New to Leopard Frog - Need Advice, Please

[John]

Provided the frog is not outside, the heat lamp is probably a bad idea. I would stay away from the minnows too - those tend to be full of gut parasites that can get passed on to the frog. The frog is sensible enough to move to the water when needed. Other than that, I think you're doing alright. Leopard frogs can be rather nervous in captivity and can injure themselves when they crash into the glass, so watch out for that. Provided the frog is eating regularly for you, I think everything will be alright.

[salbertsweber]

Thank you very much!
No, frog lives in the living room, so I will stop the light unless we are gone & the house will be quite cold this winter. And he does get nice afternoon sunshine daily on the one end of his plastic tub.
A couple of times he has flown round the box with a thud, when the curtain fell down on his box. But mostly he just jumps into his leafy vine (philodendron in jar of water) or into his water section. he really is calm (I think) for a "pet" that you can't really soothe with talking or petting.
We will discontinue the fish - they were actually purchased for the garter snake (that escaped), then he ate them so I got some more. Thanks for the heads up - I never thought about parasites. Do frogs need to be "dewormed" periodically like dogs? Do they need vitamins or some such thing?

[John]

Do frogs need to be "dewormed" periodically like dogs?

Wild amphibians often have gut parasites, sometimes lung worms and other nasties. Dealing with them usually requires a trip to the vet. Provided you feed the frog from then on with foods that don't carry parasites or have been treated (e.g. frozen) to kill any possible parasites, then you should not have to dose the frog again. Many people who just keep one kind of frog will forgo treating it for parasites.

Do they need vitamins or some such thing?

Young frogs can usually benefit from a calcium dusting every once in a while, but if it's an adult, a varied diet should be sufficient. The vitamin/mineral and calcium supplements sold for reptiles are suitable for amphibians.