Toads at home. Lake frog, moor and grass frog. Slingshot in your home

– a small indoor terrarium with a pond / aquaterrarium / aquarium with good ventilation and high humidity
- soil (in aquariums it may not be needed)
- shelters for most species
- lighting is not required for night views, for daylight it should be with ultraviolet light. For northern amphibians, the lamp should only shine, for southern ones it should also heat (incandescent lamp)
- UV lamp Repti-Glo 2.0 or Repti-Sun (for daytime views)
- heaters: incandescent lamp 20-40 W, water heater for only aquatic amphibians, heating cords or thermal mats (for some species)
- plants, branches, pieces of bark for climbing tree frogs
- food base: live insects (for most species), live mice, meat, fish (for some large toads)

Some of the equipment you can make yourself, some you can buy.

Cons of keeping frogs and toads at home:

Constant monitoring of the temperature and humidity in the terrarium is necessary, the terrarium often has to be cleaned, it is difficult to get live food, and growing insects at home can lead to the spread of insects throughout the house.
Some toads and frogs are venomous, while others bite violently, so it is important to keep small children away from amphibians, who could get hurt. Frogs can escape from open or poorly closed cages, or from the hands of their owner, and die of dehydration in the apartment. Many amphibian species are active at night and the males' croaking will keep you awake, so it's best to choose daytime species to keep at home.

True toads (Bufonidae)

Terrarium: Toads are usually kept in fairly spacious horizontal terrariums. For many species, a terrarium with a layer of mulch, a spacious bathing bowl and good ventilation is perfect. However, some exotic species require special conditions. The temperature of the content depends on the locality from which the animal comes. Toads are undemanding to the conditions of detention: the temperature can range from 12 to 28 C, humidity - from 40 to 95 percent. Lighting also does not play a big role: although toads lead a twilight lifestyle, they quickly get used to bright light. Of course, the soil must remain moist at all times. Water for spraying and in reservoirs must be purified from chlorine, i.e. settled at room temperature for 2 days.

Feeding: Small species feed on insects, large species are happy to eat newborns, and sometimes grown mice.

Peculiarities: It's pretty unpretentious pets, however, due to toxic secretions, different types of toads are not recommended to be kept together.

Dart frogs (Dendrobatidae)

Activity type: These frogs are active during the day.

Virulence: The skin of poison dart frogs exudes toxic substances, you should handle them carefully and wash your hands to avoid getting poison into wounds and mucous membranes.

Terrarium: For poison dart frogs, vertical and cubic terrariums with high humidity (about 100%) and a temperature of 25-28 degrees during the day and about 20 at night, with a pond and greenery, are suitable. As a soil, you can use sphagnum, charcoal or coconut flakes, covered with pebbles or another layer of moss. In nature, poison dart frogs live in hollows and tree roots along river banks, so a terrarium for them can be decorated with pieces of bark, branches with hollows, small stones on which frogs can bask during the day, and form natural shelters from plant leaves.

Feeding: Due to their small size, poison dart flies should be fed with small insects, the fruit fly, Drosophila, is best suited for these purposes, but for obvious reasons, this is not the best option for keeping in an apartment. As for young crickets, then, unfortunately, in our country, pet stores, as a rule, sell old crickets.

Peculiarities: Dart frogs can usually be kept in groups, but nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that these amphibians are territorial animals, therefore, for a group of poison dart frogs of the same sex, a terrarium of sufficient volume is needed (about 30-40 liters per individual). Do not keep representatives together different types since they can poison each other. If you keep closely related poison dart frogs together different color, they can produce hybrid offspring of a new color form.

Round-tongued (Discoglossidae)

Terrariums often contain representatives of the genus Bombina, which includes 4 species. Toads are leading semi-aquatic image life.

Terrarium: An aquarium or aquaterrarium is used to keep toads. It is necessary to have islands or areas of land on which animals could easily get out. It is desirable to create shallow areas with a difference in water level, in such areas the frog will always find a suitable place for itself.

Feeding: An important condition for the successful maintenance of toads is to ensure the purity of the water in the pool, therefore, when feeding bloodworms, it is recommended to place food only in the feeder. On land, toads willingly eat small crickets, but such food cannot be the main one. The food is bloodworms and small crickets, which the toads willingly catch on land. Since feed often ends up in the water where it rots, good filtration is essential.

