These species should be kept in aquariums containing almost ten gallons of water. The African Clawed Frog is thought to have originated in South Africa, and is today found naturally across the African continent.

I guess it's because I hear it all the time when I'm in bed! The African Clawed Frog has evolved very successfully as a bottom-dwelling animal, which means that it has greater protection from predators and a better choice of food. African clawed frogs often become quite tame over time, taking food directly from their owner’s fingers.

By using The Spruce Pets, you accept our, Dwarf Clawed Frog Behavior and Temperament, Raising Aquarium Fish in Hard Water Conditions, A Guide to Caring for African Clawed Frogs as Pets, Leopard Frogs (Meadow Frogs): Species Profile, Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad: Species Profile, American Green Tree Frogs: Species Profile, The 7 Best Filtration Systems for Aquariums, The 10 Best Aquarium Water Test Kits of 2020, The 6 Best LED Lighting Sets for Reef Tanks. For this reason handling should be avoided. While African clawed frogs don't need a land area, the water should only be about 12 inches deep for the frogs to easily reach the surface to breathe oxygen.

A bacterial infection is marked by cloudy eyes and redness or sores on the skin. Therefore, the female frog does not carry the eggs in her body and hence it is not actually pregnant.


Or else, those cute little fishes will be their next diet.

One big benefit to caring for African clawed frogs is that you don’t need to worry about special lighting for your amphibian. These frogs are plentiful in ponds and rivers within the south-eastern portion of Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa). Choose a heater that has 5 watts of power for every gallon of water in the aquarium. Living primarily at the bottom of their tanks, these frogs do need to be able to surface for air occasionally. Dwarf frogs have four webbed feet; clawed frogs have webbed back feet but non-webbed digits on their front feet.

African Clawed Frogs are interesting amphibians to watch at mealtimes, as they have no teeth or tongue, so use their hands to push food into their mouths. Also, a tight-fitting lid is a necessity as these frogs will try to escape.

The eggs of the African dwarf frogs require warm water and they should place in slightly acidic water than the adult afrcian dwarf frogs. The African Clawed Frog's main food is Water Bugs and small Fish but the African Clawed Frog is also known to eat its own skin whenever it is shed. The tadpoles of the species are cannibalistic, so thinning out into separate containers, if possible, is advised.

To care for African Clawed frog tadpoles, start feeding them powdered egg and extremely fine goldfish food once they start swimming freely. While they are sometimes light in color, the albino variation is limited to only the larger African clawed frogs, not the dwarf clawed frogs. Blood worms, shrimps, and other slimy frozen food are the best to be given as occasional treats.

How can you keep your African dwarf frogs healthy?

Live plants can also be added to the tank but the frogs will dig up and generally destroy them, so many people go the artificial route instead. You can check the water quality by running out several tests to ensure the safe levels of water salts and soluble.

Your African Clawed Frog’s aquarium should be inspected daily.

Both conditions require immediate attention from an aquatic veterinarian and, if not treated, will eventually be fatal. Therefore, they do not need land as their basic necessity. You should feed them several times a day and make sure to remove the discarded or left over food from the aquarium after thirty minutes. Filtration is not strictly necessary if you keep only frogs in the tank; frequent partial water changes will suffice. The only thing to worry about with African Clawed Frogs is their predatory tendencies. They may also burrow under the mud for many months when their water sources dry up in the sunny season. The aquatic African dwarf frogs can grow up to about one or two inches. Adulthood is reached at about nine months.

We will usually purchase them in pet shops at 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size but they can reach 2.5 inches (7 cm) in length (snout to vent) when fully grown. It was found that when female African Clawed Frogs were injected with female urine, they would produce eggs within 48 hours if that woman was pregnant. If you have any other questions why not join The Amphibian Forum and ask one of the many experienced keepers, the reason this website was set up was so people in the amphibian keeping hobby could share their experiences with others. Strained egg yolk may also be given to them. A 10-gallon aquarium is considered the minimum appropriate size for one African clawed frog.

This frog was brought to France, Portugal, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy (Sicily island), South and North America (the USA, Mexico, Chile), Indonesia.Nominative species of Xenopus family are 13 cm long (in tanks clawed frogs are smaller as a rule) and they inhabit various freshwaters – lakes, rivers, b… However, you can’t use this piece of information for their gender discrimination. If a pet frog has a bacterial infection, it may be due to poor water quality in the tank. Hmm...that male call seems familiar! The African dwarf frogs are approximately the size of three inches. Female African clawed frogs are bigger than males by roughly 20%. Habitat: African Clawed Frogs live in shallow ponds, lakes and ditches in quiet, warm water. The African dwarf frogs are approximately the size of three inches. As they are aquatic, they spend most of the time inside the water. If no filtration is used in your tank, be sure to change the water every week, if not more often.

The African Clawed Frog is a carnivorous animal and an apex predator within its underwater environment. A small bump can be seen between their legs where eggs are passed (this is called the Cloaca).

Any decorations, including artificial plants, must be smooth so as not to damage the frogs' delicate skin. Systemically, captive frogs often get a disease called dropsy or bloat; medically, the condition is known as edema, hydropsy, bloat, or ascites. The African Clawed Frog is named for their unique feet, as their hind feet are webbed but their front legs have clawed toes instead, which are used to help shovel food into their mouths. Therefore, big fishes can easily consume all of the food while the frog will be left with nothing. Why? Their habitat mainly includes lowland rainforests where plenty of waters are available. The African Clawed Frog is famous for being the first vertebrate ever to be cloned and they still play a very important part in genetic research today. If the fish are smaller, the frogs may try to eat them; if the fish are larger, they may try to eat the frogs.

Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it uses to tear apart its food. For starters, the shark may […] Read More. Origin: Southern Africa predominantly, but can be found in other parts of Africa. Life Expectancy: 5 years. They are quite an active species so the bigger the aquarium you can provide the better.

Items such as wax worms, earthworms, feeder fish, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and even some dog and cat food are all good options. An aquarium heater will keep their water at that frog-tastic temperature. The African Clawed Frog is most commonly found in eastern and southern Africa, along the African Rift Valley where they prefer stagnant waters to fast-flowing streams.

They were taken aboard a shuttle in 1992 for a experiment into the effects of zero-gravity on breeding cycles and development. The african dwarf frogs are mainly mistaken for the Afrcian clawed frogs which belong to the genus Xenopus.
African dwarf frogs do not need bright lights in the aquarium because they have to sneak in their shelters. And keep it in mind that these African dwarf frogs are not loving parents. They can live from five years to up to twenty years.

Lianne is a veterinarian, epidemiologist, and freelance writer who's written nearly 400 articles for The Spruce Pets. She had just ate her pellets a couple days before she died.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If taken care properly, the African dwarf frogs can easily live up to five years. However, there are few things that should be considered. They have three clawed toes on their back feet that they use to tear at decaying food.

You should provide frogs with enough food daily.

Great profile Jenste! Elsewhere, African Clawed Frog populations around the world have often become non-native pests to the local plants and wildlife.

This is due to their ability to detect HCG, which is a hormone that woman only produce during pregnancy. Thank you for putting this together! Your African Clawed Frog should be moved to a temporary tank whilst being cleaned and care must be taken to make sure no chemicals are used in the cleaning process, as these can harm your Frogs.