Classroom Pet

Does anyone have any good recommendations for an amphibian. I have a ball python and a leopard gecko but would like to get an amphibian to put into a classroom. I have a spare 10g glass tank to use. It needs to be something that is fairly easy to care for and can have a primary diet of mealworms since I am breeding a colony. I have been looking at fire bellies and pacman frogs. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Well, you don't want to give it a primary diet of meal worms. Tell you the truth, mealworms aren't too healthy. I'd definitely go with the pacman...but look into a varied diet. Especially roaches, butterworms, waxworms, and earthworms :D

I was actually kind of looking more into fire bellies. Does anyone have any pros and cons to them for a classroom.

Hmmm, I've only kept a couple, and it was in a pond style set up tank. I rarely seen them as well. More or less they stayed by the back of the tank, by the moss, or were in the water among the plants..

I learned that you can't handle the firebellies to much because of there skin. And a pacman bites really hard LOL. I'd go with the pacman, there pretty cool frogs.

Its not that they bite hard. They have spike-like projections coming out of their mouth, at the frog that act like teeth, to help them restrain struggling prey. You get bit...you will bleed lol.

As for handling firebellys. Any amphibian is like that. They all have really sensitive, thin skin. Dry hands, while holding them, can hurt then, or tear their skin. Any chemicals you have on your hands, they could absorb into their body's, causing damage. Its generally not a good practice to handle amphibians. If you do, wet your hands down, with water first.

i have a fire belly in a 2 gallon aqarium wtih half water and half gravel the thing is indestructable he has been alive for like 2 years and he is a good eater he will eat or try to eat anything that moves i think fire bellys would be a very good class room pet get a couple of them the make noises kinda like barking when you put them to geather they dont require alot of care and they are very hardy(can miss eating a week or 2) with no problem dont require heating other than a strip lamp or put them next to a window and they will do fine.. I like mine id go with it.

Amphibians are not set up for eating exclusively meal worms. They need the hard body parts like legs to help keep them regular, ie pooping.

Some sort of salamander or newt may be a better choice because they can eat worms as well as beetle larva.

I'd shy away from frog if you can't feed anything but mealies.

I wouldnt feed exclusively meal worms. Since I breed them they would probably make up a larger portion of the diet. I would probably supplement the diet with earth worms. Just kind of alternate the feedings.

Ive heard that pacman frogs are pretty aggressive so I am kinda not so sure about them for a classroom. It would not be good if it was to bite a student. I know that I can get fire bellies at a local pet store. He might be able to order others.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ringo

I wouldnt feed exclusively meal worms. Since I breed them they would probably make up a larger portion of the diet. I would probably supplement the diet with earth worms. Just kind of alternate the feedings.

Ive heard that pacman frogs are pretty aggressive so I am kinda not so sure about them for a classroom. It would not be good if it was to bite a student. I know that I can get fire bellies at a local pet store. He might be able to order others.

---

Well, on that note towards a student being bit...handling Amphibians on a regular basis is generally a no-no. Their skin is very delicate and fragile. With the Firebelly's, they're more aquatic than the Horned frog, which would be my guess to say their skin would be more fragile to handling than a Horned's would.

with fire bellies also besure you have a tight fitting top they are climbers and i have learned my lesson about not having a tight fitting top.

they are more of a window pet as well i wouldnt handle them at all or any frog for that matter.

Ya I know not to handle frogs because of their very delicate skin. The only time they would get handled would be to clean the tank and I would probably use latex gloves to protect them and myself.

Does anyone know of any other good relatively easy frogs to keep. I would really like to keep some dart frogs but I think they would be really hard to meet the proper conditions for them. That and the fact that I dont have a whole lot of money to get started on.

Dart frogs are more of a higher maintenance frog. Really, your best bet for a great display, as well as ease of care would be these species...

Horned Frog a.k.a. Pacman Frog (Ceratophrys sp.)

African Bullfrog a.k.a. Pixie Frog (Pyxiecephalus adspersus)

Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)

South American Bullfrog a.k.a. Smokey Mountain/Chicken Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus)

Although some can seemingly act out aggressively, its more of a feeding response (IE: fingers look like a worm, or grub, etc.). The only aggressive/defensive behavior I've noticed out of any of these species, were the Horned Frogs. Basically, they'd bark, growl, and inflate themselves to an enormous proportion to their normal body size. The S.A. Bullfrog will more or less meow when its picked up, or restrained, and wipe its face with its forearms. It's meow is actually quite startling at first, and sometimes catches you off guard. All these species care is pretty easy to learn, and once you get it down, they're a piece of cake to keep. With any of these species (or any amphibian for that matter), avoid feeding vertebrate prey. It is somewhat harmful to the frog, damaging the liver, and kidneys. Once in a while couldn't hurt, but I've noticed it doesn't help much either. If you want to feed healthy prey, go for roaches! Hands down, roaches are one of the healthiest prey you could give them, if not, THE healthiest. Waxworms, butterworms, red worms, and earth worms are all excellent feeders as well.

I think the Pacman is more hardy and easier to care for. That would be my choice.:)

Question! Petsmart has an albino baby pacman. Does the same hold true for petsmart frogs as BP's, as in, its just not a good idea, they could be carrying anything/ill ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Question! Petsmart has an albino baby pacman. Does the same hold true for petsmart frogs as BP's, as in, its just not a good idea, they could be carrying anything/ill ?

---

The pacmans, albino or normal, at petsmarts and petcos are all captive produced. They are generally in good shape especially if you get them soon after they arrive.

To the OP, try dumpys treefrogs. They're easy to keep and do well in captivity.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Question! Petsmart has an albino baby pacman. Does the same hold true for petsmart frogs as BP's, as in, its just not a good idea, they could be carrying anything/ill ?

---

When you buy from a petstore, look at the animals enclosures, and the cleanliness of the container. Avoid buying from stores that keep their Horned's in waterlike habitats. Observe the eyes. If you see faded, or ghostlike areas in the eyes, or the eyes are faded, avoid purchasing that animal. Observe the skin for sores, damaged tissue etc. Observe the animals posture as well. Make sure They stand correctly. Personally I've seen some good pick-ups at stores, towards pacmans; yet at the same time, I've seen some bad ones. As the pet store if you could see the animal eat. If they refuse, its normally a sign somethings wrong. Even if the animal has recently fed, these animals will gorge themselves to the point of death...so them saying it won't eat because of a recent feed will kind of rule that out. Just make wise observations all together.

I had several teachers in school with boas. That was always cool, because big snakes don't really need to do much to impress kids.

Plus, you could keep some rats in the room as well :)

I have a ball python and a leopard gecko. Just trying to find an amphibian to add to the collection. Rats are not an option because the school system here does not allow any furry animals to be kept due to allergies.

I've been doing a lot of similar research on an amphibian or "display" herp... Mainly, I've decided to combine my artistic passion with my herp one and need to find a way for the two to 'mesh'....

Do you want something the kids can handle, or do you mind if it's just for 'show'?

This one will be just for display. I have a ball python for the students to handle some if they want. I am just trying to find species easy to care for that students may or may not know anything about that they probably do not get to see very often. Herps are usually one of those things. Students can easily identify a snake, lizard, or a frog but they rarely get to see them. By keeping them in a classroom it gives them the opportunity to obsereve their behavior in a microenvironment ( the glass tank ).