Tree frogs (Hylidae)

Activity type: During the day, they are usually inactive, and go hunting at dusk.

Terrarium: The terrarium for them should be vertical with an air humidity of about 60-80% and a temperature around 25 degrees during the day and about 20 at night. As a rule, the terrarium is decorated with live plants with large leaves (for example, ficuses or monsters), on which tree frogs sit with pleasure. The structure of the paws of tree frogs allows them to easily move on glass and other surfaces, “sticking” to them with their membranes. As a soil, you can use vermiculite or pebbles with the addition of charcoal, and put a layer of moss on top of them. The body of water in the terrarium should be about half the area of ​​the base of the terrarium, but no deeper than the height of the amphibian. Depending on the size of the reservoir, the water in it will need to be changed every two to three days or more often.

Feeding: You can feed tree frogs with medium-sized crickets and fruit flies (Drosophila).

Peculiarities: Most tree frogs can be kept in groups of several individuals. They have enough loud voice, so you should not place the terrarium in the bedroom.

Hyperoliids (Hyperoliidae)

Terrarium: Representatives of this family are great for decorating small vertical terrariums.
Afrixaluses do not often fall into the collections of Russian terrariumists. However, these are very beautiful and relatively easy frogs to keep. The characteristics of a terrarium depend on the ecology of the species. The species of the "fornasini" group are the most common in captivity. These frogs inhabit savannas with tall shrubs and trees. They lead an arboreal lifestyle. They are kept in vertical terrariums with lots of branches and plants.

A group of several types of reeds in a vertical terrarim decorated with live plants will decorate any interior. However, when choosing conditions of detention, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the requirements for temperature and humidity imposed by specific species. Due to the breadth of the range and different biotopic preferences, these requirements often differ, which makes it difficult to keep reedweeds in captivity.

Leptopelis are kept in vertical-type terrariums, which can be decorated with inclined and vertical branches, live and artificial plants(plants with wide, dense leaves that can withstand a frog, such as dieffenbachia, sansivieras, are well suited), snags and pieces of bark. Foam rubber or plastic mats can be used as a substrate. With the help of regular spraying in the terrarium, it is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity, a bathing suit is required, in which the frog can easily fit. The temperature in the terrarium is about 24 - 26 degrees. Feed - large insects. It is useful to add vitamin and mineral supplements to the feed.

Whistlers (Leptodactylidae)

In Europe, the most popular type of whistler among terrariumists is the decorated slingshot. They contain both the natural color variation and the albino form.

Terrarium: For these frogs, horizontal-type terrariums with a moist substrate, such as sphagnum, are suitable.

Asian spadefoot (Megophryidae)

Terrarium: Asian spadeworts are kept in spacious horizontal-type terrariums with a thick layer of soil. Forest litter and soft soil can be used as a substrate. A spacious bathing suit is needed to maintain humidity. The temperature varies depending on the ecological characteristics of the species.

Feed: insects, newborn rodents.

Narrow tree frogs (Microhylidae)

In captivity, they often contain tomato frogs, which are distinguished by their strikingly bright color, kaloula, red-striped narrowmouths.

Terrairum: These animals do well in horizontal wet terrariums with a hygroscopic substrate. However, growing these animals is fraught with many difficulties, and in order to grow healthy narrow mouths, you need to carefully monitor the conditions in the terrarium, maintain the necessary humidity and temperature. Spadefoot narrowmouths are kept in vertical or cubic terrariums with snags and slanted branches. You can plant live plants in the terrarium. Pieces of bark can be used as shelters. Humidity is high, from 80 to 100%. However, these frogs should not be overheated, the temperature is about 25 degrees.

Feed: small insects.

Spadeworts (Pelobatidae)

In captivity, the Common Spadefoot and Eastern Spadefoot Scaphiopus holbrooki are commonly kept.

Terrarium: To keep spadefoot, horizontal terrariums with a thick layer of loose soil, such as a soil mixture with sand, are used. Animals most time is spent burrowing into the substrate and crawling out only for hunting.

Keep spadefoot in horizontal terrariums with a thick layer of soft soil mixed with sand. A drinking bowl is optional, you can get by with spraying the terrarium. Pieces of bark can be used as shelters, but this is also not necessary, since spadefoot usually burrow into the ground. To observe the frogs in the terrarium, you can install a Night Glo lamp.

