Best pet amphibian for small children?

[adawinters]

Since you'll be caring for them, and you're new to frogs, it might be worth looking into the aquatic frogs, like african clawed frogs or (better yet, because they require less space) african dwarf frogs. They can eat pelleted foods, and once you have a tank established, they're really not that much work. If you're actually ok with venturing into live foods, and/or your child wants handle (on RARE supervised occasions with freshly washed hands) the frogs, then the aquatic species I'm talking about might not be for you.

If this is your first time around with a frog, I'd suggest you try to set up a tank to meet the needs of a species you're interested in. Then, reassess. If you suddenly find that the humidity/temps are higher/lower than you thought they would be, look into other species that might fit the parameters you've already got going. (Or check in with us for solutions to adjust your humidity/temp.) Getting everything up and running before purchasing the frog can help you get a very rough sense of what kind of maintenance routine you're in for.

And, of course, keep the questions coming. Browse the care articles on the left-hand menu, and keep asking questions. This forum is great for that.

[bshmerlie]

I started my seven year old daughter off with 2 fire bellies and they are very easy to care for. The only thing is they do require the weekly trips to Petsmart for crickets. Other than the live food thing they are the perfect amphibian for children. They are active at all times, you can have as simple of a set up or as complex a setup as you want. They don't mind being handled and actually get used to it after awhile. The bright green ones are very attactive and if you get two or more they tend to interact with each other. You never have to worry about them eating...as they try to eat anything you throw in the cage that moves and is small enough. You don't have to worry so much about humidity and temps as they are fine with our room temperature, just make sure you have a large water dish for them to soak in. I use a large reptile water dish so that I can lift it out easily and change the water every day or so. Just like having a dog...oh yeah and they bark too. But it's a quiet bark not like one you want to swat with a news paper. And then when "you" find out they are the coolest pets you'll branch off into Tree Frogs and rain chambers and fully planted terrariums, you'll push your kid aside and say, ..."THEY"RE MINE" and you'll have a frog setup in every room of the house..you're wife will want to divorce you and say your a frogoholic. Anyways, your kids will love them and you just might too, but watch out the frog hobby can spead out of control.