Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, i was wondering something. I see all over this forum that everyone says to let wildcaught frogs go, and that they dont make good pets. What is yur idea of a good pet? I have two wildcaught frogs and their very healthy. Plus they're my little gurlies, i mean their frogs! so whats yur idea of a good pet frog? I wanna see what you guys have to say...thanx!

Wildcaught frogs/toads are normally skittish. Frogs such as bullfrogs, leopard frogs, pig frogs, ect. ( as well as most other ranids) tend to jump against the wall, rub their noses raw, and flip out every time someone walks into the room. Many of these frogs are loaded with parasites. Some of these frogs have other problems, disease, prolapses, ect. Many stress easily and keel over dead. Even if you sometimes buy a WC frog, it normally has adjusted a little more than one you scoop out of a pond, and it might have been treated at least once with flagyl or panacur. CB frogs normally make better pets, eat more regularly, require less vet visits, and tolerate people. Andy
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Andy Maddox
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

When there is an option of having a captive bred animal, there is no excuse for going out and catching one and taking a wild. However, there are not a lot of captive bred species of amphibians available. When it comes down to it, I would rather have people take the toad out of their backyard as a pet rather than buying it from someone. This means that someone is making money off of a wild animal and most of these people don't even care about them in the first place. I also think there are ways to minimize your impact on wild populations, such as collecting tadpoles and raising them, or at least leaving the breeding adults alone.

By the way, any wild caught animal should be dewormed by a veterinarian. Just because it seems like it is healthy does not mean there are no serious infestations of parasites.
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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

I see what yur saying, but i caught it in the wild. And this is nature, all wild animals dont have worms. If they did, there wouldn't be so many. Also, if they are healthy, so far fine for 3 months, why would i deworm them? it just hurts them wherre the "worms" are obviously ot affecting their living style. Besides, between some petshops some day and the dirty cages, or sometimes its not even noticeable. And you lookm at the healthy country they will be healthier. Besides, if u raise them as tadpoles and they're healthy, than your helping them, they will live longer in captivity

Please try to organize your thoughts better, that was difficult to read.

You obviously have a limited understanding of the effect parasites on an animal. The problem most people have is understanding how much parasites infections occur in wild animals, because as humans we are rarely subjected to their effects. You can assume that ALL, and yes that means all, wild animals have parasites. When an animal is in the wild, there is usually a balance between the parasites and the health of the animal. When an animal is brought into captivity there is a considerable amount of stress involved. Parasites are held in check by the immune system, but under stress the immune system is not as strong and parasites and diseases can proliferate. Some zoos have a mandatory quarantine of three months, and this is with treatment for parasites. To assume that after only three months in captivity that the animal is parasites and disease-free without actually testing it, is extremely ignorant. Sometimes it can take a year for serious illnesses to manifest themselves.

Raising them as tadpoles does not exempt them from the possibility of having parasites. There are several in fact, that are passed directly from the mother to the eggs as she is laying them.

It is always a good precaution to have any animal in your collection checked and treated for parasites. If it is wild on or has been through a pet store, there should be a greater emphasis on the treatment.

I strongly encourage you to read the link below to learn a little bit more about parasites.
click here for the link...

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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

First of all, sry about the confusion, i wrote it quickly because i was on my way somewhere. But first of all, you are contradicting what you said earlier. You said parasites are not noticeable, but just now you stated that they are very unhealthy for the animal, and because of the stress, they come out and hurt the frog. Also, I will not assume that all wild animals have parasites, I also have a wildcaught frog which I have had for about 3 years, he's very healthy. Also, these animals do in fact build up some sort of an immunity towards some parasites limiting damage. If ALL frogs had parasites which came out in about a year, there would not be so many. I do have an understanding of parasites, but thanks for trying.

You obviously don't understand a whole lot about living things,YOU came here and asked for advice and now are mad at what you are told.The best thing you can do for your new frogs is to find a nice pond and let them go.Its one thing not to know proper care its another to refuse to learn,its too bad your frogs have to pay.

ok, hold on. I asked for opinion, i didn't ask for help. And i totally get where he's going. I'm just arguing it to see the flaws, make sure everything is perfect. And you can't say i know nothing about living things. I have had pets all my life, you can't make a judgement like that with this one message board. And if my frog has been alive for 3 years, i am obviuosly doing something write. But I know where he's getting at with the parasites, he's very intelligent on this subject. But your the one I'm not sure is the intelligent one, you cant and shouldn't just make that judgement of me.

In the wild, parasites are a natural part of the frogs. They eat something, get the parasites, and defecate them out. In captivity, during that crutial "switching over period," the frogs become very stressed. Now, a parasite is not meant to kill its host. Other wise it would not be a parasite. Parasites live off of their host and then normally exit them when their eggs are laid or they are full. When stressed though, these same parasites can easily kill a frog or toad. They can be spread to other frogs or toads then, thus infecting and possibly killing your whole collection. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Thanks Andy. That's all i needed to know, those details. So far so good. Luckily my wildcaught frogs are in a seperate place than in my captive bred. Thanks again

The sad thing is that even your CB animals are not safe. If you use ANY live foods, then you can assume there is a chance of infection. Unless you use only foods frozen for more than 30 days, your animals might not have parasites. This is why a practice of testing your animals every 6 months to a year for parasites is sound advice.
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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

Ya, I'm always worried about that, I do have a vet for my frogs and they do get checked for parasites.

My african bullfrog was CB. When I took it in for a hard mass protuding from his toe I got a fecal test done as well. He had a 5 load of all sorts of protozoans. Goldfish and mice can carry some pretty nasty things, but even your standard insects and worms can as well. I would think that some of the parasites WC herps carry are somewhat worse though. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Maybe, becuase it's easier to thrive in the captive bred situation since the animal is well taken care of and there are no hard times as in the wild. But I'm not sure. I hope your frog was ok.

Depends on a few factors. Is the frog at the pet store wild-caught or captive bred? If it's a native species, I would go and capture a juvenile myself rather than buying an adult at a store. Tadpoles are simple to catch, and are fascinating to raise. Getting a younger frog means it will live longer. Also, throwing a fullgrown frog, that is used to living outdoors and fending for itself, into a tank, usually leads to the frog frantically trying to escape and banging its nose on the glass. In my experience, froglets are alot easier to get to adapt to captivity. The greatest successes I have had in raising native frog species, is to raise them from tadpoles, or at least getting them before their first winter. Otherwise, the frog tends to spend the winter months in a state of hibernation and food-refusing, as in the case of my adult bullfrog that I got as an adult who already had lived two winters in the wild (I only took him because he was part of a nonnative, nuisance population and was to be used as fishing bait.)
In short, I would rather capture one or two juveniles, than to contribute to a pet store which hunts them down and exploits them.

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*~Ginevive~*