How to Take Care of a Frog

Though they certainly aren't for everybody, frogs can make great pets for those who find them fascinating. Many people think that caring for a frog simply requires you to stick them in an aquarium, but it's slightly more involved than that. Caring for a frog properly requires you to set up their habitat so that it provides them with everything that they need, a step that is often overlooked. Here are suggestions for how you can meet your frog's needs easily as well as some basic instructions.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium
  • Aquarium gravel
  • Large rocks
  • Under-gravel water filter
  • Soft screen aquarium top
  • Spray bottle
  • Light w/ timer
  • Moss or other plants which don't grow large
  • Crickets or other insects
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Instructions

  1. Setting Up Your Frog's Environment

    • 1

      Install an under-gravel water filter in a fish tank and cover the entire bottom of the tank with a layer of gravel. Though there are a number of habitat configurations that you can use for a frog, the most common one that will work for the majority of frog types is a tank with both a wet and dry section. Though this might sound a bit confusing at first, it's actually very easy to set up.

    • 2

      Place a few large rocks in the tank on top of the gravel. The rocks don't have to be exceedingly large, but they should be big enough that a good portion of their surface will be above the water once there are a few inches of water in the tank. You can put the rocks all on the same side or you can put one or two rocks on each side of the tank with an open area in the middle; just make sure that you aren't covering the filter with one of the rocks.

    • 3

      Add two to three inches of water to the tank. The exact amount of water that you add is up to you, though you should try to make sure that it's enough water that the frog can swim in it but not so much that the rocks you've placed in the tank are submerged. Turn on the filter once you've added the water.

    • 4

      Moisten the rocks and place your moss on them, or arrange your other plants however you would prefer. You should also set up your light and set the timer to have it on for four to five hours each day. Put the top on your aquarium to finish your frog habitat.

    Care and Feeding of Your Frog

    • 5

      Introduce your frog to its new habitat by placing it on one of the rocks and letting it get used to its new surroundings. Releasing one or two crickets into the tank will help it to make the transition to its new home by establishing the tank as its "hunting ground."

    • 6

      Use your spray bottle periodically to spray the sides of the glass and add additional humidity to the tank, especially when the air in the room the tank is kept in seems hot or dry. Though there is water in the tank the air humidity can drop, and even though your frog is getting dry it might not jump into the water.

    • 7

      Check the water in the tank regularly to make sure that the filter is doing its job, and clean the tank whenever a buildup of grime occurs. Dirty water can be one of the biggest causes sickness in frogs, and keeping the water clean will prevent most illnesses.

    • 8

      Buy calcium pellets at your pet store and drop them in with the crickets several hours before feeding your frog. This will help your frog to get extra nutrition from the crickets that it eats, since it is on a more limited diet than it might have in the wild.

    • 9

      If your frog appears to have dry skin that's starting to peel, don't panic. Frogs molt just like snakes and many other animals, so it's natural for it to shed its skin periodically. You should still keep an eye on it when you start to notice the signs that it might be molting, however, just in case it does have very dry skin or some other health problem.