Feed: crickets.

Pipidae (Pipidae)

At home, they often contain representatives three genera: African genera clawed frogs Xenopus and pygmy claw frogs Hymenochirus and the South American genus Pipa Pipa.

Terrarium: Pips are kept in aquariums with good water filtration. For clawed frogs, shelters are placed at the bottom, the pip can be kept even without soil. Aquatic plants are placed in aquariums with dwarf claws.

Claw-bearers are exclusively aquatic frogs. They are quite undemanding to the conditions of detention - in the aquarium, one frog has enough volume of 3 - 3.5 liters. One - two frogs can be kept even in three liter jar. The aquarium must be covered with a mesh cover, because, despite the aquatic lifestyle, hymenochiruses often tend to get out of the reservoir. The water temperature should be at least 20 degrees, but frogs begin to breed when the temperature rises to 26 - 28. A small layer of rocky or sandy soil can be poured onto the bottom and it is advisable to put several shelters, for example, from clay shards.

Even very small aquariums are suitable for keeping clawed frogs, from 20 liters per couple, which are filled with water by 1/2 - 2/3 of the volume. A 4-6 cm layer of fine gravel is poured at the bottom, in which plants can be planted, but if the aquarium is small, animals quickly pull them out. At the bottom there are several shelters made of snags, stones and ceramic pots. Temperature 18 - 25 degrees. The aquarium is closed with a lid.

Feeding: Claw-bearers feed on any live food used for fish (for example, small bloodworms, tubifex). Can be accustomed to thawed food. Peep food, this is a big bloodworm, earthworms, small fish. Food for clawed frogs - pieces of meat, fish, flour worm, large bloodworm. May eat prepared foods aquarium fish.

Peculiarities: Hymenochirus get along well in aquariums with fish that are not much larger than the size of frogs, and vice versa, not too small so that they do not use it as food.

Copepods (Rhacophoridae)

Terrarium: should be chosen based on the biological preferences of the species. Arboreal species such as the Javan paddlefish thrive in vertical terrariums that can be decorated with lots of live plants. For terrestrial species, such as rough teloderm, a small horizontal type terrarium with a hygroscopic substrate is perfect.

Feed: various insects.

Frogs are quite unpretentious, varied and funny in their habits. But still, it is important for a novice breeder to take into account some of the features and basic requirements of these animals for keeping at home and take their new pets seriously.

Experienced amphibian breeders believe that keeping a frog in the house is not much different from having a cat or dog. Do not think that the small size of the frog automatically negates the efforts to create conditions and future care.

Amphibians require constant supervision, it is advisable to assume in advance who will take care of the pet during your vacation. Keeping a frog is more troublesome and different from keeping a goldfish - a pet will not survive for a week alone with food floating around it.

Another important point- Frogs and toads live a very long time, some species can live up to 15 years. A case of an incredibly long life in captivity of the amphibian species Common Toad, which has reached the advanced age of 40 years, has been recorded!

The legislation of some countries insists on special permits for keeping frogs at home. In Australia, for example, considerable fines are imposed on the owners of these animals, keeping them without a proper license.

Despite all their unpretentiousness and endurance, frogs will require daily chores.

They need to be regularly fed a variety of fresh foods, and food scraps are not good for them. Most species will be satisfied with commercially available dry or wet food, but some may need a couple of live insects or worms.

woody green red-eyed frog going to dine

If you choose a type that feeds only on live insects, the first thing to think about is where you are going to take all sorts of beetles, larvae and whether you will be ready for creeping food to crawl around the house.

Some, more large species frogs can devour mice with appetite, which can also be a problem and not a very pleasant sight. Species that constantly eat live food at home need especially regular and thorough cleaning of terrariums, and especially their aquatic part, in order to maintain proper hygiene and prevent diseases.

Frogs at home - content features

Unlike other amphibians, frogs have unique ability adapt to most situations and different environment and can live long and healthy life in a terrarium or even in a winter garden pond.

Still, stationary terrariums or aquariums are the most common homes for frogs in the home. Before choosing a tank, you need to evaluate the needs of your favorite species.

In order not to make a fatal mistake, it is best to consult with an experienced frog breeder or amphibian dealer, who will advise one or more options suitable for your new pet.

