Rana/Lithobates spp. as pets?

[Phyllobates azureus]

Recently i visited the Ontario Reptile and Exotic Pet expo at the International Centre. There were all the frogs that you'd expect to find there: darts, mantellas, hylids, bufonids, etc. but also some ranids, including Rana pipiens, clamitans, and catesbeiana. Has anyone ever heard of these being kept as pets before?

[Mer_]

Originally Posted by Phyllobates azureus

Recently i visited the Ontario Reptile and Exotic Pet expo at the International Centre. There were all the frogs that you'd expect to find there: darts, mantellas, hylids, bufonids, etc. but also some ranids, including Rana pipiens, clamitans, and catesbeiana. Has anyone ever heard of these being kept as pets before?

I've heard of a couple of people keeping those as pets but not too often.

[boabab95]

Originally Posted by Phyllobates azureus

Recently i visited the Ontario Reptile and Exotic Pet expo at the International Centre. There were all the frogs that you'd expect to find there: darts, mantellas, hylids, bufonids, etc. but also some ranids, including Rana pipiens, clamitans, and catesbeiana. Has anyone ever heard of these being kept as pets before?

who had the bufonids? i didnt see any...[mind you i was bitten by a woma within the first 15 minutes of being there, so i wasnt paying that much attention...]

[fieldnstream]

I have kept R. pipiens, R. clamitans (both green and bronze), and L. catesbeiana, along with others. I would say that a pickerel or leopard frog would be your best bet, they don't get too big and make hardy captives. Green/bronze frogs require a pretty large enclosure, and bullfrogs require a very large enclosure. I had a northern leopard for years, it was really a great frog. But honestly they are not very exciting compared to darts (just my opinion). And a word of caution: having a calling male bullfrog in your room is not always the most fun thing. If you are interested in having a large bullfrog-type frog, you should check out Leptodactylus savagei (pentadactylus)...they are huge, but don't require as large of an enclosure....here is mine:

[Ed]

You should at least warn him about the risk of allergic reactions to handling the frog (or even the odor of the secretions). You should also be aware that the skin toxins of this species will readily kill other anurans so make sure to not cross contaminate if you get some.


There are two different methods of housing anurans of the ranid body form. They either need to be housed in relatively large enclosures with a lot of cover so they can flee to cover and feel safe otherwise they can and will launch themselves at the glass or lid resulting in damage up to and encluding damage to the head/spinal column that can result in death or be severe enough to require euthanasia. The second method is house them in a smaller enclosure (potentially one that prevents them from achieving the maximal launch which prevents damage but the frogs must be provided with a hide into which they can immediately escape if they feel threatened and that escape should not be blocked or given the appearence of being blocked otherwise the frog can launch and do damage to itself.
Usually they acclimate fairly quickly and if not handled rapidly associate the keeper with food (particularly if you acclimate them to feeding off of long tweezers) and that will reduce the risk of them attempting to flee and injure themselves. Often they can be acclimated in a smaller enclosure and once they associate people with food, they can be moved into a larger enclosure with a much reduced risk of damaging themselves.

You have to also keep in mind that these frogs tend to be territorial so males need to be supplied with adequate visual barriers or you can have issues with stress. A second point to keep in mind that many of those frogs are active basking species and they do use basking behavior to regulate temperature (sorry not a free article but see JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie (the link still works)) and potentially circulating levels of vitamin D3 (again not free but see ScienceDirect - Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology : Ultraviolet radiation and Vitamin D3 in amphibian health, behaviour, diet and conservation)

Ed

[Rain_Frog]

O. lima is a popular ranid frog. It's also known as the Asian floating frog.

Just an FYI, but Mantellas are ranids Pyxicephalus is also a ranid.

I think it would be much easier to build a small wildlife pond out in your backyard to attract native amphibians to the area. You wouldn't have to worry about lighting or the frogs crashing into the tank walls. You could easily decorate the pond with all sorts of cool wetland plants.

[fieldnstream]

Originally Posted by Ed

You should at least warn him about the risk of allergic reactions to handling the frog (or even the odor of the secretions). You should also be aware that the skin toxins of this species will readily kill other anurans so make sure to not cross contaminate if you get some.

Great point Ed. I just assumed that a little research would be done before the acquisition of the frog (especially since it is not import season for them). The suggestion was so divergent from his original question that I doubted that he would even consider it. But I do agree with you, some mention should have been made. I never experienced any reaction from handling so it was not the first thing that came to mind.

[Ed]

Originally Posted by fieldnstream

Great point Ed. I just assumed that a little research would be done before the acquisition of the frog (especially since it is not import season for them). The suggestion was so divergent from his original question that I doubted that he would even consider it. But I do agree with you, some mention should have been made. I never experienced any reaction from handling so it was not the first thing that came to mind.

Surprising reactions for a frog referred to as mountain chicken and commonly eaten.. I have met some people who have had bad reactions to them.

[fieldnstream]

Originally Posted by Ed

Surprising reactions for a frog referred to as mountain chicken and commonly eaten.. I have met some people who have had bad reactions to them.

Does L. fallax produce the same secretions? They have such "meaty" legs it is no surprise that they are eaten...I know the Dominicans love their froglegs.

[Ed]

I know they have some peptides of thier own but I don't know where they rank off hand. See http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream...%20579-593.pdf

Ed