Albino African Clawed Frogs Grow and Grow

I would like to share some info on Albino frogs. I am not a frog expert, just personal experience.

Last year I bought my son a goldfish and a little white frog. I didn't know anything about frogs, just that when I was kid we would use them for fish bait. I never considered having one for a pet. To be quite honest I didn't know what the life expectancy of a frog was, but figured it couldn't be too long.

I have now done some research and come to find out frogs can live for years. This is great because now we have become attached to him. We are not sure of its sex; it just looks like a boy, so we call it a "him".

I bought them a three gallon aquarium which the store associate said, would be fine. I ask her what they ate, and she said they just eat fish food. I looked and didn't see any frog food so I figured how hard could it be. Well, let me tell you. We now have a fifteen gallon tank, and I am looking for a bigger one. These innocent looking tiny frogs grow. That part was not mentioned when I purchased him. A three gallon tank is no where big enough to accommodate an Albino African Black Clawed Frog.

Anyway, after a couple of weeks of having our new house guests I noticed that the frog was now the same size as the fish. I thought wow that's cool! Well, after a couple of months the frog was bigger than the fish. Then, I thought wow he's getting big, and in four months I was looking for a bigger tank. So, then I decided I had better do some research. It turns out these frogs can grow to be 5 inches long.

I have read some articles that say you should only feed them frog food, but there is not a pet store in my area that carries frog food. He eats floating goldfish pellets and whatever else gets close to the top of the water. He will eat brine shrimp, freeze dried blood worms and bugs. He will even bite your fingers if you get them close enough.

Albino frogs are aquatic frogs. That means they live in the water, but come to the surface to breathe. He will even sleep with his mouth/nose at the top of the water. They can eat a lot if you let them. I feed mine twice a day just what he will eat in fifteen minutes or so. He will use his "hands" to scoop the food into his mouth, and let's face it, if it eats that much, it poops that much. The water can get dirty quickly and must be changed often.

Some articles say that they like calm, still water, but I have filter system in the tank for the fish. It doesn't seem to bother him and helps to keep the water a little cleaner.

Moral of the story is: that if you are thinking of buying one of these frogs do some reading first. They are a commitment like any other pet. I bought mine unprepared. It turned out alright, but was truly not expecting him to grow to that size.

I found this great forum that's about frogs and toads. They are really great people that helped answer some questions. They're really knowledge about all things froggy. It's called the FrogForum.net.

Thanks for reading this.

Well, I feel bad now. All this time I have been calling my frog a him and it turns out she's a girl. How can you tell? She laid eggs! I never thought about all of this when I bought her. I think some frogs are capable of parthenogenesis, but I am not sure these frogs are. I posted the question at the FrogForum.net to see if any of these guys know. These guys are serious experts, and have been nice enough to help me with other questions.

I tried to Google it, but I am not a scientist, and they use these frogs for a lot of research, and I am still not sure of the answer. Who would have ever thought buying a little white frog would have turned out so interesting.

If and when I find out the answer. I will let you know.

Okay, the guys over atFrog Forum said they won't hatch. Whew!
I don't know what I would have done, if they would have.

Well, I wrote this lense in September and since then I have found a few more interesting facts. One that females get larger thean males and that males will sing at night. The males sing, in hopes of attracting a mate. My frog is girl and doesn't make much noise, but once in a while she will kinda croak.

Another thing I found, is that my frog loves ghost shrimp. I found some at Walmart. They don't always have them, but I will get her some more the next time they do.

A lot of you have questions about keeping other pets with your African Clawed Frog. If you put another pet in the tank with your frog it WILL eat it. These frogs are hunters and will eat other animals. I mine is not quite a year old and can eat 3 goldfish in one day, if I let her. Only, put other animals in the tank if you never want to see them again.
These guys are glutenous.

If you want to feed your frog some feeder fish that's one thing. but if you think you can put other fish in there and they will live happily ever after, it's not going to happen.

I asked for some advice how to make this lens better, and one lady said, she wasn't sure if I was encouraging or discouraging people to have frogs as pets. Let me clarify. If you are serious about having a frog for a pet I am encouraging you to do so.On the other hand, if it is a passing whim, I discourage it.

I didn't know anything about my frog when I got her, but now that I know more about her, I want to let others know the same.
These frogs can be natural carriers of the Chytrid fungus. Now, your saying FUNGUS! It is a deadly disease that effects other frogs. So, whatever you do, DO NOT EVER turn your frog loose in the wild if you do not want him anymore. This fungus is devasting the world's amphibian poplulation, to the point of extinction for some species.

That being said, if you want to get one, and love it for really long time, and take care of it, go for it. They are actually quite fun. Just don't think you can get one, and when you get tired of taking care of it you can just turn it loose.

For more information on the Chytrid fungus,check out the Help Amphibian Ark lens.

There have been quite a few people who have read this lens and made comments about your frogs laying eggs and hatching them. I do not want to sound like a mother hen, but what are you going to do with all these little frogs? If just 25 make it, and grow into adult frogs, what are you going to do with them. Each one will need a 10 gallon tank and will require care.

These frogs can live for over 25 years.

I am just saying BE SURE you know what you are going to do with the baby frogs once that have matured.