Beginner species

W

william

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i was wondering if anyone can give me advise on choosing a species to begin with. After seeing a talk that my local petshop gave on some of the species they sell, frogs, toads, snakes lizards and mammals, she wants to start breeding them. I've got an idea of species that she likes and was wondering if they would be okay

Ceratophrys ornata
litoria sp
Agalychnis callidryas
poison arrow frogs (although i probably imagine they are not very good for beginners)
bombina sp

are these okay and are there any other good species?
 
i would go with whites tree frogs, they are awesome companions, they are friendly and very fun loving...easy to care for and what not...and sooo adorable
 
Pac-mans (Ceratophrys) are good frogs. Although I don't know about breeding. I guess they would breed if the female didn't eat the male first lol. But green tree frogs are also kind of easy-going frogs. Whites Tree frogs may not be available in England.
 
no worries about finding white's tree frogs here, almost every pet shop that sells herps will have white's, they are probably the most common frogs on the market... i've settled on a trio of poison dart frogs, but in the future i hope to get some european bombina and some agalychnis.
 
thanks for the info guys, but i posted this a while ago and i'm not looking for any more animals just yet... thanks anyway
 
While Ceratophrys are quite hardy, I wouldn't necessarily recommend one as a beginner frog. For one, they have a rather vicious bite. Secondly, one would have to handle dead mice to feed an adult Ceratophrys (large goldfish are out of the question, as they carry too many diseases). finally, as much as I love 'em, Ceratophrys, other than around feeding time, are kind of boring. Ceratophrys just aren't for everyone. I would definitely recommend Bombina orientalis. They're inexpensive, very hardy, fun to watch and quite pulchritudinous (the word of the day).
 
"Secondly, one would have to handle dead mice to feed an adult Ceratophrys"

That is just not true, I don't feed them mice. You can feed them full sized crickets. They will eat them.

And yes they can bite, and I have been bitten many times, but some of them won't bite. I've had 3 or 4 like that.
 
Okay, so one wouldn't have to handle dead mice, but it is definitely the food of choice for most Ceratophrys owners, is it not?
Ceratophrys could make for a good beginner frog, but only for certain individuals. I just think they're too boring for most people.
 
"I just think they're too boring for most people."

That is very true, they can be very boring. They are more an animal to show to people to impress them with their massive size, than one to watch for hours on end.

And when I did feed mice to my frogs before, I used to kill them myself just before feeding them to them. But it's not something I've fed them in years. I don't feel it should be the preferred food for them, if I could I would feed them hissing cockroaches instead. But I couldn't get mine feeding on them.
 
Hissers are often refused because of the spiky legs. I have had Ceratophrys take Blaberus spp.

As for goldfish, I have not seen any documentation that the parasite issue is any more significant for goldfish than it is for any other commonly used food item that is collected such as earthworms. However they are high in saturated fats and if fed prekilled are a potential source of thiaminase issues. I would suggest using cool/cold water fish instead or live bearers.

Ceratophrys are primarily vertebrate specialists and a large portion of their diet in the wild does consist of rodents (over 90% of stomach volume is vertebrates including birds...). When feeding domestic mice a D3 supplement should be used as domestic rodents are often high in vitamin A which can cause problems with calcium metabolism. Another point to consider is that if useing rodents as a food source, feeding needs to be much less frequent.

Ed
 
"Hissers are often refused because of the spiky legs."

Yeah, that was the problem as to why they wouldn't eat them.

"When feeding domestic mice a D3 supplement should be used"

I've been using Herpcare Calcium & Vitamin D3 suppliment for years. What are your thoughts on a potential vitamin D3 overdose Ed, is it even possible dusting once or twice a week?


"Another point to consider is that if useing rodents as a food source, feeding needs to be much less frequent."

Yeah, it's a larger solid prey item which makes it take longer to digest. If you feed smaller prey items they will be able to eat more frequently.
 
Hi Joshua,

Twice a week should not be sufficient to cause an OD on D3. I supplement my dart frogs three times a week with the vitamin/mineral supplement.

Actually digestion is not significantly longer at the temperature ranges at which these frogs are typically kept but because they are a calorically much denser prey item the frequency of feeding needs to be reduced.

For example it takes about 4 large crickets to mass a little over a gram, and an medium sized adult mouse can weigh about 30 grams. So feeding the mouse to the frog is comparable to feeding the frog 120 crickets at one time.

When using rodents for adult and near adult frogs I typically will offer the rodents between once a week to once every two or even three weeks.

Ed
 
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