frog help needed

[LisaLQ]

Daughter no2 has come home from her friends house, and her friends dad has given her a frog out of his pond to keep. He's currently in a jam jar with pond water in.

Now personally I'd probably find the nearest pond and plop him in it - but we dont have one, neither do our neighbours - and the nearest water place is the tarn up on the tops.

What the hell do I do with it? Daughter no2 was in tears when I said we couldn't keep it - so I said I'd ask you guys to see if it's at all feasable to keep it - but if so - what in, what do we feed it, what does it need etc etc etc.

Oh god, I hate being put on the spot - especially when it's by another bloody parent

It's tiny, about an inch and a half, and I have no idea what species it is as it's just arrived and I need to have a good look at it.

[felix93]

The wild frogs do not do well if you keep them as pets!!! If you are nearer to me, I would help you because you can release him back into my pond.

Can you find out if any of your neighbours have a pond outside? All the baby frogs are just growing atm, and most of them are about an inch size.

The only thing I still think you have to ask your daughter to give it back depsite she's getting so upset. It's just for the safety reason. Frogs need a big space to keep. And they are hungry and active guys.

[copigeon]

Would generally advise against it, appart from the fact it may be illegal to keep native species of amphibian?

You'll have to supply crickets or suitably sized live food, its going to need a larger tank than a jam jar and will probably spend every minute of the day hopping up against the sides to escape. Which is a really sad thing to see.

[LisaLQ]

Yep I think that's the best bet. I guess I'd best tell her.

Methinks I see her wanting a frog pet replacement - she's very good at blackmail, being 9yrs old now

[loops]

Oh no it's put mum on a guilt trip time!

[LisaLQ]

Yep. She's insisting she wants a frog, but knows now she cant keep this one as he'll die if he stays. So he's staying the night, then at school hometime tomorrow Mick's taking him along to give to her friend's dad to go back

[felix93]

Lisa, you can get her a toad later, some of them are pretty easy to keep and suitable for the beginners. I have got Bufo viridis and Litoria caerulea, those are extremly hardy although active toads. They can be very tame too. ;D

[LisaLQ]

Oooh I like the idea of a toad. We do have a spare 3ft aquarium, but no lid for it or anything. Was going to be a snail tank, but I guess we could look into it and take time researching and setting up a suitable home for one. Dont know if it's big enough for a toad though (to be honest, never seen one in real life *lol*).

Also thought about aquatic frogs, but my tanks are huge and regularly have baby fish in - so dont think they'd be suitable.

[Kevin]

Ive kept many species of frogs and toads, I kept a native frog before, it was quite large when I found it, grew even larger and lived around 8 years.

I'd recommend Bombina orientalis as a great starter amphibian, they are active, colourful and easy to keep.

[LisaLQ]

Sounds good - I'll have a read into them. Not going to be in any huge rush - so can do plenty of reading

[felix93]

lisalq said:

Oooh I like the idea of a toad. We do have a spare 3ft aquarium, but no lid for it or anything. Was going to be a snail tank, but I guess we could look into it and take time researching and setting up a suitable home for one. Dont know if it's big enough for a toad though (to be honest, never seen one in real life *lol*).

Also thought about aquatic frogs, but my tanks are huge and regularly have baby fish in - so dont think they'd be suitable.

You def need a lid for it if you decided to have one or 2 toads. The are very active.

Read some caresheets on Andrew's site

www.pollywog.co.uk/caresheets.html

you can keep a couple of toad in a 15 liters tanks as long as you don't choose anything extremely active. I prefer toads than frogs, probably it's easier for me to clean the tank out, I don't know. Most of the European toads are pretty hardy and they eat well.

Now am waiting for you to start a thread syaing you have a new toad soon.

[felix93]

Andrew is very helpful and well knowledgable as you know. He has posted the pics of these frogs in his chatboard. It's one of the easier one, very pretty if you ask me. ;D You will def fall in love with them. They are the non aquatic ones and you only need a small bowl of water for them.

forum.pollywog.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=157

[LisaLQ]

Aww now they're very cute ;D Thanks for the links!

I dont think it'll be any time soon - as we've got a lot on here at the moment, but it'll be in a month or two perhaps. It all also depends on whether there's anyone close who sells them.

[KathyM]

Chuc him over our fence - he'll find his way to the beck. Saves you a trip

[LisaLQ]

He's a bit wickle, he might get tired But it does sound better than keeping him in this jar until tomorrow teatime...

[KathyM]

It'll be an exciting adventure for him. LOL.