Tomato Frog Questions

[LizardMama]

I have always loved red and when I saw some Tomato Frogs I just fell in love. Tell me, what are their requirements, can you keep more than 1 in a cage, do the males get along with other males (and vice versa). Also, anyone know of anyplace that sells them for less than what they do here where I live [$25 per frog so if I went to purchase 2 I'd be spending $50].

[ejh805]

Hey LizardMama.

I was looking into getting some of these awhile back and did quite a bit of reading, Yes, they live very well communally regardless of sex.
You can probably find some on Kingsnake or the Faunaclassifieds. Most places (online at least) offer 3 for $50. Keep in mind these are babies. Adults cost more. You should be able to keep two or three happily in a 20 long or larger (40 gal. breeder would be perfect). Substrate is eco earth or similar. Temps- Ambient should read around 75, with a warm and a cool side. The warm side shouldn't go higher than 85 for adults, or around 80 for very young frogs. At night, temps can be allowed to drop as low as 65. They love high humidity (70%-80%). You can cover part of the top of the cage to maintain this, plus misting, etc.
They'll need a shallow water dish. They're very poor swimmers so make sure they can get in and out easily and make sure it isn't any higher than their chins. Like with any other kind of frog, it will need to be changed out every day with treated tap water.

They're pretty shy, and nocturnal so you won't need any special lighting. But make sure there's a defined day/night period for them. They keep buried a lot so it may be a good idea to feed them during the start of the night-cycle.