Terrarium for land frogs

This type of dwelling is ideal for dryland frogs and is the most simple solution. It usually consists of a special dry substrate, spread in a thick layer, and an accessible source of water - usually a ceramic bowl of water.

Slingshot in your home

Aquarium for aquatic species

For a frog that constantly lives in the aquatic environment, you will need a standard aquarium, equipped and configured as for keeping fish. This will require powerful system filtration as these animals feed in the water and excrete waste products into the water.

A reliable mesh cover is needed on top - pets can deftly and quickly escape from the aquarium, which is fraught with imminent death for aquatic species.

Spur frog in the aquarium

Terrarium with aquatic environment

The most common and very attractive way of keeping includes a land area with soil and a water area, so that the frog can choose to stay on land or in water, fully justifying its name as an amphibian creature.

You can buy a ready-made terrarium of this type. Another, more a budget option- put another, smaller, with low walls in an ordinary aquarium, fill it with water and surround it with large smooth stones.

Tall tanks

Some amazing views like tree frogs, will require a tall tank that will allow them to climb higher and perch comfortably on a branch.

A tall aquarium filled with suitable plants and branches is best suited. This is an excellent home for beautiful bright frogs that usually live in trees.

White's frog on a branch in a tall aquarium

Frogs at home - the worst and best species for a beginner

There are many various kinds frogs, some of which are more suitable for a beginner hobbyist, while others are not suitable at all.

When buying a cute little frog, you need to know exactly the name of the species and the size of an adult animal. So, young individuals of the African species Pyxicephalus adspersus they look amazing and, just looking at these cute, you can immediately decide that these are certainly wonderful pets.

Juvenile African bullfrog

However, these tiny amphibians are young African bullfrogs or water-bearers that grow huge, sluggish, very strong, and feed on mice.

An adult reaches a length of up to 24 cm and weighs up to two kilograms. This view is not at all suitable for a beginner.

Very large frogs by themselves are not recommended for home keeping by beginner hobbyists for several reasons. First, they can bite quite painfully. Secondly, they will need a lot of space, feed and care. And finally, thirdly, these are far from the most active, slow animals, so they may seem boring.

Adult African bullfrog

The only pleasant exception to this rule may be one of the various Slingshots ( Ceratophrys), which are also not very active, but are very hardy, insanely cute, and not as prone to disease as some other species.

Poison frogs are also definitely an undesirable choice for the budding hobbyist. Although they usually lose their toxic properties in captivity, in whole or in part, they still require specialized care. high level and are fragile, vulnerable animals.

Frogs at home - decorated slingshot

Eastern toad ( Bombina orientalis) makes the perfect frog for the beginner hobbyist who wants a great experience keeping an amphibian frog. Toads will eat bloodworms, dried crickets, they will also need vitamin supplement for amphibians.

Frogs are beautiful, quite active and do not grow very large. In addition, this species is undemanding to the ambient temperature and you will not need a heater for the terrarium.

Eastern firefly - a very beautiful frog

Of charming tree species an amateur should pay attention to the bright baby - White's frog ( Litoria caerulea). This is an absolutely charming cute creature with a pleasant appearance and funny habits that at first sight captivate others, especially children, who simply cannot be driven away from the terrarium.

The little amphibian is quite tolerant of increased attention, quickly adapts to new surroundings and is definitely an excellent first frog choice for a novice breeder.

White's beautiful frog

African pygmy frogs ( Hymenochirus boettgeri) are small, dynamic, attractive and truly comparable to goldfish in terms of the difficulty of keeping and caring for at home.

These pets do not need a supply of live insects or mice, and although they can be bored and lethargic for a couple of weeks as they acclimate to new conditions, they are generally easy to care for.

African pygmy frogs in an aquarium

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Frogs, leading an aquatic lifestyle, have long taken a strong place in amateur aquariums. And the touching little frogs, which are now sold in almost every pet store, cause an irresistible desire among people who are inexperienced in aquaristics to buy, as they say, "there are those two white ones and this gray one." But no matter how cute they are, let's still figure out what kind of frogs they are, what conditions they need and with whom they can live in the same aquarium.

Two types of frogs are currently kept in aquariums: the smooth clawed frog - xenopus (Xenopus laevis), which has been bred in captivity for many years, and the dwarf frog - hymenochirus (Hymenochirus boettgeri), which has become popular not so long ago. Adult frogs of these species vary greatly in size, appearance, behavior, and content. Frogs in pet stores are often kept in the same aquarium and when selling, they do not always focus on their species.

