# Frogs & Toads > Frogs >  I'm thinking about getting a leopard frog.

## emfroggy

I found a leopard frog for sale at petco online. I'm not sure if it's at my petco store but I would like to know some things about it before I go looking for one. Here's the questions i have about the leopard frog. 
1. is it poisonous? because earlier  i was looking at getting some fire bellied toads but the petsmart clerk told me and my dad that it was poisonous and we don't want our dog or our cat to get hurt buy eating the frog by mistake. 
2. are they easy to take care of? because right now i'm a beginner at frog care and I know petco said that they are intermediate but I know some stuff about frog care.
3. Do they need heating? If they do then can i use a hermit crab heat pad if we still have it. Also what kind of heating do they need?
4. What kind of take setup do they need? like do they need dry desert like environment or a forest like environment?
5. How big of a tank do I need for one or two leopard frogs? It depends on how much they cost. If they are expensive like $20 then i'll probably get one for now.
6.do they need a big water source like a half land half water tank or a water bowl?
7.Are they active or do they just sit around all day and night? 
8.how big do they grow?
If anybody would gladly answer my questions then it would be greatly appreciated. :Smile:  Also sorry for to many questions I just want to learn all I can about a frog before I buy it and not like it. also here's the picture from petco just in case there are different species.

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## lindsayshocking

Hey there!

I am the proud owner of 3 Southern Leopard frogs. I'll be happy to answer your questions.
1.) Leopard frogs aren't poisonous per se...but like all frogs, it's recommended to keep leopard frogs with leopard frogs, because even though their skin isn't toxic to us, it can be to other frogs. 
2.) They're relatively easy to keep. You want to make sure your cage is about 50% land, and 50% filtered spring water (chlorine is a silent killer for these guys! make sure your water is filtered spring water). Some people set up semi-aquatic tanks with a filter, but I personally use two large dog food dishes. It's easier for me to keep clean for them.
3.) I don't use heating on my babies. They like it room temperature.
4.) Along with the 50/50 set up, I just use crushed coconut substrate along with some fake plastic plants. They will burrow (I didn't believe it until I saw it, but they do!) so you want to make sure their substrate is fairly deep. You can also add a log for a hiding place for them. I guess it's more of a forest set up?
5.) The size of the tank depends on the frog. I believe Petco sells Southern Leopard Frogs, which is good because they only get to be a few inches. A 10 gallon cage would be good for one, and then add 5 gallons for each additional frog. I'm not certain how much the cages sell for at Petco. I tend to get mine used from a local pet store out here for around $20 for a 20 gallon.
6.) Answered above.
7.) They can be quite active! Sometimes when I am trying to  sleep I hear them splashing around. Sometimes my male also calls a bit, but he's not terribly loud. They're most active around night time, but I've seen them hop during the day.
8.) Southern Leopard frogs are around 3-3.5 inches at adulthood. Northern Leopard Frogs get bigger...closer to 5 inches I think.

I hope this helps with your decision!

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## emfroggy

Thank you It helped a lot!!! I do have a ten gallon right now that I used for fish but I can buy the screen lid for it and buy the other supplies too. All I want right now is one. then ill upgrade once I have him/her for a little bit and once I get more money. Ill go talk to my parents about getting this frog because I want a easy to take care of frog and a nonpoisonous type that would fit in our ten gallon and this is the only one that I can hopefully get because I don't want to spend extra money on a tall tank for a tree frog and I don't know if my petco here sells the leopard frog. Ill post pictures if I do get this frog too.  :Big Grin:

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## lindsayshocking

Yay! I do expect pictures of your new baby  :Frog Smile:

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## Karen aka mshine1217

Petco only sells animals through their stores, they do not sell on line.  So you need to check with your local store for availability.  :Frog Smile:

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## emfroggy

yea I know that. That's why I have to still go see if the petco by my house sells leopard frogs at the store Because Petco has a bunch of stores all over the US and I went to petco's website and I saw that some of their stores sell's leopard frogs. Also I talked to my dad and he said that next week Thursday he will take me to go get a screen top for our ten gallon and buy some other supplies to get the cage setup first. I'll also post pictures of the tank once it is setup but I could use some of your pictures too. :Frog:  to help me get some Ideas because I only found one youtube video of the Leopard frog tank and I could not find any other ideas on google. 
i

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