kept them in a 20 Gallon when they were froglets without a filter [I cleaned the tank weekly] I know that the brighter coloration they are, either the water is cleaner or they are healthier. I've ruled out Chytrid as it is not present in the lake I caught them at, and I haven't been anywhere I expect it would be as of late, neither have I seen any major symptoms such as gooey skin on the neck. As for other ailments, I have done a physical examination of Gnag, and she seems fine other than the skin coloration. Any comments, questions, opinions, suggestions, or the usual anger at keeping juvenile bullfrogs in a 30 Gallon? Lastly, I will refresh a small portion of the water today. I will update this post if something occurs.

[Gnag the nameless]

Update: Gnag's skin appears to have become a tad more green now that I have refreshed a portion of the water. Soon, I will buy a full ten liter jug of distilled water, and refresh more of it. I am using up what remains of two ten liters right now, roughly 5 liters of water. The tank itself takes about 23 liters of distilled water to fill up to the correct height for the water. Any comments, questions, opinions, suggestions will be appreciated. Yes, that was the trick. I am sorry for the inconvenience of troubling you with this matter. However, at least you now know who I am, and what type of frog I own.

[deranged chipmunk]

is this their first time with distilled water? distilled water is devoid of any minerals that the frogs actually need. your best bet would be to use tap water that has been dechlorinated. i can tell you your pH, it's 7.0. distilled water is neutral in every way. no minerals, means nothing to buffer the pH to. i wouldn't believe that the sound of rushing water would disturb them. bullfrogs are found near streams as well as ponds and lakes. they may even actually like it. the increased flow will also disperse the film on the top of the water for you.

as far as their color, maybe they are still acclimating to a new environment. much like you or i would if we were suddenly moved from our homes.

[Gnag the nameless]

is this their first time with distilled water? distilled water is devoid of any minerals that the frogs actually need. your best bet would be to use tap water that has been dechlorinated. i can tell you your pH, it's 7.0. distilled water is neutral in every way. no minerals, means nothing to buffer the pH to. i wouldn't believe that the sound of rushing water would disturb them. bullfrogs are found near streams as well as ponds and lakes. they may even actually like it. the increased flow will also disperse the film on the top of the water for you.

as far as their color, maybe they are still acclimating to a new environment. much like you or i would if we were suddenly moved from our homes.

No, no, I've been using distilled water [Correction: Ozonated (Pure spring water)] ever since I got my little hoppers. How much does a dechlorinater cost? And how long would it take to dechlorinate? If it costs below, maybe a bit more, than 100$, I'm up to it. I'm devoted to these frogs, they're all I talk about. It's a relief to tell my pH is low. As for the filter, that's an even bigger relief. I want my frogs to be as happy, relaxed, and healthy as possible. Yes, I do have slight regrets for taking them from their homes, part of the reason I'm "Wasting all your money" as my friends say to me. However, I think having cute and unique pets is great, as long as they are given the best possible home. It's certainly worth it to hear them swimming about, and occasionally, letting out a croak. And I doubt Bumpy, or possible Gnag would've still been alive by now if they stayed in the lake, because there are lots of big bullfrogs at the lake, along with even larger fish, herons, and of course, humans [No electric boats, thank goodness.] However, I do feel it is doing my natural frogs some good. I almost never see them anymore due to the cannibalistic and invasive bullfrogs that have come here. Taking two female bullfrogs out of the lake, but not hurting them is a humane and effective way to give our natural frogs a slightly better chance, if only by a tiny bit

[deranged chipmunk]

you don't have to spend any money on a dechlorinator, if you don't mind having a bunch of buckets around. if you fill a bottle of water up an leave it open, the chlorine will off gas on it's own in 24 hours. and remember, you're pH is only that way with the distilled water. once you put dechlorinated tap water, it WILL change. it is totally different water.

and don't get me wrong. i was just making an analogy about them needing time to get used to the place. i'm not here to condemn you for collecting wild frogs. and you just may have saved their lives

[Gnag the nameless]

Great! When I had them in the 20 Gallon when they were bullfroglets, I had tons of buckets as I cleaned out the tank every week. Now that I have the filter, I won't have to clean them out as often, meaning I can use all 6 buckets for de-chlorifying water! Alright, but one question: How do I reduce Ph levels?

