It's Mine

Many people enjoy frogs so much, they would like to observe them up close and look after them as pets. Before you decide to go out and collect some local frogs or buy some from a pet shop, it would be wise to contact your local parks and wildlife or fish and wildlife office to learn what the regulations are. You might find that keeping frogs and tadpoles in captivity is prohibited in your area or allowed with some restrictions or there might be a permit requirement.

If frog keeping is allowed in your area, then your next step is to research what will be required for the species you plan to keep. By far, the best way to keep frogs in captivity is to keep local species only. There are practical as well as environmental reasons for this. Frogs being moved from one place to another can be carrying disease without showing any signs and outbreaks in captivity have occurred because of the pet trade in frogs. Practically speaking, local frogs are easier to look after as you are already living in the climate zone they are accustomed to. If you collect a local frog and then decide that you don't want it anymore, you might be able to put it back where you found it (only do this if it is healthy and you haven't tamed it by regular hand feeding).

This webpage cannot possibly tell you all you need to know to set up a good environment for captive frogs. There are so many species and many will have special requirements based on their size, habitat, jumping capability, burrowing or sleeping preferences, etc. But some information is provided here to get you thinking about the sorts of things that need to be considered for the welfare of your frog(s). Providing an appropriate environment for your frog's wellbeing should also help you observe, learn and perhaps nurture a greater interest in zoology, herpetology and/or ecology.

1. The first step you should take in learning how to keep frogs in captivity is to ask yourself WHY you want to have frogs. Remember that this is an animal that will generally not like to be handled although it is very interesting to watch.
2. Then you need to find out what species are available (subject to your local regulations) and what habitats those species come from. Are they stream dwellers? Do they live in wetlands? Are they from a tropical humid climate or a temperate one which requires hibernation in the winter? Do they have a life cycle which involves long periods of dryness where they burrow underground? If you are going to be keeping a frog which is not from the climate zone you currently live in, then you will need to reproduce it's preferred conditions within the enclosure.
3. Once you have narrowed down a list of what species you might acquire, do you know where the frogs themselves are going to come from? If they are coming from a pet shop, do the staff in the shop know a lot about the species and how to keep it? Can the staff tell you exactly where those frogs came from (bred locally, imported from where, etc.)? Have the individual frogs been sufficiently quarantined to minimise the risk of disease? How long has the shop had this batch of individuals? (If you think you're being given the flick, ask for their purchase receipt.) If you are buying from a private dealer at a market, does the dealer have his/her operating licence displayed? Do the animals look healthy, well fed and aware of their surroundings or are they rather dull looking and underfed? (If you decide to buy forelorn looking frogs to 'rescue' them from the shop/market, be aware that you are also supporting the market drive to get more of them collected. If you have purchased animals that look undernourished and you suspect that maybe they might have been illegally obtained (smuggled), you can help those individuals by caring for them but report the seller and all details you can to your local environmental authority.) Are you able to collect the frogs locally and if so, have you found younger individuals or tadpoles to collect instead of adults which are used to living in the wild? If you are buying tadpoles from a shop, are these a species local to your area that you can release later or are they from another part of the country/overseas that should not be added to your neighbourhood after you tire of looking after the metamorphs/adults? (For our US friends, there is an apparent pet shop trade in Rana catesbeiana (Bullfrog) tadpoles and this large and apparently cannabalistic species is responsible for the decline of other species around the country so if you are looking for the experience of showing your children the miracle of metamorphosis, please don't chose Bullfrog tadpoles if you live in the US.)
4. Another aspect which often gets left out is who will you go to if you get into trouble and your frog doesn't look well? Are there any veterinarians locally who have experience with frogs or reptiles? Is there a frog conservation or frog enthusiast group nearby? Do you know somebody who has already been keeping frogs successfully for some time? It is better to find out who and where you can go for help before you get into a desperate situation and are racing to find help in only a few hours.
5. Once you have narrowed down your choices to a few possible species, then you need to examine their future enclosure in some detail. Does the species you want to keep have any special food needs? Where will you get your frogs' food and how much will the size frog you're keeping eat per week? Is it a tree frog which needs a secure, fitted lid to the enclosure or a burrowing/ground species which will need the right substrate to bury itself in? Is it a tropical species which will need high humidity and controlled temperatures or an arid country frog which will need to be left dry for part of the year? Is it a species known for its spectacular jumping ability (and therefore needs a very large enclosure to live in or it will injure itself)?

Once you have done your research, then you are ready to set up the enclosure and acquire some healthy frogs to keep. Some tips are in our Setup page. If you live in Queensland, you should also read our page on frog keeping regulations. Readers in NSW can get expert help from the staff at NPWS or the Sydney based Frog and Tadpole Study Group.