Ask iFrog

by ifrog boss on June 19, 2010 · 36 comments

atelopus-zeteki Got a frog, toad, or other amphibian question?

Ask me any question about frogs, toads, or other amphibians.

 

I’m Scott and I would love to answer any question(s) you may have about these wonderful creatures. Type a question below and I’ll get back to you with an answer.

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  • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

    Go ahead and ask away. I’d love to hear your questions.

  • Ladyeireannach

    what are the front feet of a frog called?

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      The frog foot of a frog is called the Manus. Which is not too unlike the spanish word for hand “Mano” Thanks for your great question. A donation will be made to World Wildlife Fund; so the animals thank you too.

  • Oni_sakana

    Can you tell me the names of the newly created genera from the genus rana?

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      The most recent that I know of are::

      Rana annandalii, Rana blanfordii, Rana polunini, and Rana rostandi from Western Nepal.

      I also know of a Rana fasciculispina, from Thailand.

      From the Philippines you have Rana signet complex and Rana (hylarana) everetti complex.

      And there is also the Rana hanluica sp. of the Yangmingshan mountains and Tianpingshan mountains in China; as well as Rana hanluica.

      Also from China (this is a real hot spot of late) they have discovered Rana adenopleura, Rana caldwelli, Rana chapaensis, Rana daunchina, Rana pleuraden, and Rana psaltes.

      I can provide more, if you wish, but I think you get the idea.

      Thank you for your question, you’ve just earned WWF another donation.

      Thank you! See you soon.

  • Rich Tb22951

    My wife and I got a Planet Frog tadpole to frog habitat, but when they sent the tadpoles they are dead. Is there anywhere in the Phoenix Metro area you know of where we can get tadpoles?

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      I’ll look into that for you. Stay tuned. I’ll find a place in just a few minutes.

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      Ok. I found a couple places online, but nothing brick and mortar. Petsmart and Petco will sometimes get leopard and bullfrog tadpoles in their shipments of feeder goldfish, but its hit or miss. That is your cheapest method. I would highly recommend staying away from getting a bullfrog tadpole though. They are an invasive species and get very large, quick! They also have a voracious appetite.

      Leopard frogs are a good choice; they are hardy, eat well, and are very easy to house.

      You can try these two online sources to obtain taddies:

      http://www.live-tadpoles.com/

      http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/misc_critters/critters.htm#frogs

      I am not affiliated with either of these sites, so I cant vouch for their reputability or knowledge.

      Personally, I would stay away from Petco as they tend to be pretty brutal with regards to their animal’s longevity.

      Hope this helps.

      Any more questions, feel free to contact me via the ifrog contact page.

      Scott

  • Nukkular

    Hi
    I’ve got some Leptopelis (nordequatorialis 1.0 and christyi 0.0.2), it’s quite hard to find any information about them, so if ever you know some good sites/books or a caresheet, i’d be happy to see them :P .
    In addition, I search good books about amphibians in general, any idea?
     
    so far,
    greets, Elina

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      Sedge and bush frogs are not a commonly kept species. You will be hard pressed to find care sheets on those. But I have an extensive en situ and ex situ library. I’ll see what I can dig up for you from my collection.

      I know they primarily enjoy slugs and snails; they prefer to walk, rather than hop; they’re usually exported from Tanzania; they’re hardy frogs that do well in captivity, and typically will take commercial food: like small soldier fly maggots, crickets, dubia roach nymphs, and other soft bodied inverts. They enjoy relatively high humidity and lots of hiding places for stress free living. They are semi-arboreal by nature, so having a few climbing surfaces would be nice. The average mean temperature should be about 68º at night and around 78º–82º during the day. Be sure to give them lots of hiding places else they will eventually become stressed. Feed juveniles every day, adults every 2 days. Supplement their diet with calcium powder and reptical or other multivitamin with D3. Rotate the supplement intake to every other day with 1 or 2 days off during each week. Staggering this works best.

      I’ll also find you some good reads in regards to amphibian books. Now are you looking for husbandry, species listings, medicinal, … lmk what you’re looking for in regards to general amphibious reads.

      Talk to you soon with other information.

      Hope this helps.

      Scott – iFrog Director

      • Nukkular

        Thanks for your answer. I keep him in a 45×45 (cm) terrarium, it’s 60 cm high. I think there are enough hiding spaces as I’m always trying to put more plants in it. He often sings in the evening (especially when I’m watching movies, so he is probably not afraid of the noise). During the day he is either burried in the soil or sitting in his bromelia (always the same spot). The plants are high too, he uses them to climb after crickets and there is a small water “pond” where he washes the soil off. (I write you all this info so you get an idea how I keep him and how he behaves.)
        I got two juvenile Leptopelis christyi, I plan to put them in the same terrarium (as the conditions are quite the same) but now I keep them seperated because I think they are too small and may get attacked by my big Leptopelis nordequatorialis.

        For the books, I study biology so I am interested in everything (but especially behaviour and biology, anatomy) and if ever you find anything about Leptopelis sp – I want it. (except from Arne Schiotz’s “Treefrogs of Africa” I couldn’t find anything so maybe you are luckier).

        Thanks for everything!!

        greets
        Nukular

        • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

          Greetings once again, Nukkular!

          For starters, I would prefer you keep your specimens separate. Especially with regards to the christyi. Females of this species can be a bit aggressive.

