How moist should the substrate be?

[Nijd]

Hey all, just a quick question about something I'm unsure of as a new frog owner.

Of course I knew that the substrate needs to be moist, but until now I didn't realize how vague that was.

I know it can be too dry and too moist, but does anyone have any general rules of thumb to help make sure it has the right moisture level? Right now I'm using a coconut fiber substrate.

[pixiefrogman]

The substrate should be one level down from dripping wet.

[bshmerlie]

If you dig into it.. it should still be wet. But if you push your hand down into it...water should not puddle.

[Nijd]

Alright, thanks both of you. Should I be worried or take any special precautions against bacteria/mold growth?

[bshmerlie]

Many here on the forum use springtales or woodlice (pill bugs) in their enclosures as "cleaners". They eat the decaying materials in the soil and help to keep the environment clean for your frogs. Search for further info on those guys on the forum here. You can buy cultures of them to seed your tank. As far as mold... it comes and goes and is not anything to be concerned with.

[Jace]

Just make sure you have adequate ventilation. I didn't in one of my tanks, and had a mould problem, even though the soil was no wetter than usual. Now that ventilation has been fixed, my frog is as happy as a pig in...dirt.

[Nijd]

Great, thanks again. It's nice to know I can come here for some good advice.

I work at Petsmart and I just picked him up this morning. I found him a few days ago, when I was feeding and cleaning habitats, dried up to the point where he couldn't open his eyes. There were crickets hiding under his log which means whoever opened the store the past week was just throwing food in and assuming he was all set.

I took him into the in-store vet, they checked him out and soaked him. As of yesterday he looked much better.

So anyway, I decided I didn't want him to end up in a home under the care of an 8 year old where that could happen again and now he's here with me. lol. He was waddling across the length of his habitat eyeing my betta bowls so I threw in a cricket. To my surprise he ate it happily along with a few others. I wasn't expecting him to get back to eating normally so soon in his new home, especially considering how bad he looked a short time ago. So things are going great for him so far, I hope to keep it up.

[Jace]

Sorry, maybe I missed it elsewhere, but what kind of frog do you have? Frogs can be pretty tough-under the right care, they not only do well, but they thrive. Sounds like he won the lottery to go home with you. Congrats and we are always here for questions.

[Jace]

Sorry, just saw where this thread was posted-duh! African Giants are very hardy frogs, and will eat anything and everything. Do you have a water bowl available for him? My one male loves to soak, while my other refuses, but I still make sure a bowl is available. These are great frogs and I think you will definitely enjoy him!

[Nijd]

I have a rock dish that's more than wide enough for him to fit his whole body in and the water comes about half way up his body. Low sides for easy access. He spent about 2 minutes in the water before burrowing away. He was never in his water soaking as far as I could see when he was at Petsmart, but I am only in store at 9:30 the latest so he might just do it late at night. I mean, I'll have it available no matter what so hopefully he'll use it if he needs to.

I already love the little guy. The way they use their hands to push substrate out/food in to their mouth when eating is just plain funny. And watching them miss food (even when its not moving) repeatedly is not only hilarious, but makes it obvious why certain substrates are just plain dangerous.

[Jace]

I have three of them (2 males and 1 female), and I remove all of them into a feeding bin at dinner time. This just gives me peace of mind that they are not swallowing anything they shouldn't be. Otherwise, mine are in a simple setup with 3-4" of dirt and a water dish. Nothing fancy, but they don't seem to mind.

These guys have quite the personality, and just when you think you have them pegged, they do something out of character. For instance, I woke up this morning to find my one male, Kadesh, who never uses his water dish, sunk into it up to his eyeballs. Prove me a liar!!

Have you thought of a name for your guy yet?

[Nijd]

Ha, thats pretty great.

Yea they don't seem to care much about what's in their habitat. But of course, like you said would happen, I woke up to him burrowed and under the log I got for him to make it similar to his habitat in store. He had never been in it before, always in the corner to the side of it, burrowed.

The only thing that I'm noticing right now is the coco fiber bedding is sticking to the skin a lot.

I also noticed that I seem to have a P. edulis and not the giant P. adsperus. The store originally ordered him for a guy who came in and rejected the frog because he said it was a dwarf. I didn't care what one he was, so it'd be fine with me, but earlier I read a post here naming the differences between the two and my guy fits the bill of the P. edulis.

Heh, we've been calling the frog Frederick, just a random name my girlfriend said as a joke that stuck. We've considered naming him/her Pooks. Named after a cat she had that, thanks to a thyroid problem, looked and acted similar to an african bullfrog.. Without the biting.

[Nijd]

Here's a pic I just managed to grab. You can see all the bedding stuck to him.

[Jace]

These guys usually have stuff stuck to them regardless of the substrate. My female, Obi, has a little cap of dirt on her head right now that I'm surprised hasn't fallen off yet.

By the looks of your picture, I would have to agree that you don't have a African Giant. Regardless, a P.edulis are also an interesting frog to have. An eating machine and full of attitude!!

[Nijd]

Oh yea, I have no regrets at all. In just the first day here he's shown lots of personality and has been a lot of fun. Its also nice to be able to make an educated guess regarding what he is, couldn't stand being clueless

Next goal, trying to figure out the sex when he gets a little bigger!

[onedge30]

Nice looking bullfrog. I like the 'camo' look of the light dark contrast.

Yep, P. edulis.

Congrats