Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am getting a Leopard Frog (the lady I am getting him from says he is a Leopard Frog but I have not seen him so I don't knwo for sure) today or tomorrow and am bringing him to my nephew for Christmas next month. I have been looking up information on this frog and have been getting conflicting information. I would like to know how to care for this frog so I can tell my brother the proper care of him and so that I know how to care for him for the month that I will have him till Christmas. I also need to know about how to transport him. I read that you need one of those small plastic carrying cages and put a little water in there and put him on my lap for the trip. I am not sure that putting water in there would be a good idea though because he might bump against the sides of the tank and hurt himself. Should I put him in that case with some wet moss instead? Or some wet papertowels?

Oh also is a 20 gal long tank big enough for him? I don't have a 20 long but my brother does and that's where he will be living after I get him there at Christmas. I will have to house him in my 5 gal hexagon tank that used to house my betta till it died of old age. I figure since it's only for a month (or less) he will be ok in there. I don't know if this lady is giving me his set up so I am just trying to be prepared.

Ill look for a care sheet for this guy but in the mean time. These frogs eat crickets and worms about 2-3 a day pending on there size. On the up side with these frogs that dont need a heated tank like some of the more pickery frogs out there but you cant let there tank go below 65F or they will go into burmation. These frogs do need lots of water however they also need land, I suggest using a soil or moss as the substrate and put a dish into the substrate on one side that takes up about half the tank and being about 2 inches deep filled with water. Make sure the dish is level with substrate and the water height is high enough where he can crawl out, these guys wont drown they swim great.

But lastly im going to say this. Frogs are great pets and fun to watch but there not met to be handeled. If your nephew is young and will be holding this guy and trying to play with him i wouldnt suggest this as a pet. Not only could he easly hurt the frog but the oils on our hands are bad for frogs skin. Little kids often get bored of frogs real fast just due to the fact they cant play with them and end up neglecting them and the parents end up having to take care of them, they end up for adoption, or they die.

So please think long and hard before giving a frog as a pet.

Thank you for your post. We have reconsidered and decided not to get the frog. Although my nephew is young (3) his mother is really the one that wants a frog, so she would be the one that would care for the frog anyway.
So with that said what frog would you suggest for an adult (for a child to only look at not touch or take care of) and that is semi easy to care for. My sister-in-law really wants a pretty frog. She has a 20 gal long thank that she would put him in. I would like to buy her a frog but don't want to get her one that's high matinance. What type of frog would you suggest. I know that she will take care of a frog if I get her one because she has wanted one for years. I would of course print her a care sheet and be sure that she wants to really have a frog before I get it for her. I want to have the tank set up and have her know everything about the frog before I buy it for her too. So what frong would you suggest and where could I buy one in NC. She might say no to the frog so all the info you give me might be for nothing, but I want to be prepared just in case she says yes.

Well most frogs require the same amount of matiance none are really hard. If you go with a aquatic one thats lots of water that needs treated and changed each time.

I suggest something like a red eyed tree frog, There very nice to look at with there blue ribs and big red eyes and you can keep a couple of them in the same tank and they do allot better when kept in a group then solo.

heres a pic of one:
http://allaboutfrogs.org/gallery/photos/redeyes/red1.gif

These frogs are very common in the pet trade and run about 20-35 dollars each pending where you get them.

Care sheet:
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/Amphibians/red-eye-tree-frog.html

Thanks for the info. While doing research on frogs for my sister-in-law I have fallen in love with them. I am trying to talk my brother into letting me get her a frog but I don't think he is going to let her. Even if he says no I am glad I did research because now I want one lol. My husband might say no though because we already have a painted turtle and a little dog but it's worth a shot. We had a betta fish but he died of old age. When we had him it was hard to find someone to care for him when we went away for a few days so after he died my husband said we couldn't replace him because it was too much work finding someone to care for him when we had to leave for a few days. He will have the same excuse for the frog. Although after Christmas we won't have to leave for long periods of time. The longest we ever leave for is about a week and a half at Christmas but we aren't doing that next year so
I think we could get a frog after the holidays.
Through further research of the red eyed tree frog I see that the lifespan is unknown. Is this true? Does anyone know how long their lifespan is?
Thanks for all the information.