American Bullfrog Help

[Nikkinoodle714]

Hi,
I'm Nikki, and totally new to the world of amphibians, so help would be appreciated! I recently got a bullfrog tadpole and have raised it, she (at least i think its a she because her tympanic membrane is about the same size as her eye, is that right?) is a frog now, yay! She's only about an inch to an inch and a half long.

I've got her in a 20 gal long aquarium that I split 40/60, the 60% being water with river rock covering the bottom, and 40% land covered with coconut peat, and terrarium carpet on top. There is a plexiglass slope with rocks glued to it dividing the areas. The water side has a submersible filter, a zoomed meant for aquatic turtle tanks. I live in northern California, and it can get kind of cold indoors (65F/19C) does she need a tank heater? Is this set up ideal for her? and is it going to be big enough for her as she gets older?

Another problem I'm running into is what the heck to feed her! So far most of the pet stores I've been to have told me relatively nothing, but the research I've found has said anything smaller than their mouth is free game. So far she's gotten mealworms and feeder guppies. She normally eats about 2 or 3 of each depending on how long she's gone between feedings. She didn't seem very interested in crickets the one time I tried, but I was wondering what else would work? Also how often should she be fed? I'm aiming for between 3 and 4 times a week right now, is that good?

So now that I've talked everyone's ears off, help would be great, letting me know if i'm on the right track w/her would be good too Thank you all for reading this much! I'm new to frogs and would like her to have everything she needs to live a comfy froggy life!

Thanks! Nikki

[Wormwood]

Get a rather large flat dish and try normal earthworms that you can get at any wal-mart. They are large, rather cheap, have lots of minerals in them and will even my American toads can eat a couple in a sitting.

They also keep well in a fridge for quite some time, although a bull-frog should pound through 12 of them in two weeks easy.

On the other note, no heater needed for an American Bull-Frog. 65F is fine as most ponds never get much warmer then that.
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Just reread your post and noticed she was only a inch or so long. Try red worms instead, which should be in the same cooler at wal-mart. They last even longer then earth worms and are about 1/3 of the size. Once she gets about 2 1/2 inches she should be able to tackle earthworms.

Crickets would be a good feeder as well, dusted with some reptile calcium dust or mineral spray (you can get the stuff at any pet store). She'll need this little extra calcium and minerals to build strong bones. You can also just dust worms though.

Unlike with worms you won't need to watch her eat all of them and as long as you have a secure lid (which you should) with a bullfrog she can eat them whenever they come close to the water's edge.
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Bullfrogs get quite large, if Cali bullfrogs are anything like IL/Wisconsin American Bullfrogs. Once she gets 4-5 inches I'd suggest getting a larger breeder tank (40 gallons) which only runs $80 or so bucks on sale at most pet shops. This will give her a little more room to spread her legs to swim and leap. Full grown, spread out in a jump a bullfrog can easily measure 12 inches if not more.

[iatakden]

honestly with the food issue , i leave about 5-7 2 in size gold fish in the water portion and my frog eats them at will and is doing great right now on those . He grew out of the crickets , i have also rasied mine from tadpole !!!

[Wormwood]

Gold fish are not proper feeders for any frog or toad.

[iatakden]

Gold fish are not proper feeders for any frog or toad.

how can you say that ? There a small fish in the wild that they eat , they eat crickets , and a lot of other things in the wild . Just because they are captive bred and rasied does not mean you have to take the wild out of them or at least what they eat in the wild .

[Wormwood]

They are fatty and have very little in the way of vitamins and minerals in them. They also contain a chemical called thiamesse in significant quanities. This stops your pet absorbing the vitamin thiamine (vitamin b1) a deficiency of this can cause both neurological problems and cardiovascular problems.

If anything get minows from a bait shop, a more natural wild food bullfrogs "might" come across and target.

[iatakden]

If anything get minows from a bait shop, a more natural wild food bullfrogs "might" come across and target.

will try that thanks . Learn something new everyday