Mixing salamanders and frogs?

ba98mgt · Aug 5, 2012

I believe i read something about not mixing salamanders with frogs or toads but im not certain on that.

Anyway, it was raining tonight and when i got home i noticed a good sized frog in my parking space. Of course, i caught it and took it inside. Its now in my 20g long tank with my 11" male tiger salamander, but i put a divider in for now. Its nothing great but itll work for now. The frog is green with black spots, sitting it is roughly 3" in length. I can snap some pics if it helps. I thought it was a bullfrog but its not very fat..

So could i take the divider out?

Otterwoman · Aug 5, 2012

In a word, NO. Do a search on "species mixing" and you will find more than you want to know.

Kaysie · Aug 5, 2012

That would be a leopard frog. They're not particularly toxic, and given that your tiger is also certainly wild caught, you probably won't introduce any novel pathogens between the two. But know that now you've taken the frog in, you CANNOT release it again for risk of transferring something from your tiger to native populations. Not only is rerelease unethical, in most places it is illegal.

If you took the divider out, your tiger would likely try to eat the frog every chance it got. Get another tank and set up a nice marshy setup for the frog.

ba98mgt · Aug 5, 2012

Geeze you guys make me sound like a criminal for keeping a frog that i was about to run over..

Well, the only way the frog coukd have its own setup is if i put my 6" tigers with my 11" tiger in the 20long. That would free up a 10g tank.

ba98mgt · Aug 5, 2012

Also, im pretty sure its a Green Frog. Yes my large tiger is wild caught, not by me. Im not sure on the small tigers because i got them from a pet store.

Kaysie · Aug 5, 2012

Green frogs rarely leave water and don't really have black spots. I've never seen one on land. You didn't do wrong by picking it up, you just didn't think through keeping it. If you post a pic, we could tell you for sure. The setup for the two is pretty different. Green frogs are aquatic (and therefore couldn't be kept with your tiger anyway), while leopards are semi-aquatic to terrestrial.

All tiger salamanders currently available in the US are wild caught. There are no large scale captive breeding programs for tigers.

nwmnnaturalist · Aug 5, 2012

With the athletic nature of Leopard Frogs and the size that they can get, you would probably need a fairly large enclosure for it. They can jump great distances and are voracious eaters. I've seen large female Leopards here that are a good 3 1/2" from the tip of the nose to the rump, and have legs about 4-5" long. They can jump a good 4-5 feet if pressed, so they can injure themselves in a smaller habitat.

It is unethical and somewhat irresponsible to release the frog back into the wild, but at the same time you have to provide the proper home for the frog. We are not saying what you did was 'criminal', but when you take an animal into captivity you have to be prepared to provide it with the best possible care. It is a big responsibility, no matter how small the animal is.

Azhael · Aug 5, 2012

It´s not criminal, but it is irresponsible if you didn´t have the possibility of offering adequate captive conditions.
Just because you were about to run it over it doesn´t mean that logically, the next step is necessarily to take it home with you. You could have moved it along and let it be. Instead you took it home not knowing for sure what it was or how to care for it.
I´m not saying this to attack you, i just want you to realize that the moment you decided to take it home, you became responsible for its well being, and keeping it with a tiger salamander, doesn´t guarantee it at all.

ba98mgt · Aug 5, 2012

Well if i can put my 6" tigers with my 11" male tiger then the frog will have a 10g aquarium of its own. I have extra filters and can take care of it.

Im fairly sure its a green frog. I was wrong about the black spots, they are more like brownish specles.

If i can upload a pic from my phone ill post one up.

ba98mgt · Aug 5, 2012

This is of course, only temporary.

I'm trying to find some used 20g long aquariums locally for some of my fish and this frog.

FrogEyes · Aug 6, 2012

That's a green.

It is possible to mix salamanders and frogs...it's just on average a bad idea. There are just too many instances of one being happy to prey on the other. The habitat in this case is also not a suitable mix, as already pointed out. The habitats of leopard frogs are also different, but similar enough...if not for the fact that a tiger salamander will happily try to eat almost anything that gets too close.

The 'species mixing disasters' on this site are sometimes a good example. However, I think they are refered to far too often and for the wrong reasons: almost all of the cases cited involve a single genus of salamander which is notorious for not being safe to mix with ANYthing. The tiniest bit of research could have prevented most of those incidents, and most of those scenarios could have mixed other species safely...just not the one chosen. It could have accurately been retitled "why you don't mix paddletails with anything else".

ba98mgt · Aug 6, 2012

So whats a suitable habitat for this fella? The temp in the house now is roughly 72* F.

I figure since they live in the same area, sharing the tank with a divider was okay for now. With the way my big male acts though im afraid to put anything else in the tank with him, without a divider.

Soooo i can put my 2 6" tiger on the 20g long but thats obviously less space for my salamanders and ill probably have to keep the divider in place so my male does not eat the others.

The frog will have to deal with living in a 10g tank for now. Once i learn what habitat to build, and what kind of diet, i can get started asap.

ba98mgt · Aug 6, 2012

Btw, is there a mobile version for this forum?

Kaysie · Aug 6, 2012

I've kept tigers of that size together before without issue. Just be sure to observe them a lot, and be cautious during feeding time.

Green frogs are mostly aquatic.

ba98mgt · Aug 6, 2012

I attemped to put the smaller tigers with him once before and he nipped at one of them so ever since ive been sketchy on the idea.

As for the frog being mostly aquatic, it was quite a ways from a water source, aside from swimming pools.

nwmnnaturalist · Aug 6, 2012

Green Frog looks about right. I've almost NEVER seen them on land here, except when moving from a pond to the lake or resting. A semi-aquatic setup similar to some used for newts might work, but I'm not sure how happy it will be in a small tank. They do like plenty of floating vegetation to hide amongst, and mossy, damp places to rest on land. They spend most of their time hiding in cover, and are most active at night. These are just my observations around my lakeshore.

You'll have to have a secure setup, with a locking lid, since it could easily knock a lid loose and flee. They are excellent jumpers and very athletic.

ba98mgt · Aug 7, 2012

Yea its legs were rediculously powerfull, i was really impressed.

Once i get back to work this month ill get it a bigger tank. Will a 20g work? Id assume a 20 long would be better than a standard 20. I have an extra aquarium filter, and extra gravel. The vegetation ill get at the pet store.

What should i feed it? My tigers go crazy for crickets so i buy them 30 a week.

I was afraid this frog would be loud, but so far i havent heard a peep.

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