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Hi everyone,

I finally took this weekend to clean out Siobhan's 20gal tank & all the goodies that were in it (with lots of BLEACH). I decided to create a "frog tank" so now Prog (my aquatic clawed frog) has a new home, complete with a background, some river rocks, and a little "hiding" rock that he can go into if he gets scared. There are also a handful of guppies in there to keep him entertained.

Some little known facts about Prog: I've had him for almost the entire 6.5 yrs he has been alive. He is fully aquatic & can't be handled much because his skin is sensitive. If he loses a toe, it will regenerate (like a fish). If he loses a limb, that will not regenerate. His slimy skin has an antibiotic-like substance in it that helps him heal if he gets a scratch. All of the above makes him more like a fish than a reptile, which is why he is considered an amphibian. He also loves to eat guppies (and is very successful at catching them).
See pics of his frog set up:

He's really beautiful. Very exotic. Does he really have hard claws? Did you have him from a tadpole?

Thank you!

You can't see it from the picture, but his hind legs are webbed & 3 of his hind feet "toes" have small hard claws (nails) on them. The front "hands" have no webs or claws, but the black layer on the inner part of the hands has a bit of a "sandpaper" rough surface that helps him grab onto & shove food into his mouth. The black color on the front of the hands is one of the indicators that he is a boy.

I didn't have him from a tadpole. I got him from a guy here at work who had to help his 6 yr old with his school science project. The kids got the tadpoles & had to document their rates of growth. Before they knew it, they had 6 adult frogs in a tiny 5 gallon tank (!). 1 died of the overcrowded conditions, so he had 5 left & pawned 2 of them off on me. 1 of mine died after a year (prolly due to previous overfeeding since this guy was feeding the frogs *twice* a day with is a major no-no). The other one I had (Prog) is still alive 6.5 yrs later but I think it was because he was much smaller & couldn't get to all the food that the others were getting. He ended up being the "runt" of the litter, and I think that is what saved him. Prog is the only one of the original 6 tadpoles that is still alive.

From what I read on the web, Aquatic Clawed frogs can live to be almost 20 yrs old in captivity....!

Very interesting and great photos! Thanks for sharing.

He really looks rather fierce! I didn't know amphibians ever had "hard" parts on the outside. You learn something every day. Does he know you and respond to you like Sheba?

You're frog looks mean! Its like he's angry at something..

Haha, nice setup though! Ive never seen a frog like that. Very cool!

SpotsMama wrote:He really looks rather fierce! I didn't know amphibians ever had "hard" parts on the outside. You learn something every day. Does he know you and respond to you like Sheba?

It's funny with him because he does respond to me, in particular when I am getting ready to feed him. He comes up to the side of the tank & makes motions with his hands as if he is putting food in his mouth (then I know he is hungry). I pre-soak the reptomin sticks (he gets between 1-5/day), take one at a time, hold them down to him so he can grab them from my fingers & shove them into his mouth. He has a hard time finding them if I just throw them on the top of the water.

He sings at night (ribbit, ribbit, ribbit) and it's pretty loud (I have held the phone up to the tank so people I am talking to on the phone can hear him right thru the phone!). Prog has different "ribbit" tones/speeds and sometimes I walk up to him & he randomly starts singing & making the "hungry hand motions" as he lunges at the side of the tank (and that can be any time of the day). Sometimes I go & talk to him, he comes right up to look at me, & just starts singing, no food required.

Unfortunately I can't take him out of the tank like I do Sheba. Prog is fully aquatic, needs to be in water 100% of the time due to hydration issues, and the couple of times I have had to take him out, he is extremely slippery & can slide right out of your hands if you aren't careful. One time I put him down on the kitchen floor & he was doing the "GI JOE" stomach-crawl thing around the floor! It was funny to watch, but honestly, it isn't good for his skin to come in contact with things out of water. The skin is very soft & delicate & is easily scratched. Plus, too much handling can rub off the protective antibiotic slime-coat on his skin which isn't good for him either. His skin is permeable (water flows in/out of the body thru the skin) so if he comes in contact with any chemicals, that could make him sick. It's one of the reasons that frogs are so vulnerable to changes in environment.

That is so interesting! Thanks for sharing....
His tank is really pretty neat.

That's very neat! I've never seen a frog like that! He's new pad looks great

Thanks all!

One other thing I didn't mention before is that he can also change the color of his skin to match his environment better. Since he has been in the tank (2 days), he has already gotten several shades darker in color & the "freckles" on his back are much more pronounced. I think he is trying to blend into the rock/plant wallpaper on the back of the tank...!

That is so COOOOL! Im a HUGE frog lover! Dont have any and didnt know any like this one existed! He is beautiful!!!!!! Might have to add a frog to my collection of pets!

Great pics btw

Camee

camee1991 wrote:That is so COOOOL! Im a HUGE frog lover! Dont have any and didnt know any like this one existed! He is beautiful!!!!!! Might have to add a frog to my collection of pets!

Great pics btw

Camee

Thanks! Aquatic-Clawed frogs have a lot of personality. Just don't put them in with RES's because the RES would terrorize the poor frog (and most likely eat him/her).

They are pretty care-free as long as the water quality is good & are more sensitive to chlorine than RES's so you have to watch out for that. Size requirements are similar to RES's. It's approx. 10 gallons per adult frog. Males "ribbit" at night, females only make noise when they *respond* to a male frog's mating call.

Frogs are second to turtles for me. (I've got quite a few of them, but they're not real. ) Yours looks rather exotic, but a little pissed at having his picture taken. Nice-looking habitat.

Do frogs need any special lighting or any dry area?

Ind Girl...I tell you this : If I get me one of them little cutie pies...Im emailing YOU!

Camee