Reptile & Amphibian Forums

About a month ago, I was able to purchase two sub-adult Goliath frogs, and they are doing great so far. I've read all sorts of things about how they don't thrive in captivity, few zoos have them, they are very rare, etc. How true is this information? Granted, in 3 years of attending reptile expos at least every two months, I've only seen them once(and I bought them), but are they still so rare? I've always wanted to own them, and I'm very excited to have them. They are eating nightcrawlers and crickets like mad. Does anyone else here have them, and do you have any other interesting bits of information about their husbandry/breeding/etc? I appreciate it!

*Aubrey

It's cool that you've obtained these frogs and yes, I've read the same things on the net about their captivity. What size is the tank you're keeping them in? It would be cool if you posted some pics.

I'm really excited about them! Right now, they are rather small, around approx. 4-5 inches in body length. I am keeping each one in separate 10 gallon glass tanks. As they mature(hopefully!) they will obviously have to have tanks that are much larger...these frogs can JUMP!

These are not the true Goliath frogs Conraua goliath but a different species Conraua alleni (most probable). This is a much smaller species that doesn't seem to have the issues associated with the true goliath frog.

There are other people that have them and they are at the moment fairly consistantly offered on kingsnake.com classifieds.

Ed

I will post a picture as soon as I can to help determine which species they are, if someone can tell from the photos. I am curious to know, since the vendor(very trustworthy, long-term supplier) I got them from was seemingly certain that they were the true giants. Perhaps he was fooled, too? Darn. I'll have to post a picture soon.

When they were first being imported into the country, they were being imported with the common name of "Goliath frogs" however this designation then caused issues with the USF@W service which has C. goliath listed as threatened species (see http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-SPECIES/1994/December/Day-08/pr-64.html) requiring permits for it to be imported into the USA. These issues caused the frogs to be listed by the correct scientific name (same on the import documents) and a different common name.
Importation and possession of C. goliath without permits would be a violation as would commercial transactions across state lines for this species so if by some mistake you have recieved C. goliath without the correct permits, you are in violation of the LACY act as these frogs and all progeny would have been imported into the country under the wrong name and sold without the required paper trail..

Ed

Well, in that case, lets hope he was mistaken about the frogs' identity. If they are the second, legal species, how large will they grow, and is there anything in particular that I should know about their husbandry habits? Thanks.

I was the first person to publically offer this species in the USA. I offered it as Goliath Frogs (Conraua alleni). I purchased them from an importer who received 40 of them. I purchased a little more then half of the shipment over a week long period. I took all the avail males in the shipment, anyone who has a male in the country, it came from me. I also took most of the larger specimens, so the specimens everyone else are offering are fairly small. The largest female I have is about 6.5 inches and growing. She should reach abour 9 inches.

USFWS never seemed to have a problem with the name Goliath Frog, I ws never contacted by them. The only reason why they are being offered as Slippery Frogs is because the importer calls them by that name on his price list. I still sell them by Goliath Frogs. I could go on with other statements you've made, but I'll keep it at that. Either way, expect some fairly large specimens of a similar species that I'll be bringing into the country. If anyone is interested, I have some killer pics of Conraua goliath, they are huge!

>>When they were first being imported into the country, they were being imported with the common name of "Goliath frogs" however this designation then caused issues with the USF@W service which has C. goliath listed as threatened species (see http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-SPECIES/1994/December/Day-08/pr-64.html) requiring permits for it to be imported into the USA. These issues caused the frogs to be listed by the correct scientific name (same on the import documents) and a different common name.
>>Importation and possession of C. goliath without permits would be a violation as would commercial transactions across state lines for this species so if by some mistake you have recieved C. goliath without the correct permits, you are in violation of the LACY act as these frogs and all progeny would have been imported into the country under the wrong name and sold without the required paper trail..
>>
>>Ed
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Justyn Miller
Intense Herpetoculture
www.IntenseHerp.com