Spur frog.

So, if aquarium frogs are white or pinkish, with red eyes, then regardless of size, they are clawed. The albino clawed frog was artificially bred at the Moscow Institute of Developmental Biology for laboratory experiments.

If a small frog is grayish, brownish or olive in color with dark spots, then to determine the species, you should pay attention to the length and thickness of its limbs, the presence of webs between the fingers of the front paws and the pointedness of the muzzle. Wild-colored clawed frogs are more dense, they have thicker legs with bandages, like babies, a rounded muzzle, and there are no webbing on the fingers.

Hymenochirus, on the other hand, has membranes, long and slender legs, and a pointed muzzle. The size of an adult hymenochirus, as a rule, does not exceed 4 cm, while the clawed frog grows up to 10–12 cm.

pygmy frog

Behavioral Features

These frogs also behave differently. The spurred ones are active, strong and completely shameless. They eat everything

what moves and fits in their mouths, they mercilessly dig up and tear aquarium plants, move stones and snags, dig the soil. But they are clearly visible, they have large expressive faces and they have a habit of stretching out beautifully to hang in the thickness of the aquarium water.

Hymenochiruses are calmer, quieter, slower and more delicate. They slowly crawl along the bottom, climbing on underwater objects and periodically freezing for a long time. As one amateur aptly put it, pygmy frogs resemble "meditating scuba divers." They almost do not damage plants, do not disturb fish (they simply do not have such an opportunity due to the size of their body and mouth), pollute the aquarium a little.

In a large aquarium, they are almost invisible, because they constantly hide at the bottom or in thickets of plants, and if active fish live nearby, then hymenochiruses may not keep up with food.

Aquarium frogs: maintenance and care

Both species are not too demanding on the conditions of detention. For clawed frogs, an aquarium of 20-30 liters per couple is enough, while it needs to be filled with water by half or a third. The aquarium should be closed with a lid or net. The soil is a large pebble. The aquarium is equipped with a compressor or a small internal filter, you can use a waterfall filter, but there should not be a strong current. There is no need for bright lighting.

The water temperature is about 22-25°C, xenopuses are practically indifferent to the chemical parameters of water. The exception is the content of chlorine and fluorine in the water, so it is recommended to defend it before adding it to the aquarium for at least 2-3 days. They change the water once or twice a week for 20-25%, a number of authors recommend changing less often, as it becomes cloudy.

Plants can only be planted hard-leaved, always in pots, otherwise they will be dug up immediately. Some lovers of these animals do the following: they put a pot with houseplant having hanging shoots, and place these shoots in an aquarium. In this case, the aquarium becomes green, and the roots of the plant remain intact.

For hymenochiruses, the volume of the aquarium can be even smaller, 1-2 liters of water for such a frog is enough.

A cover is required - hymenochiruses, especially those caught in nature, often strive to escape.

The water temperature for them needs at least 24 ° C. A filter or compressor is desirable, but it should not be too powerful to leave areas of still, stagnant water in the aquarium.

At the bottom, it is necessary to equip small shelters under which these quivering creatures can hide. Plants are very desirable, it is good if they form dense thickets in places. It is also better to plant them in pots. It is necessary to equip the aquarium with lighting, since hymenochiruses sometimes like to rise among the thickets to the surface and bask under the lamp, sticking their heads out of the water and upper part torso.

Feeding

Decorative aquarium frogs - both xenopuses and hymenochiruses - are preferred.

For claws, these can be flour and earthworms, crickets, large bloodworms, fry and tadpoles. You can give pieces of liver, meat, fish, shrimp with tweezers.

Clawed frogs should not be fed tubifex, pork, fatty beef.

Hymenochiruses are fed with small bloodworms, live daphnia or fish. Dry and immobile frog food is usually ignored. Food for adult xenopus and hymenochirus should be given twice a week.

The feeding behavior of representatives of these two species of frogs also differs. Spurs have an excellent sense of smell, in addition, they have a very developed sense of touch (the receptors are pits located on the sides of the frog and resemble the lateral line of fish). Therefore, frogs are good at detecting smells and the slightest movements of water, quickly find food and greedily pounce on it.

