Frog fight!

[glutes]

I initially had two ADF's, a male called Fred and a female, Wilma. Unfortunately, Wilma passed due to dropsy. Fred really seemed to enjoy Wilma, they even had a clutch of eggs together he was constantly pestering her and mounting her, but Wilma just went about her ways with Fred stuck on to her end[emoji23]

After Wilmas death, I got another female frog because Fred seemed lonely; he was always singing and searching for her. I called this new frog Pebbles and kept her in quarantine for approximately 10 days. By 10 days she was eating, shedding and exploring her tank. I was about to put her in with Fred, but I discovered that she had prolapsed and died.

Then I bought Barney. He's a crazy little juvenile frog! After two weeks I moved him in with Fred. Barney quite likes the new tank he is in now, but Fred isn't so pleased with his new friend. I fed them last night and Fred pushed Barney out of the way to get to the food! Okay, typical ADF behavior I thought. Tonight as I was watching them though, Fred and Barney seemed to be having a bit of a dominance fight. They were both butting each other's heads and clawing at each other. Then, Fred grabbed onto Barneys upper half, flipped him upside down and held him that way!! Barney managed to free himself. They then proceeded to fight and sing at each other, I'm assuming they were determining who is the louder bigger better frog, Barney is younger then Fred, but not small enough to to fit inside Fred. Should I be worried about this? Is there anything I should be doing?


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[Cliygh and Mia 2]

I don't know, as I have no experience with dwarf frogs, but could you please post a picture of the frogs in question? Pet stores will occasionally list African clawed frogs as dwarf frogs, and clawed frogs are more aggressive and ravenous feeders, eating anything they can fit into their mouths. African clawed frogs will have no webbing on their front feet, if you can't post a picture for us to identify it

[glutes]

I don't know, as I have no experience with dwarf frogs, but could you please post a picture of the frogs in question? Pet stores will occasionally list African clawed frogs as dwarf frogs, and clawed frogs are more aggressive and ravenous feeders, eating anything they can fit into their mouths. African clawed frogs will have no webbing on their front feet, if you can't post a picture for us to identify it

I don't have a picture Barney, but I can post one of Fred. These are definitely ADFs, their front and back feet are webbed and I did my research before buying here's Fred:



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[Geoff]

I fed them last night and Fred pushed Barney out of the way to get to the food! Okay, typical ADF behavior I thought. Tonight as I was watching them though, Fred and Barney seemed to be having a bit of a dominance fight. They were both butting each other's heads and clawing at each other. Then, Fred grabbed onto Barneys upper half, flipped him upside down and held him that way!! Barney managed to free himself. They then proceeded to fight and sing at each other, I'm assuming they were determining who is the louder bigger better frog, Barney is younger then Fred, but not small enough to to fit inside Fred. Should I be worried about this? Is there anything I should be doing?

Although the behaviour you've described appears to be aggressive it's highly unlikely to be so. These frogs respond to the stimuli of movement at feeding time and will lunge at anything in close proximity that moves. Also, males in breeding condition will attempt to clasp any frog that comes near, whatever sex it is, and by whatever means it can. There's little you can do about it apart from separating them or simply remaining vigilant. Below are a couple of photographs illustrating the seemingly bizarre behaviour of males in breeding condition.

[glutes]

Although the behaviour you've described appears to be aggressive it's highly unlikely to be so. These frogs respond to the stimuli of movement at feeding time and will lunge at anything in close proximity that moves. Also, males in breeding condition will attempt to clasp any frog that comes near, whatever sex it is, and by whatever means it can. There's little you can do about it apart from separating them or simply remaining vigilant. Below are a couple of photographs illustrating the seemingly bizarre behaviour of males in breeding condition.

I think these frogs are a lot more intelligent than most think they are. The behaviors you describe here and the pictures are not what happened. Even though I haven't owned these frogs for years, I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable about them. Although during feeding night there was typical pushy frog behavior, this "fight" happened the night after feeding night. It was not a feeding response as they were not biting at each other or trying to push each other away. Rather, they were deliberately trying to get on top of one another as if to attempt domination. The way Fred grabbed onto Barney was not mating behavior. He grabbed him around his neck area and actually flipped him over and tried to push him down. They continued this behavior tonight, it seems Barney is being more assertive tonight. I believe that all frogs have a pecking order similar to horses, though not quite as complex. I also have a group of 6 whites living together and my one female is definitely top frog. In the past when I've added new frogs to the group, she immediately displays the same behavior that Fred did: positioning herself on top of the new frog and holding them down. One of the new frogs did not like this and croaked at her, but my top female would not let up and tightens her grip if the other frog tries to escape. Another female in my tank is quite large and grumpy. She doesn't put up irritants. The other frogs simply leave her alone to sit on her private ledge while they all huddle together like whites do. To really understand frog behavior I think it's crucial to observe them at their most active times and to think of all possibilities as to why they are displaying a certain behavior. Although amphibians are often grouped with reptiles, I see every day that they are very different; the social groups that they form is fascinating.


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[Fingolfin]

I have 2 females, they both push and nip at each other at feeding time, but after the food is all gone, they are fine. It might just be a hunger driven thing

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[glutes]

I have 2 females, they both push and nip at each other at feeding time, but after the food is all gone, they are fine. It might just be a hunger driven thing

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I still think it's dominant behavior because there was no food and no nipping or biting.


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