Hello everyone,
My daughter would love to have a frog. She is a beginner with the frog, but she is experienced in various animals, dog, cat, fish and insects, including the praying mantis.
Ideally we would like to use it as an aid in our aquapony system. I think she does not like water very much. She would not have direct contact with water, so it's not a problem unless it decides to jump into the tank.
As we eat what we grow, the frog will touch these plants, it must not be toxic, not at all. And that's where I have a lot of hesitation. If we decide not to use it in aquaponics, it must still be non-toxic, because of our other animals in the house.
Is the White or Blue Dumpy Tree frog the right breed?
Does she like to be touched?
Last edited by Grenouile; June 13th, 2017 at 12:50 PM.
I'm not sure what the aquaponics thing would look like. Is it heated? The White's tree frog needs warmer temperatures than are typical of Canada. If there's any chance the frog could get outside I would definitely get a native species, not a White's.
Does your aquaponics system produce insects? That's a consideration as well.
I don't think the frog has enough toxin to affect a human being through contact, but there's always the chance of a frog carrying salmonella bacteria. And it would be pooping on your plants.
If you decide to get a native frog from the wild, it's good to get very young frogs, since many of them do not make it to adulthood anyway. That would be better than removing a breeding-age adult from the wild in my opinion.
In general, no frog likes to be touched much. They breathe through their skin! But White's tree frogs are a little less affected by being held than some other species.
Thanks elly for your reply!
Carrier of salmonella, wash! I did not know that ... I imagine that there is no way to know if a frog is carrier??
An aquaponics system is a self-sufficient system, where plants gives good water for fish and fish excrement turn into nitrate, good for plants. My system is in the house, so no worry for the cold winter of Canada. The frog would live in a terranium, we would go out a few times a week to eat the insects in our aquapony system, in addition to its diet.
There's no way of knowing whether a frog is carrying salmonella except to get its poop tested. It's not just frogs, all reptiles and amphibians can possibly carry the germ. It's just good to remember to wash your hands after handling. And absolutely wash any produce the frog's been on.
Ah, so the frog would be indoors. Temperatures about 21-26 C are best for White's though they can tolerate a little lower or higher for a short while.
I'm sure the frog would be happy to hunt bugs in your system.White's might ignore tinier bug species like fruit flies, but they will go after larger bugs. (If you have a problem with fruit flies or gnats, maybe a smaller tree frog species would help instead.)
I suggest dusting the frog's regular diet with calcium powder to prevent calcium deficiency which can cause permanent problems. It'll need a bowl with dechlorinated water which needs to be changed every 1-2 days (or set up a shallow water aquarium with a small filter and plenty of places to climb out of water.) Some humidity is needed too. About 40%-80%. That's all I can think of.
Which smaller frog do you suggest? I would need the frog to eat fruit flies too! And of course, non-toxic!
Thank you for your advice!
I haven't found anything saying your native species of tree frogs are toxic. That is, they have some toxins in their skin but in very low doses and you'd probably have to eat them to be affected.
I suggest not getting Chubby frogs, Firebelly toads, Milky tree frogs or toads. Those do put out toxins.
Frogs you might find at a pet store that could work: Gray tree frogs, American green tree frogs
Native Canadian frogs: Gray tree frogs, Pacific tree frog, Spring peeper. I think all of those stay pretty small. Western Chorus frogs and Northern Cricket frogs seem to be endangered so there might be laws against collecting them. You might want to check to see if it's legal to own frogs in your province.
My daughter will be more in-depth research on frogs!
Thank you very much elly!
You're welcome!
Keep in mind a frog might not get all the insects, all of them hunt pretty slowly. (If after looking at all the options your daughter absolutely has her heart set on a White's, I'd consider that one, because even a small frog will likely not get all the bugs. But that is only my opinion.)
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