can you recommend a good frog for a 6 year old boy?

Dog Shrink

Lost in the Lizard World
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can you recommend a good frog/toad for a 6 year old boy?

So my younger son has been bitten by herp feaver and would like a toad or frog. He does tend to like the larger varities such as the leopard frog and would be happy with a tank full of bufos from the garden but I wanted to see if there was any opinion on what would be suitable for him. We're looking for something that is a bit larger than you average 1-2 inch frog. Colorful is preferred, easy care with really low/no special heating/lighting required. Preferably something that doesnt eat meat but prefers bugs to say pinkies or fish. Something that he can handle on occasion with out worry of hallucinating or poisoning and can live in a 20 gallon regular aquarium. I do have a larger aquarium, I believe it's a 40 but would prefer to stay with the smaller tank. we would prefer something that doesn't require a large amount of water in the habitat. If there needs to be 2-3 in the enclosure to make them happy, not a big deal but would prefer one that can live a solitary lifestyle.

We have been looking at leopard frogs, european green toads, black and red walking frogs, marbled hopper frogs, barking tree frogs, bumble bee toads and the like but finding care sheets on some of these guys is really hard. Any imput/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys :D
 
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beezy

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you can get a green tree frog. or a fire bellied toad. theyre both nice and easy to care for. i house both of them in a 10 gallon with no problem
 

Dog Shrink

Lost in the Lizard World
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you can get a green tree frog. or a fire bellied toad. theyre both nice and easy to care for. i house both of them in a 10 gallon with no problem

We have looked at both of those but I think they're just smaller than what he was hoping for.

Tara I was actually kinda hoping Tony might see this post and chime in. I know he's terribly busy now-a-days and would really hate to bother him with something that is kinda trivial.
 

fuzzylogix

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white's tree frog, sometimes called dumpy tree frog. get fairly large and are a lot of fun to watch when they eat. here's a pic of our female...

atq4x2.jpg
 

M_surinamensis

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So my younger son has been bitten by herp feaver and would like a toad or frog. He does tend to like the larger varities such as the leopard frog and would be happy with a tank full of bufos from the garden but I wanted to see if there was any opinion on what would be suitable for him. We're looking for something that is a bit larger than you average 1-2 inch frog. Colorful is preferred, easy care with really low/no special heating/lighting required. Preferably something that doesnt eat meat but prefers bugs to say pinkies or fish. Something that he can handle on occasion with out worry of hallucinating or poisoning and can live in a 20 gallon regular aquarium. I do have a larger aquarium, I believe it's a 40 but would prefer to stay with the smaller tank. we would prefer something that doesn't require a large amount of water in the habitat. If there needs to be 2-3 in the enclosure to make them happy, not a big deal but would prefer one that can live a solitary lifestyle.

We have been looking at leopard frogs, european green toads, black and red walking frogs, marbled hopper frogs, barking tree frogs, bumble bee toads and the like but finding care sheets on some of these guys is really hard. Any imput/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys :D

I never know how to answer questions like this... I know frogs and toads. I have only the vaguest concept of what the kids are bringing to the equation though and six is one of those ages where it seems like there's so much variability in how they would act and what can be expected of them.

So I guess I'll just describe some frogs and toads and leave you to judge your own child.

The biggest thing I think is often an issue with kids and amphibians is the desire to touch them. To handle and hold and interact, this can be a problem for the animal and a problem for some kids.

It's a problem for the kid because all amphibians, to some degree, produce toxins and irritants. Most of these are very mild and only a few species regularly produce something that represents a real danger to a human being. However, they can be more of an issue depending on the way the animals are handled. Not touching one's eyes or mouth, nose or any other sensitive area until after washing the hands is something some kids can accept and something some others seem not as aware of. If a kid has a cut or a scrape, being able to recognize that and avoid handling the animal until it has started healing and is closed. Again, the ones capable of real clinically significant effects are few and far between, but I suspect it is probably better to instill good habits.

It's an issue for the amphibian because they all have sensitive skin and handling can damage them and make them more prone to infections, skin damage and related health problems. Some kids can probably "get it" and restrict handling to an infrequent schedule, every few days during enclosure maintenance and once in awhile simply to interact with and examine the animal more closely. Some kids would just want to touch it all the time, unable to understand that it isn't good for the animal. Little habits here too can help make it less of an issue, wetting the hands prior to handling the amphibian, making sure that the hands are clean and free of soaps and chemicals. Just being aware.

Amphibians have three ways they protect their skin from damage, infections and contaminates. Three different types of skin, which respond a bit differently to handling and contact; slime, wax and warts. Slime coatings are found mostly on more amphibious species, it's a slick secretion with antimicrobal/antifungal properties that also provides a thin layer of buffer material to protect against abrasions and contaminants. Waxy cuticles are something found in many arboreal and some terrestrial species, also a skin secretion but one that has is built to help with moisture retention as well. Warts, or thicker, tougher, leathery skin are often found in toads and in a few species of terrestrial frogs (and a couple arboreal species too), this type of skin functions more like ours does being physically resilient.

Slimy species have the most problems with excessive handling. The slime coating is the most easily worn away and damaged, leaving the animal unprotected. Since it is mostly found in more aquatic species, it also generally means that these are the animals which will have the most contact with their own waste and infectious agents present in their environment. They really should be regarded as display animals, handled only when absolutely necessary. Probably not ideal matches for your son based on what you mentioned.

Waxy coatings are much more resistant to handling, though they take longer to heal and build back up if they are damaged. Moderate light handling on an appropriate schedule is acceptable. Some of these may make good choices for your son, though a lot of them have behaviors and a physical size that you may not want to deal with (being an inch long with a five foot jump range and often flighty). A couple species might make it onto the list though.

