A common question we hear around our stores is ‘which is the best pet for a beginner?‘ so I thought it might be helpful to compile some blogs covering the top 5 lizards, invertebrates, frogs, geckos and snakes to showcase the ones we find to be the very best choices for a someone new to keeping exotic pets. Today’s blog will cover the top 5 frogs.
Frogs are a very popular pet for people looking for a stunning feature terrarium for their home, a pet that can live happily in a relatively small space or a pet that doesn’t require much attention to thrive. All of this selection look great and can be kept as an interactive pet or as part of a larger living terrarium/feature terrarium. The husbandry is simple, making them a great choice for beginners or young keepers. Their enclosures can be as simple or as complicated as you would like so there is room for improvement as you ease into the hobby. Eventually, you may find yourself with a living rainforest in your home serviced by automatic foggers, sprayers, lighting and heating!
Horned Frogs (Ceratophrys sp.)
Also known as Pacman frogs these are a large ground-dwelling species that love to burrow into soil or moss. They are commonly sold in a variety of colour morphs like Albino, ‘Tri-color’ or ‘Fantasy’, aside from lighting for an albino the care is exactly the same across these variations. When fully grown this frog can grow to around 8 inches in length and are generally feisty but they can be held from behind once you get used to picking them up. This frog is in the top five because the set up required is extremely easy compared to other species and their diet isn’t very complicated. We have a setup list and care sheet available for this species on our website. To see what we have in stock please check our animal list for the Northampton and Towcester stores.
Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla chrysoscelis)
Gray tree frogs are small tree-dwelling frogs commonly found in North America and Canada. They are the smallest arboreal frog in this list and probably the quickest too. They are a little difficult to catch and handling can be stressful for the frog so they aren’t the most interactive pet however, due to their size, they can be housed comfortably in a relatively small enclosure making them a great feature or decorative pet. The minimum size terrarium for 1 or 2 frogs is only around 30 x 30 x 45 cm, this coupled with the recent advances in bio-active enclosures means that you could have a fully living tropical enclosure in a glass terrarium anywhere in the house. We have a setup list and care sheet available for this species on our website. To see what we have in stock please check our animal list for the Northampton and Towcester stores.
Dart Frogs (Dendrobates sp.)
Dart frogs are a small terrestrial frog also commonly known as a poison arrow frog. There are many different species in a range of fantastic colours from bright gold to deep blue, green or even red. These little frogs will climb a little but need floor space more than they need height making them another great option for a compact enclosure. Dart frogs thrive in a live enclosure with roots, plants and a small body of water making them a great choice when setting up a paludarium or bioactive terrarium. We have 2 features including dart frogs in the Northampton store, one in a Biopod Grand and another in the Biopod Terra, and both are gorgeous. We have a setup list and care sheet available for this species on our website. To see what we have in stock please check our animal list for the Northampton and Towcester stores.
Red eye tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)
Red eye tree frogs are the iconic tree frog. With bright green, yellow and blue bodies and vibrant red eyes these are spectacular pets. This species grows fairly large so we would have a 45x45x60 cm terrarium for 1-2 frogs. They need humidity, warmth and UVB and they can be quite sensitive but the reward is worth the work. Though they are slow through most of the day we see ours light up whenever it’s meal time or when they are sprayed. As with the other colourful frogs in this list, they look magnificent when paired with a live enclosure and jungle plants. They are one of the most asked for pet frogs in the store and as long as you have the set up perfect from day one there is no reason they would not make a great pet frog for beginners. We have a setup list and care sheet available for this species on our website. To see what we have in stock please check our animal list for the Northampton and Towcester stores.
Whites tree frogs (Litoria caerulea)
The whites tree frog is the largest arboreal frog in this list. They are normally light blue or green with white underbellies and can get to 5 inches in length. They are quite a lazy frog so can be caught and handled with relative ease. This couples with their large size makes them one of the most easy to find and most handleable in the list. We sell more of these than most other arboreal frogs and they are out most popular amphibian in store for families. We have a setup list and care sheet available for this species on our website. To see what we have in stock please check our animal list for the Northampton and Towcester stores.