Hymenochiruses, on the other hand, usually need to bring food directly to the nose. You can train them to feed certain place or by a certain signal (for example, tapping with tweezers), but they will take a long time to get to the food, as if considering on the way whether it is worth doing this at all.

Xenopus are extremely voracious and therefore prone to obesity, respectively, the amount of food they eat must be strictly controlled - a healthy frog must remain flat.

As for the clawed frog, knowing the peculiarities of its behavior, one can answer unequivocally - it has nothing to do in an aquarium with fish.

She will swallow anything that fits in her mouth, wipe out most of the plants, dig up the ground, raising the dregs, and move carefully placed scenery.

In addition, she does not like fresh water with a good current, and most fish will not like her usual swamp.

The only plus of cohabitation of fish and clawed frogs is that the skin mucus of frogs contains antimicrobial substances that can have a healing effect on diseased fish. But at the current level of development of aquarium pharmacology, this can hardly be considered a serious argument. If you really want to do without chemistry, it is much easier to place a sick fish in a small container, where the frog had been for some time before.

Some aquarists advise keeping xenopus with as they do well in old water and breathe atmospheric air. But why do it? A separate small aquarium with frogs will take up very little space, and everyone will be fine as a result.

With hymenochiruses, everything is not so scary. It is believed that they get along well with calm, not too large, non-predatory fish. They will not violate the beauty of the aquarium either. However, in a large aquarium, hymenochiruses spend a lot of time in shelters, so it is almost impossible to observe them, and it can be quite difficult to control the process of feeding them.

frog diseases

Aquarium frogs may experience the following health problems:

In the treatment of frogs, preparations for tropical aquarium fish are usually used, selecting them according to the causative agent of the disease (anthelmintic, antifungal or antibacterial). Sick frogs are isolated. With dropsy, a puncture of the skin is often effective.

You should know that usually individuals who live in unsuitable conditions for them, are prone to obesity or experience prolonged severe stress get sick.

And finally, some interesting facts about clawed frogs:

• the clawed frog was the first vertebrate to be cloned;
• at the beginning of the 20th century, clawed frogs were used to diagnose short-term pregnancy: if a frog is injected with the urine of a pregnant woman, under the influence of chorionic gonadotropin, she starts spawning;
• the clawed frog does not have a tongue, therefore, when eating prey, it helps itself with its front paws, and it cannot bend its fingers, it keeps them stretched out, as if eating with Chinese chopsticks;
• when clawed frogs accidentally got into the waters of the tropical part of the United States, they destroyed there native species frogs, so in some states the keeping of clawed frogs is prohibited, while in others it is limited.

Fortunately, in our country, keeping frogs is allowed, so everyone can get these undemanding funny animals at home, watch and care for them, getting a lot of positive emotions and acquiring the skills of keeping an aquarium. The latter will definitely come in handy in the future, because usually everything is just beginning with frogs.

Interview with a specialist: how to properly care for and feed freshwater aquarium frogs:

Frogs is a commonly used term, which in a broad sense unites all animals belonging to the order of tailless amphibians. However, with scientific point of view, this name defines only representatives from the family of real frogs, which include aquarium varieties.

Types of aquarium frogs, their features

Many aquarium frogs were bred specifically for keeping in conditions home aquarium and are the result of successful selection of natural species.

Aquarists who keep frogs are an exceptional phenomenon, due to the need to provide unusual pets with exceptionally competent and complete care.

Despite enough a large number of varieties of aquarium frogs, only the following relatively unpretentious and interesting species of amphibians are widely used:

• Pipa american- the owner of a flattened quadrangular body and a flat head with small triangular eyes. Sufficiently thin legs have swimming membranes. In the area of ​​​​the eyes and mouth, leathery folds hang down. The skin itself is wrinkled, with very characteristic cells on the surface of the back. The main coloration is yellowish-black-brown, and the abdomen has a light color and a noticeable, long black stripe. AT vivo the species inhabits Brazil, Suriname and Guyana. The length of an adult is 20 cm. The species is of interest due to unusual ability carry their offspring in cells located on their backs;
• Red-bellied, Far Eastern and Yellow-bellied toads- differ in a very bright, "flashy" spotted color and are classified as poisonous. The poison frinolycin secreted by the mucous tubercles does not pose a danger to humans, but after caring for such amphibians, you will have to wash your hands thoroughly. The length of an adult individual does not exceed 60-70 mm. They are very easily tamed and, according to many breeders, are able to accurately predict the weather;
• white frog- an artificially bred albino form of the clawed frog, which in natural conditions inhabits America and South Africa, and also has a characteristic dark brown coloration. The length of an adult does not exceed 9-10 cm. The species has a flattened head, and also has a rounded muzzle and small eyes. characteristic feature is the presence on well-developed webbed hind legs of three formations that look like spurs. The color of albino individuals with red eyes is whitish-pink.