Leathery/warty skin is the most resistant to handling, though it can still be over-done. Because it's most commonly found in terrestrial species, which tend to be ambush predators, you can also get a bigger animal in a smaller enclosure.

Species recommendations...

Whites tree frogs and white lip tree frogs are big, hardy and heavy bodied arboreal frogs. They're tough and tend to be pretty laid back, so they're not going to go shooting off behind the couch the first time he tries to hold one of them. They would need some arboreal designs in their enclosure, but relative to their size, they have pretty modest needs compared to to most tree frogs.

Toads, Bufo sp. You might want to avoid the cane toads due to the increased toxicity (although again, don't rub the toad against your eye and you're alright) and I really doubt you can find wild caught alvarius, so hallucination is pretty much a non-issue. American toads are all excellent, though the brown on brown on a different shade of brown may not appeal. There are a few European species that are pretty readily available and a bit brighter. Burrowing toads are some of my personal favorites, just for the aesthetics of their appearance, though they can be more difficult to find for sale.

Pac-man, horned frogs and pyxies (not that closely related, but convergent evolution gets them lumped together from a pet perspective)... these get bigger, but they can (and really should) be fed insects and worms, they do not need fish or mice. They will also, sometimes, bite. The thing about the bites though... they really do not hurt until the frog is full grown and even then, rarely will they break human skin (though not never). I probably wouldn't give a six year old a full grown male pyxie, but these frogs take three-five years to reach full growth and I wouldn't hesitate to let most nine-eleven year olds interact with one. When you get them from a pet store and they're an inch long, looking like nothing but a mouth with some eyeballs set ontop of it and ridiculously tiny legs, they may bite, but it's more comical than frightening. Even for a small child. Probably. Again, I can assess the frog, but not the kid.

So looking at your list...

leopard frogs, european green toads, black and red walking frogs, marbled hopper frogs, barking tree frogs, bumble bee toads

I'd say; no, absolutely yes, no, no, maybe, no.

Leopard frogs are just spring legs with a slime coating. Cool to watch them swim around in a large aquarium but not handleable in the sense you seem to want.

European green toads are great. Fat, sturdy little troopers with that classic warty appearance and some color to them.

The walking frogs, marbled hoppers and bumble bee toads tend to just bury themselves in the substrate almost all the time, are moderately sensitive and delicate and would be easily stressed by even infrequent handling.

The barking tree frogs are a decent choice, though a bit more inclined to spring away than the litoria. There are some other hyla that wouldn't be bad either, for a child as a rule of thumb you'd probably want to go big and heavy bodied.
 
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fuzzylogix

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great post, and an aside to the "pac-man" frogs, they are an ambush predator and will spend a lot of their time partially buried in their substrate. not that interesting to watch when not feeding.
 

Dog Shrink

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As always Semus totally informative, chok full of great detail and specifics that I was hoping for. I was hoping you would chime in on this :) Thank you... and everyone else that has replied thus far as well.
 

prettyinpink

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*lol* Shawn one of those guys was posted on CL the other day, almost grabbed her. I forgot you had frogs too. I can't wait :)

Dog Shrink- Any idea on what you're aiming towards. Also love your new avatar *lol*
 

Dog Shrink

Lost in the Lizard World
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Aw thank you for the compliment on the avatar. That was one of the rabbit breeds we use to breed. Flemish giant... befitting isn't it :) That was my son back when he was in 4-H. I figured it wasn't every day ya saw a rabbit half the size of a 10 year old boy :) I love that pic but he gave me crap for using it :) Also ya kinda lost me on "what are you aiming for" part of your post. Do you need more info than what I posted in my original thread post?
 

Dog Shrink

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We were kinda clueless at the moment. He has such a wide variety of interests, but like I said he would be just pefectly happy with a tank full of plainole garden bufos but if I have to loo at it too I'd like something a little more original. We've already done the bufo thing, but I really DO like the looks of the european green toad, the white lipped tree frog, I also saw a waxy giant monkey frog (?) and the whites tree frog are all nice looking, sized right, and are meeting the care requirements. His fascination with the hoppers is he really enjoys feeding them and taking them out to hop around on his floor. I don't really think that there would actually be too much in the way of cuddle time, moreso remove observe and control from going into the wrong places, know what I mean.

He's a pretty good kid when it comes to understanding and respecting animals and handling them. He does great with my older son's ball python, holds him all the time properly, has his own rabbits he cares for, listens well esp. when it's a subject that interests him, helped with my older boys bufo before she passed at he was a few years younger then actually. If we're outside and we see some of our wild bufos he picks them up properly, & doesn't drop them if they pee on him. When we go on our creek walks he does great with newts, crawfish and the othe creepy crawlies we find on our adventures... as long as it isn't a spider or a water glider bug.

Thank you Tony for chiming in. Just curious but are there other toads we should be considering that we haven't already brought up?
 

Tony C

Wayward Frogger
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I'm not experienced enough with toads to be comfortable making recommendations, my interests lie mostly in Neotropical tree frogs and dart frogs. I would definitely not recommend the giant waxy (Phyllomedusa bicolor), they are typically wild caught, can be difficult to acclimate, require very large enclosures, are easily stressed and produce a potent toxic secretion. A captive bred painted belly (Phyllomedusa sauvagei) AKA waxy monkey frog but not to be confused with the giant waxy, would be a better choice out of the Phyllomedusines but they still may not be the best for a child.
 

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