          Christyi only get about 53mm (a little over 2″). They are best kept as a 1 female, 2 male grouping. Standard temps of 25.5C to 30.5C down to 18.3C to 22.2C at night with a jungle/forest setting, heavily planted. Fresh water dish and regular misting is a good bet. They have 3 known color phases: brown, green, and white. These colors all seem to fade to a standard brownish coloration with age.

          As far as health concerns go, these frogs are still typically wild caught. That being said, I would be very careful with cross contamination. This species has tested positive for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. There can also be a laundry list of other pathogens that I’d be cautious of.

          Ad for the calling response to surrounding noise, many frogs will get confused regarding TV, radio, or people talking. The outside noise becomes skewed through the enclosure and this fools many frogs and toads into thinking the sound is from a competitor male.

          Hope this helps.

          ~Scott | iFrog Director

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      I would feel better if you ordered them online. You never know what herbicides and/or pesticides have been dispersed in the area.

      Typically, frogs are lunge attackers and opportunistic feeders. They are, almost as a whole, even cannibalistic. They will indeed eat anything they think can be used as food. See this article for proof of that (http://www.ifrog.us/news/frog-bites-more-than-it-can-chew/).

      Unless you’re trying to simulate a dry season before a wet breading season, I’d like to see you try and feed them at least every 2 days. Just feed them less. You don’t want to see your frogs on The Biggest Loser now do you? (American TV show.) 

      How long is each frog? This will help me to determine the best sized terrarium. As a rule of thumb though, for larger breed frogs (those 3″ and over) you should gauge the size to be 37.85 liters for each 2.5 centimeters of frog. I think I got that right. Basically 10 gallons for each inch of frog. Remember that they all love to explore and jump/hop/run. The more room they have the happier that are.

      I’ll get back to you with my favorite books.

      Hope this helps.

      ~Scott – iFrog Director

  • http://twitter.com/Sciwhat S. Bodman

    In Oregon, we allegedly have a tree frog, which I suspect I hear vocalizing a lot at certain times of the year, but I have yet to be able to actually locate one in the wild to see it. What’s your advice on how to look for frogs in the wild, for someone interested in observing them?

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      First: Wait until spring/summer time, as this is your best time of finding frogs mating and calling and those that have recently turned from Tadpoles to frogs. (Note: Bring a flashlight.)

      Second: You will often find them on the moist shores of a lake, pond, creek, or stream. Toads are more likely to be a short ways away from the direct water sources on dryer land.

      Third: If you can access the lake easily, and it is shallow enough, try moving the rocks on the lake-bed, this is where Amphibians like to hide, try to do this carefully so you don’t injure any.

      Fourth: When you find a frog or toad try not to handle it for too long and make sure you’ve washed your hands first. Best practice is not to handle them at all. Frog’s and toads have permeable skin that our skin’s oils can cause harm to.

      Fifth: Wash your hands, boots, and any other equipment brought along as you leave. This will help prevent the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus.

      Lastly: Please don’t remove any from their homes. Frogs and toads are happiest when left alone and observed. Taking them from their environment only leads to unhappy critters, and the potential spread of chytrid and/or death to the animal.

      Hope this helps.

      ~Scott – iFrog director.

    • OregonHerpaholic

      Oregon has the Pacific Tree frog. Which is rather tiny. These wonderful frogs can be heard in early spring (March-April depending on the winter) in loud breeding parties. Look for heavy vegetation around wetland areas as well as man-made ponds. Froglets can be seen in about May, and then the males start roaming elsewhere. I found one literally at my front door. 

      • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

        Sounds noisy, but a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing.

  • Terrapin99

    Aren’t frogs cold blooded?  Why do some become very active during the coldest parts of the year? I used to live above a pond and they would go crazy in February when it was at or near freezing outside.

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      Frogs, all herptiles in fact, are indeed cold blooded (Ectothermic). They need heat to speed their metabolisms. The warmer it gets (within reason) the more active they will become. The colder it gets, the slower and more inactive they become.

      Some frogs and toads can become active during colder parts of the year because they are coming out to sun themselves. This is due to their being ectothermic. If there is a spot of sun, they will quickly go outside their burrows/shelter and get as much sun as they can and then quickly retreat.

      Another reason for the activity could be due to the species of frog. I’m not sure where you live, but there are certain (winter active) species of frogs and toads:

      Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer, an inch-long tannish-brown frog with a dark brown cross on its back.

      Another is the Upland Chorus Frog, Pseudacris fouquettei. It is similar in size to the Spring Peeper, but its pattern consists of several broken dark stripes on a greyish-brown background.

      Yet another is the Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala). It seems to prefer the colder months, being very commonly heard while peepers and chorus frogs are calling.

      Hope this helps.

      ~Scott – iFrog director

  • LJ from Chishakwe

    How many species of frog occur in Zimbabwe?  Is there some sort of Frog Society here and if so do you have details for them?

  • Ladynightviper

    Can a gray tree frog live with a green tree frog?

  • Ladynightviper

    Can a gray tree frog live with a green tree frog?

    • http://www.ifrog.us Scott Robinson

      Yes. However housing species separately is always the best practice.

      Hope this helps.

      ~Scott | iFrog director

      P.S. Your question has earned a donation to help save amphibians. Thank you !!!

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