Most often kept by aquarists is Hymenochirus Bettger.. The fore and hind limbs are webbed. Average length adult, as a rule, does not exceed 30-40 mm. Hymenochirus has a long body with thin legs, a pointed muzzle and small eyes. The main color is grayish-brown. There are spots on the back and limbs, and the abdomen has a lighter color.

It is interesting! Beginning aquarists are advised to pay attention to the beautiful, intelligent and low-maintenance clawed frogs, which, subject to the minimum rules of keeping, can please the owner with their presence for several years.

Most aquarium frogs are unpretentious and original pets that do not require special conditions for home maintenance.

Particular attention should be paid to right choice aquarium, as well as compliance with the feeding regimen.

Requirements for water and aquarium

Frogs are not demanding on water quality indicators, and the main condition for proper water treatment is settling for three days, which minimizes the amount of chlorine. The level of hardness and acidity of water does not affect negative impact on the well-being of the amphibian.

Important! Experienced aquarists recommend that when performing a water change in a frog aquarium, do not pour it out. Such settled and drained water from the settled sediment is perfect for adding to aquariums with fish. Frogs secrete a secret that positively affects the well-being of fish.

The volume of the tank for a pair of American pipa frogs should be approximately one hundred liters. It is desirable to provide good filtration and low aeration, and fill the bottom with fine gravel as soil. Soft and slightly acidic water with a temperature in the range of 25-28 ° C is best suited for keeping pipa.

Toads are kept in special aqua terrariums. For a pair of adults, a reservoir with a volume of at least five liters is allocated. Day temperature regime should be 20-25 ° C, and at night it is allowed to lower the temperature by about five degrees. The soil at the bottom can be represented by sand or clean gravel. Be sure to install special shelters in the form of stones and plants inside.

Unpretentious clawed frogs do not require much space. To keep a pair of adults, you need to prepare an aquarium with a volume of ten liters. The standard temperature during the day and at night is 20-22 ° C. Soil, represented by pebbles or gravel, is poured onto the bottom of the tank. Be sure to provide shelter and vegetation in the aquarium, as well as a slatted cover, because this species often jumps out of the tank.

Caring for aquarium frogs

Aquarium frogs catch cold quite easily, therefore, with temperature changes in the air in the room, the amphibian's dwelling must be provided with high-quality heating. It is recommended to fill the tank with water by two-thirds, and then cover it with a net or rather heavy glass.

Be sure to leave a small gap between the aquarium wall and the “lid”. Water is replaced as it gets dirty, by updating 20% ​​of the volume. Vegetation is best used hard-leaved or grown in special pots.

Diet, what to feed

In food, amphibians are picky, but in order to provide an aquarium frog in conditions home content a nutritious diet, you should follow simple recommendations:

• the main food of the toad is various invertebrates and insects;
• pipa is fed with bloodworms, earthworms and small fish;
• bloodworms, earthworms, crustaceans, shrimp, pieces of meat or fish are best suited for feeding a white frog;
• Tubifex, bloodworm and daphnia are used as food for Hymenochirus.

It is advisable to feed an adult no more than a couple of times a week. More frequent meals often provoke obesity and problems with internal organs.

Important! Earthworms, before feeding to amphibians, must be kept for a day, and it is recommended to pre-freeze fish and meat, and chop well before feeding the frog.

Compatible with aquarium fish

Not all aquarium frogs can be kept in the same fish tank.. American pipa and toads, as well as the white frog, can only be kept with large and fairly mobile species of aquarium fish.

Hymenochirus get along quite well with not very large fish, but maintaining such an aquarium biosystem in decent condition will be much more difficult. Most frogs require standing water, while aquarium fish need good aeration.