Don't worry, no harm done or feelings hurt. Thanks for the advice, being a new person to the world of frogs, learning from experts such as yourself is the best way to become a good frog owner. And yeah I might've

[GrifTheGreat]

you don't have to spend any money on a dechlorinator, if you don't mind having a bunch of buckets around. if you fill a bottle of water up an leave it open, the chlorine will off gas on it's own in 24 hours. and remember, you're pH is only that way with the distilled water. once you put dechlorinated tap water, it WILL change. it is totally different water.

and don't get me wrong. i was just making an analogy about them needing time to get used to the place. i'm not here to condemn you for collecting wild frogs. and you just may have saved their lives

If the tap water in your area also has Chlorimines it will not evaporate like chlorine and will remain behind. Heavy metals also do not evaporate. The 48 hour set out will do nothing if the water still contains chemicals and heavy metals. Using either natural spring water ir treated tap water is the way to go.

Bill is right about distilled water. It will eventually make your frogs sick because it is nothing but pure water. No minerals or salts that the frogs need for proper hydration and bodily functions. Use soring water or treated tap water. Distilled will leach vitamins, nutrients and electrolytes out of your frogs.

[Heatheranne]

Hello and welcome

I love bullfrogs, especially American bullfrogs . I have an albino American bullfrog myself. Do you have any photos of yours?

Okay, so you already know they need a bigger tank so that's good. Be sure to secure their lid with clips. They can jump 3 to 6 feet, easily, as I'm sure you may have discovered . Strong little stinkers .

As for the water...bottled SPRING water is fine. Do not use distilled water or bottled drinking water. Distilled water actually pulls electrolytes out of them. Bottled drinking water has chlorine in it. Tap water that is dechlorinated can also be used. You can purchase dechlorinating drops to add to the water, which makes the water chlorine and chloramine-free within just a few minutes....easy. You can purchase dechlorinator in the aquarium/fish and/or reptile sections of a pet store. It is generally cheaper to buy it from the aquarium section.

I would recommend getting a good bio-filtration system and perhaps a mechanic filter or both in one. They eat well and poop a lot and their feces tend to be a bit large. Water changes are still a must. I do a biweekly water change of 50% of the water now that my tank is well cycled and my bio filtration is in full gear.

Okay, another question for you....do you use calcium with vitamin D3 and multivitamin powder on their food? Reptile/amphibian multivitamin powder should be used weekly (not on the same day as the calcium/D3) and calcium with vitamin D3 powder every other day. You can put a pinch in a sandwich baggie or cup and gently shake the crickets until they have a nice light coating all over them. This will keep your frogs from developing deficiencies and from developing illnesses and mobility and bone disorders which can lead to death. Frogs in nature develop vitamin D3 from exposure to sun light. Vitamin D3 is required to metabolize and absorb calcium. Frogs can develop tetany and lack of muscle use, and may also develop MBD (metabolic bone disease) due to lack of calcium and vitamin D3. This will eventually lead to death.

Mealworms can be tough on their digestive system. The chitin in the mealworm segments is not digested. It has to pass through their systems. It can sometimes cause constipation or impaction. Therefore, they are not recommended. Night crawlers and earthworms (without dyes or scents added) are very nutritional and easy to digest. Crickets are fine too, but not as nutritional as earthworms or night crawlers. Crickets should be gut-loaded, which means feeding them good nutritional foods so that our frogs benefit from what the crickets eat.

By having the proper water, keeping the water filtered, monitoring the pH, providing the proper nutrients and food, giving the space they need, and minimizing their stress they should adjust to their home and be healthy .

Hope this helps .

Do you have a picture of their home?