[PW] Re: PET: African Dwarf Frog. . . care?

[Daphne Drewello]

Dian Borek wrote

> I had a young man in tonight that bought 4 of these but the pet store
> gave him no 'care' instructions.

http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/mypets/dwarfs.html

Food requirements: frozen bloodworms.

Sounds nasty, but actually, this is almost as easy as upkeep of goldfish.
You buy a package and keep it in the freezer. The package lasts me anywhere
from one to two months. The best part is, it's ok to skip a day now and
then. (no need to find someone to feed your pets when you go away for the
weekend.) In fact, my routine is to feed them a pinch once every 3-4 days,
and sometimes I just feed them a little extra and feed them only on the
weekends.
If you can't find bloodworms, you can also use frozen brineshrimp (HEY!
thats' what SeaMonkeys are!!), or you can substitute using dried worms or
dried brine shrimp...I personally prefer the frozen stuff, partially cause
they seem healthier, partially because it seems less messy (dried stuff
sometimes clouds the water), but my little sister has a couple of these
frogs and she has been using the dried brine shrimp which seems to work OK.
If you're really adventurous, you can get all of these items LIVE too...but
it isn't necessary as they search for food by smell, not movement. In fact,
it's not uncommon for them to snap at each other when searching out their
food! It looks a lot as if they have the hiccups, but they are just snapping
around trying to find something good to eat. If you're wondering where to
find such tasty morsels, most pet store that have a variety of fish carry
them - just ask around!
I've also heard that some folks use some sort of pellet foods that drop to
the bottom for their frogs....Im not sure how well this works in the long
term...my guess is if thats all you can find, and the frogs will actually
eat it, then it'll work. If they dont eat it, it may be a picky eater and
you should look for one of the other options.

Habitat: simple covered fishtank.

These guys live entirely under water, coming up for air every now and then.
I used to use one of those 1 1/2 gallon plastic hexagon shaped deals they
sell at most pet stores pretty cheap.
At the right is a picture of one of my dwarf frogs in "Zen" position. (yep,
it's Elwood II again... such a ham!)
Tank style:
As long as there aren't any open gaps at the top this is sufficient. It
doesnt have to be an expensive setup, but it shouldn't just be a fishbowl
with a big huge hole in the top where frogs might hop out (or cats might go
fishing).
Larger tanks will allow for more critters including fish, but be careful
that they are compatible...(well, obviously.) I got a really cool 10 gallon
glass hexagon tank and kept 2 goldfish in with the froggies. The only
problem here is that unlike the frogs, fish are pretty fragile. When a fish
gets sick, remove your frogs to a clean container and CLEAN THE WHOLE TANK!
Even with the fish removed, the disease has been introduced to the tank, and
suddenly your poor froggies may be at risk. This is what happened to my
first pair of frogs. Also, be careful about overcrowding. a 1 and a half
gallon tank for 2 or 3 frogs is pretty much good...more than that and your
asking for trouble. If you add fish, be extra careful because pH disasters
can sneak up on you.......

Clean Water:

The most important thing for these frogs is clean water, with no chlorine.
One way to get this is to use a clean bucket (that has never had soap
products in it) and clean it really well and fill it with water and leave it
out for 48 hours (so that it gets what they call "stale" This lets the
chlorine evaporate.) What I do is to use regular tap water as long as it's
treat it with anti-chlorine drops (which can be purchased pretty cheap at
any pet store that carries aquarium supply.) I put my frogs in a holding
tank with some of their dirty water while I clean their tank really well (no
soap) and add fresh water with anti-chlorine. Then I leave it out a few
hours to settle and finally pour in the frogs.

Temperature:

In colder climates, use a little tank heater to keep temperatures between 68
and 84 degrees. (I only use my heater in the larger tank in the winter
months. The smaller tank stays close to room temperature and since I like to
keep the house warm, I've never needed to use the heater. Dont forget, it
takes longer for water in a tank to cool...so even if your house goes down
to say...63 degrees during the middle of the day when your gone, chances are
its ok for the tank as long as the house heats up when your home....)
Ideally, the temperature in the tank should be between 76-78 degrees. You
can get those sticker-temperature guages at aquarium supply stores to stick
on the side of your tank to keep track.

Filters:

It is a good idea to have a filter if you don't want to clean the tank as
often, but it isn't necessary.
If you introduce fish, this changes the picture, and the filter becomes more
important. Most fishes like to have a pH level of around 7. Dwarf frogs feel
happiest when the pH level is slightly higher (between 7.2 to 7.6). Either
choose hardy fish, or be careful with overcrowding.

Warning!! Be really careful when choosing filters for these little guys!
I've gotten a few sad letters from visits with horror stories about drowning
froggies who got stuck to the filter intakes! If you need to, you may want
to look into covering the filter with a cheesecloth while they are super
tiny to prevent limbs from getting caught. It also is recommended to turn
the level down as far as it will go if you're worried. When I got my baby
froggies, the filter in their tank was big enough to cause worry. (It had
not been a problem for the full sized frogs.) I've found that using an old
pair of pantyhose (well cleaned) wrapped around the filter intake and
rubber-banded around the top has worked well. (Some gook like stray worms
gets stuck to it of course, but the frogs are safe and it is easily
cleanable. Plus I can remove the safety net once they are big enough not to
get caught.)

Mixing with Fish:

Also, do not mix these guys with aggressive fish such as the Tiger barb fish
or they will become lunchmeat! African dwarf frogs should only be in tanks
with peaceful community fish, such as a single Beta Fish, Coolie Loaches or
Coolie Fish, Goldfish, Tetras, and even Bala Sharks. Most important though,
if you start mixing the communities, is to watch for overcrowding. It is the
number one cause for fish diseases, because it messes up the pH levels of
the tank, and will eventually impact the health of your frogs as well.