Reproduction of aquarium frogs

Several times a year, aquarium frogs come into mating season, and in some species such a season is accompanied by loud chanting.

It is interesting! Before mating, aquarium male clawed frogs have very characteristic black stripes on their paws, so even a novice aquarist can easily determine the breeding season of this species.

The eggs laid by the female, as a rule, are fertilized within a day. Some species of frogs actively eat their eggs and tadpoles, so it is necessary to deposit adults in a separate tank.

Hatched young tadpoles are happy to feed on fresh or dry nettles, as well as a mixture of powdered milk and yeast. Tadpoles, as they develop and grow, need to be sorted by size, as cannibalism is often observed. After a month and a half, the tadpoles lie on the bottom and the water level needs to be lowered. The result is the appearance of many young frogs.

Frog diseases and their prevention

Too polluted aquarium water, as well as with insufficient oxygen, domestic frogs can get sick with an infectious disease called "red paw". It must also be remembered that a poor diet provokes the development of metabolic bone disease in amphibians. When choosing a feeding regimen, it is necessary to take into account voracity unusual pets and strictly control their weight.

Frogs are poikilothermic animals, their temperature is directly dependent on the temperature of the environment. Young frogs and tadpoles tolerate cooling down to -1.1 ° C, but they do not tolerate high temperature. Adult frogs withstand a minimum temperature of -0.4 to -0.8 °C and tolerate temperatures of +39 °C. At a temperature of +5 ° C, the reflex activity of frogs almost stops.
Pond and lake frogs winter in water bodies, and common frog and the ground toad - on land, burrowing in sand pits, cellars, under leaves, sawdust, moss or in the ground.
For laboratory needs, frogs are harvested in the autumn season. Pond and lake frogs are caught from reservoirs with nets.
Frogs in large numbers should be kept in special terrariums, which are organized in dark places and basements. The frogs must be in concrete pools filled with clean water. The water level is small (only 3-4 cm), so that the frogs can freely stick their heads above the water. Place a few stones in the pool that protrude above the water so that the frogs can climb on them. It is better if the pool is divided into sections isolated from each other. The depth of the pool and the height of the partitions between the sections is 1-1.2m. It is advisable to change the water frequently, and give the water aged in tubs. The pool from above must be covered with nets. The temperature in the terrarium should be 6-10 °C.
In small numbers, frogs can be kept in enameled tubs, tubs, and aquariums. To do this, you must comply with the above water level and produce frequent shift her.
Dead frogs or tadpoles should be thrown away in a timely manner.
Content and delivery, especially in winter time, pond, grass and lake frogs are associated with significant difficulties. In addition, among these species of frogs, more females than males are detected, which makes it difficult to set up a biological test to identify early dates pregnancy in a hospital setting. Breeding frogs in the laboratory is impossible. AT recent times instead of frogs, they began to successfully use ground toads, which are easy to keep throughout the year in simple, specially built nurseries or in basements, in boxes. In addition, according to Jungfes, the ground toad has 100 males for 18.5 females. All this distinguishes them favorably from frogs and speaks of the expediency of breeding ground toads at every hospital.
Ground toads are kept in terrariums. The bottom should be covered with light porous earth and covered with pieces of moss and turf. The earth is slightly moistened. In a terrarium for toads, it is useful to arrange small ponds (puddles) or put flat dishes filled with water. It is quite possible to keep ground toads in the wild in shady places (where there are puddles), fenced with wire mesh or a concrete wall. In winter, toads are placed in cellars, boxes filled with crushed and moistened peat.
Fat frogs and toads harvested in autumn go without food throughout the winter. By spring, they lose weight, and in order to keep them until autumn, one should late spring and feed in the summer.
J. Prokopich (1957), studying the issue of nutrition pond frog, showed that 96% of the captured prey are beetles, bugs, mollusks, and 4% of the contents of the stomach are plant foods. Quite often (up to 10% of cases) the phenomena of cannibalism are noted.
You can feed frogs and ground toads with their natural food (earth and flour worms, mollusks, spiders, flies and other insects, small fish). You can feed with finely chopped strips of meat (including frog meat). Food must be taken in tweezers and held in front of the mouth, as frogs and ground toads capture only moving prey. If the animals refuse to take food themselves, then it is necessary to resort to force-feeding, i.e. pushing food into the mouth. Feed should be 1-2 times a week.