Northern leopard frog aquarium

[killerecho]

Well, you've certainly come to the right place. There are plenty of friendly folks here who are able and willing to help. Unfortunately most of these "raise-a-frog/turtle/pet" outfits are woefully inadequate for the animals, and sure to make their existence miserable. Even many pet shops tend to be unaware or otherwise ignorant of the needs of what they keep around. The thing is, even the tiniest frogs need space; the more the better, with very few exceptions.

To accommodate an adult leopard, I'd go with a 20 gallon long aquarium (30" x 12.5" x 13"). Again, the more space the better. Leopard frogs grow to about 3-3.5 inches and they are active, from what I understand.

I realize you only want to set things up once, but chances are you're going to have to make changes along the way, especially as the frog grows. You can create the basic framework now but just be prepared to move something here or add something there later on. Nature is so very unpredictable sometimes =)

I would use gravel for the land. Wash it thoroughly before using it in the tank. Have enough in there to create a 4-5inch layer for your land area. For now, your tadpole may not need any land, so keep the waterline around 6-8 inches and leave the gravel submerged. When the tad gets its legs and morphs into a froglet, you can lower the waterline gradually until it drops below the gravel layer. You can then get creative and fashion a shoreline or beachhead where water meets land.

How do you plan to maintain the water quality? Do you have a filter and if so, what kind? Your filtration setup determines how often you're going to need water changes. It will also influence the design of the habitat, waterfall and all.

One thing about feeding - if you get fish food, try to get the type that sinks in water. If you have floating food (flakes and such), mix well with dechlorinated water BEFORE introducing to the tank so it will sink. This because occasionally tadpoles bobbing for food on the surface gulp down too much air and they get all puffed up and lose the ability to dive. Sometimes the condition ends up killing them; so sinking food is best.

I'll have more advice when the tadpole develops. I also suggest seeking more opinions besides mine - I've never actually kept leopard frogs as tadpoles; but I have raised green frog tadpoles to froglet stage and the species is similar - so while I have some experience, someone else might have species-specific information.