Tips for a New Clawed Frog Owner?

[FrogLoverSince5]

Hi, I just found out that a family friend no longer want's their clawed frog and I have decided to take on its care and will be getting him/her tomorrow. It looks very small in the picture, so I am guessing it is a Dwarf clawed frog, but I don't know how many species are in the pet trade, so I might be wrong. Do any of you have any tips on how to take care of a clawed frog? My only experience with frogs is my WTF, Shahar. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Well care for them are not much different than keeping fish.

So you only have one?
A 10 gallon tank will do fine.
I would have a sand substrate not gravel. at least 2 inches deep (easier to clean and less likely for the frog to swallow if the gravel is small enough.)
A plastic coated pre set water heater 78F the glass type can burn your baby.

Live plants are really good.
A filter the hang off the back type are good but make sure you don't put the intake tube too close to the bottom
or it can suck up sand and that will kill the pump in the filter.

You can get a 10 gallon kit at petsmart that has everything except the plastic coated heater and the sand.

Feeding.,
I feed mine aquatic frog and tadpole pellets as a staple and frozen blood worms as a weekly treat.

You will need water conditioner to treat tap water.
IF you have a friend that has a fish tank that is well established you can put a filter cartridge in his tank for a few days to
get a culture of that tanks bacteria to get the new one kickstarted.

You should also get a freshwater master water test kit to keep an eye on
you water quality.

Also a air stone and a small air pump to provide extra aeration if you don't mind the noise of falling water.
if you keep the water level a little lower so the external filter will provide aeration also.

[FrogLoverSince5]

He, or she, has arrived. I took pictures so hopefully someone can help me identify what species he or she is. What I do know is my froggie was raised from a tadpole at a school about a year ago.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

She is a African Clawed Frog or AKA "ACF" around these parts.
And yes you keep this little girl just like you would keep fish.
Feeding her is a bit different than ADF's
Since she is quit a bit larger.
Reptomin is a good staple.
I have heard of some feeding beff hart but that is ok in small quantities
as a once and a while treat and not a staple food.
Here is a good care article.
http://aquaticfrogs.tripod.com/id1.html

She is a purely a aquatic frog maning she prefers to be in the water.
Also she looks to be in great health.

I use to keep a pair of these in my office in a 5gallon hex for years until I got a new job and I donated them
to the Ruth Patrick Science center as permanent residents.

and I miss keeping them. even 20 years later.

But alas they are not permitted to be kept in NC

but I know some one in my home town that sells them and I am thinking of doing a road trip
and getting a few pairs.
I keep their smaller cousins African Dwarf frogs or ADF's in my 46G bow front 7 of them and they live quite happily with 15 neon tetras 3 gren corys 4 otto's 3 cherry barbs and 5 amano shrimp,

[FrogLoverSince5]

Ok, thank you for the positive identification.
Does anyone know if these guys can climb out of there tank? There's a gap between the lid and the filter, and I don't want to have this little fella climb out in the middle of the night and get gobbled up by my cats.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

You can get some thin clear stiff plastic that you can cut with
a pair of scissors to cover up the gap an use a pice of tape to secure it.

How about some pictures of the setup?

[FrogLoverSince5]

Ok, Here's a picture of the tank and the two spots that I worry she will jump out through.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

I won't say it is impossible but highly improbable that the frog would escape from those openings.
with the current water level.

Also with the current water level the falling water from the filter will be more than sufficient
aeration. But live plants would be a great addition along with a background.

Also does any of the ornaments have any jagged edges. As the frogs skin is very delicate.

Also once you get the water cycled you can add a few Nrite snails or few mystery snails if you don't mind them having
baby snails. Nrite snails won't breed in fresh water only brackish water.

These guys can help keep the tank tidy.

I wouldn't add any fish since the frog may eat them and some fish are not good for them.

Don't for get to introduce yourself in the introductions area.
Since this wasn't posted in the help area I think that is the reason why others here didn't chime in and give a hand.
I just look at the new posts. And that is how I saw it.

There are a lot of good knowledgeable people here that love keeping frogs of all kinds and can offer a lot of info.

So welcome to the hobby and I hope to see

[FrogLoverSince5]

I will look into getting a background and snails but I don't think I can fit any more decorations in the tank.

I don't believe that any of the decorations have any rough edges.

As for fish, I wasn't planning on getting any.

Next time I'll post questions like this in more appropriate sections of the forum. It's just been awhile since I've been on frog forum.