For more information about setting up a tank, visit the Housing Your Pet
Frog page.

Habits:

Fairly active, and Yes!!! These guys sing!
Actually, it sounds more like...hmm..well, it's hard to describe. The first
few times I heard them I thought there was a loose air filter tube in the
tank.....
They are active little fellows, particularly at night. They swim around a
lot, or they like to just float in a very strange position, which I like to
call the "Zen position" (i.e. arms and legs spread out and often balancing
on one foot as though meditating the deeper meanings of life...) One visitor
wrote me recently to tell me that this position actually has a name! It's
called "burbling". Occasionally, they float at the top. This is when they
are being ULTRA lazy, so they don't have to swim very far when they decide
they want to get air. Don't be alarmed if your frogs do this for a couple of
hours---it often looks like they are dead but this is not the case. (Just
poke them lightly if you're really freaked out, and you'll see that they
were just spacing out, not dead!)
If they get very inactive after a water change, be sure that the water
doesn't have chlorine! This can be very dangerous for frogs!

Breeding and tadpoles:

When the weather gets warm, they get very ...cuddly. The male clasps the
back of the female and hangs on. When the male grabs the female around her
midsection, it's called amplecting. The female tends to do a dance like
swishing of her flippers at this time. They can swim around like that for
hours. When they actually mate, they swim around in loops in the tank, so it
looks like they are doing circus acts. Once in a blue moon the eggs they lay
will hatch...(you can usually tell that the eggs aren't going to survive if
they look cloudy or milky- this means that they have gotten some air
exposure and won't be able to hatch.)
Unfortunately, even in the rare occasion that they do hatch, and you manage
to save these teeny tiny...(and I really mean tiny) black caviar sized
tadpoles into a separate tank... I don't think its likely that they will
ever survive long. I tried it a few times, (it gets warm in my home a lot!)
and it has never worked for me.
What I've been able to learn, though, is if you want to try to raise the
tadpoles, they need to be quickly separated from the tank where their
parents are...(the adults tend to mistake the tadpoles for food and by the
time they spit them out the little guys are pretty much toast)...into an
aerated tank, which,( and I hear this is important) must be kept at 74
degrees F. For feeding at this tiny size, you can try this powder stuff that
can be bought in pet stores (that have fish) that makes the water a bit
cloudy but has protein in it...and if they live long enough, try spiralina
fish flakes until they are big enough to eat bloodworms. They are meat
eaters, so they should be switched to the bloodworms as soon as possible.

Shedding Skin:

Occasionally, they shed their skin. This seems to be related to weather and
seasons too, (at least both my frogs tend to shed within a week of each
other) It looks really weird while it is shed because it gives the illusion
that the limbs themselves are coming off...but then when it all comes off
they are happy once again and squeaky clean!
Is my frog dead?
Generally when the frogs go to Froggy heaven, they don't end up floating at
the top the way fish do, but rather they sink.
.
If they do float when dead, they usually have some massive bloat, like the
dead frog on the right, or some other yucky disease which is really
obvious.....

I get a lot of frantic mail from nervous Dwarf frog owners concerned about
frogs that sit in one place for a really really long time - Having lost
several dearly beloved froggies, I can tell you from my own experience that
even though I also have wrongly freaked out thinking something was wrong
when they were sitting very still, when their time did come, it was REALLY
obvious.

Males and females:

Many have written in asking how to tell males from females. Unfortunately,
with the Dwarf frogs it is very very hard to tell.
As a rule, the females tend to be bigger than the males. I have found that
the males tend to be darker and rougher looking (as in: "bumpy", not as in:
"hey, lets wear leather jackets and go ride motorcycles!"), but this too is
a generalization, and often there are exceptions. One visitor writes: the
easiest way to tell is to look just posterior to the forelimb. Males have a
very distinct white bump there. Some females also have a white patch there,
but in males, the bump is very very distinct.
Ive also heard my male frogs make a low humming noise as a mating call. (but
I'm not sure if the females dont sometimes sing too..it's hard to tell!)
I understand that during the breeding season (which in an aquarium is hard
to determine sometimes, as their climate is so carefully controlled!) the
males get darker or slightly enlarged inner arms...but how anyone can tell
on so tiny a creature is beyond me! In addition, the females seem to have a
teeny tiny tip on their, er...bottom - a bit like a tiny tail, or bump.
I haven't been able to tell what my smallest froggies are yet...it may be a
while before they are big enough to distinguish at all! It seems to me that
the easiest way to tell, and this is what tipped me off to the fact that
Jake was a SHE, was to wait till it gets warm enough for, er, snuggling
season. The one that clamps onto the other and piggyback rides is the male.

Lifespan:

How long do these critters live? Well, I'm not exactly sure. The longest
living frog in my collection lived between 1996 - 2002. However, they CAN
live MUCH much longer! Their cousins, the Clawed Frogs, have been known to
live for as long as 30 years! A friend of mine reported that his dwarf frog
lived for 18 years.


Hey great News!! A new Webpage has appeared with all sorts of great
information about this type of frog! Be sure to give it a visit to learn
about breeding habits and more technical details regarding the care of these
fascinating little creatures!
David Cecere's AWESOME African Dwarf Frog Page
More fun sites:

Our African Dwarf Frogs cool pictures of pet african dwarf frogs.
Some notes about aquababies.