Hi, I'm Jennifer from Florida

[JenniferinFL]

Just joined so I could do a lot of reading and ask some questions on frog care. I used to be quite fond of keeping fish, but haven't kept any in the last several years. I sold most of my stuff, but I kept a 29 gallon tank in case I ever wanted to set up again. BUT, I've decided against getting fish and I believe I would really enjoy keeping frogs instead.

We also currently keep tarantulas and a lovely redfoot tortoise that we've had about 4 years now.

I'm pretty good at following directions and whichever frogs I get will probably be my only ones. So, I'm going to do a lot of reading to make sure I've got exactly the ones I want.

For some location information, I live in Florida and we use the AC very rarely, so generally our house is already between 75 and 85 degrees most of the time and the humidity gauges in my unmisted tarantulas enclosures are already at 70% humidity. So, hopefully that will already help to make frog keeping a relatively easy endeavor. We are on well water with a reverse osmosis system, so that should make safe water not a problem. AND, we already have plenty of crickets and other feeder insects for the tarantulas. And already accustomed to using coconut fiber and sphagnum for the tarantulas too..

I love the bright colored frogs, but I would also be really fond of a frog that calls. We have tons of native toads in our pond in the backyard that I love listening to for the part of the year that they're calling.

Anyhow, I'll be around, probably doing a LOT of reading while I try to decide on a species.

[1beataway]

Hi Jennifer. Welcome. I'm very glad that you have decided to do a lot of research first, instead of buying on impulse and then trying to determine if you can meet the needs of the amphibian.

Feel free to ask any questions you have about any species. I always like to suggest the White's tree frogs, but there are definitely other great choices.

[Paul Rust]

Well hello Jennifer and welcome to Frog Forum!

[Ebony]

Welcome to the forum Jennifer. Let us know what you decide.

[lnaminneci]

Welcome to the Forum Jennifer!

You have come to the perfect place. You will find ALOT of information and great articles on this site. As well as friendly and very helpful frog lovers just like you.
I am new to the care of frogs myself and have been reading everything I can as well. It can become addictive.
I am sure you will find the perfect frogs for you and get much enjoyment from them.

~Lesley

[froghobbiest]

I agree they are addictive I started with 2 African Dwarf Frogs and 2 Ivory Mystery Snails now I have 7 ADF and 3 FBT and 2 IMS Im trying to breed the snails but I think ima have to research them some more.

[froghobbiest]

Welcome to the forum. I just started keeping frogs again and the best starter frog in my opinion is the Fire Bellied Toads. They can be coloful and the males do call, its rather soothing hes barking right now to. But thats just a suggestion so keep us posted on what you decide and good luck

[Kurt]

Welcome aboard. I would suggest using your AC when it comes to frogs. You might enjoy Phyllobates terribilis. They are dirurnal, active, and every time I go to Black Jungle, theirs won't shut up. Besides, John loves them and that should be enough reason.

[JenniferinFL]

Haha, the more I read the more undecided I am.. It will take me forever to decide on a species.
Oh well, at least I found the guide about terrariums, so I can at least get my tank started with a false bottom, plants and decaying live oak leaves to get it all going.. At least I already have the pothos, bromeliads, a few 'spider' plants and plenty of local native tillandsia's(?) to put together a decent planting.. But, it looks like before I do any kind of water feature I will have to have the species decided since apparently some love water and some would drown.. Hmm..
I love the idea of getting diurnal frogs, though, I'm regularly up at 3 am, so I could probably see the nocturnal ones up and around anyways.
Thanks for the welcomes!
I'll probably be putting my tank together sometime this week, so I'll post photos to figure out if I'm heading in the right direction with it.
Thanks again

[Jace]

Welcome to the Forum. Can't wait to see some pics and hear about which species you are interested in. Definitely not an easy choice. Just wondering: what kind of tarantulas do you have? Could you post some pics?

[googie]

Hi Jennifer:

Welcome to the forum. You'll find that members will be able to help you with most any question you have. I 've been member for only a couple of months, and I can not say enough about the help and advice I've been given. It is a great place to share and learn. Keep us updated.

Best of luck.

Chris

[JenniferinFL]

I don't keep many tarantulas at the moment, I'm down to just 9.
After some soul-searching, we decided we didn't want to deal with breeding tarantulas. Originally we had bought a few of each one to guarantee having females to eventually breed, but, we recently sold off enough where we only had one of each remaining species.
We had a major die-off a couple years ago where we lost 20 in a single week, not sure if the neighbor sprayed pesticide, if we got contaminated crickets or what happened. BUT, that pretty much cured me of the desire to try to breed them. It takes years for most species to reach maturity, so it's just a lot of time invested in a pet that can die so easily. We had spiderlings we'd been growing for a year that just got wiped out when that happened including a couple juvenile females we were really excited about.
Fortunately now we live far enough from the nearest neighbor where we shouldn't have a problem if they do decide to spray. So, we do plan to get a couple of our favorites again to be able to just enjoy watching them. Don't get me wrong, we've had a couple losses in the last couple years, but at least they were losses that mostly made sense. Like mature males dying, or a couple bad molts, and then one that got nematodes somehow. At least no husbandry mistakes or mass die-offs from chemical contamination.
Right now we have the following species, just one of each except the L. Parahybana which we still have two of..
Brachypelma emelia
Brachypelma albopilosum
Grammastola rosea
Grammastola aureostriata
Psalmopoeus pulcher
Lasiodora parahybana
Pterinochilus murinus
Nhandu chromatus

I did take more recent photos of them, but my two prettiest ones, the P. murinus and P. Pulcher are both about impossible to photograph. Just too fast with running back into their hides when the camera comes out.
I'll probably start a new thread with their photos for you, Jace.