African Bullfrog - housing / setup

[chris2pher]

these frogs berry themselfs when theres drought but in captivity there is no drought so do they really need soil ?

what setup is ok and whats not ?

1- moist dirt with a water bowl

2- half land half water

3- all water

4- reptile carpet with water bowl

YouTube - Adult Male African Bullfrog eating a mouse

[willtilian]

i do a 3 inches of all water but i dont know about the reptile carpet...... i sounds a little more hygienic.

[Jace]

The best setup for frogs is one that mimics their natural habitat. True, in captivity, there is no drought, but these frogs are not in water all the time in the wild either. Personally, I think a setup of moist dirt with a water dish or a half/half would be best. Reptile carpet I would stay away from as it is rough and frogs-no matter how tough looking they may be-have sensitive bellies. These frogs will feel more comfortable if allowed to bury themselves a bit and a comfortable frog is a happy frog!

[pixiefrogman]

The first two are ideal setups for an African Bullfrog. The third is ok, but not the best. The fourth is horrible. The two main reasons for dirt substrate is to simulate the frogs natural habitat, and to keep humidity up. If you have repticarpet, there will be a very low amount of humidity and the frog won't be able to burrow if it wants to. Also captive pyxies, at least mine, burrow in the dirt no matter if the humidity is up or down.

[Jace]

I agree TJ-my male, Gherkin, was kept in a bathtub for six months before he found a home with me-I can't even begin to describe all the problems I had to correct. But I can tell you one thing-the first thing he did (besides sitting in his nice, deep, water dish and having a soak for three days) was dig. If a frog could express joy, I saw it on his face.

[pixiefrogman]

I know what you mean. Plus I've noticed that my baby pyxie uses a hole in the soil to hide out in when one of my dogs come in the room. So without soil there is probably a lot of stress on the frog.

[chris2pher]

this would make a great sticky

[willtilian]

wait was if we did the opposite and made it all water with a dirt tub which was deep