If you’re looking for a pet that’s quiet and doesn’t take up a lot of space in your home, you may want to consider a frog. While it’s true most frogs tend to be inactive (especially the bigger varieties) they can still be interesting pets to watch and learn from. Young children especially enjoy taking care of frogs because they require little in the way of maintenance. Also, frogs live quite a long time with proper care. Here are several things for you to think about if you’re considering adding a pet frog to your family this April–which, after all, is National Frog Month. [photo via flickr]
Frogs Make Good Pets for Beginning Pet Owners
Frogs live in an enclosed cage and have simple lighting, temperature and humidity requirements that older children can easily manage. The biggest issue with keeping frogs as pets is their sensitivity to contaminants and waste in their living environment, so children will need help in keeping the cage clean. Cleaning a frog’s enclosure is a good way to teach young children about caring for another living creature, and teaches responsibility to boot.
It can be somewhat tricky feeding a pet frog as well because frogs eat live insects. You or your child must be willing to handle live insects, which usually includes crickets, and be willing to have a separate cage for housing the bugs so you don’t have to make trips to the pet store all the time. However, if your child doesn’t mind, it might be fun in the summer months to have him gather insects himself from the backyard to feed his pet frog. If either of you is squeamish about bugs, it may be best to consider another pet choice.
Choosing the Right Frog for You
There are several frog species that make good pets. Before you head out to purchase one, there are a few things to think about so you get the right set up so your frog can thrive and be happy.
The first thing is cage size. The frogs you see in the pet store may be small now, but some have the potential to grow into huge frogs later. Be sure to ask questions of the pet experts in the store to find out just what you’ll need in the long run.
Most frogs require water that they can swim in and an area they can bask in. It’s important that the enclosure you choose is capable of providing enough room to set it up this way. Something else to consider when purchasing the cage and the frog is whether the frog needs to hibernate because he’ll need a special spot in his environment to do that as well.
Good Frog Choices for Beginners
Here are a few frogs that make good pets. We’re not saying that all of these frogs will be readily available in your local pet store, but this list will give you a good place to start…
- Dwarf frog
- Oriental Fire Bellied Toad
- White’s Tree Frog
- African Clawed Frog
- American Green Tree Frog
- Pacman Frog (yes, a real frog, and a pretty cool name)
