Lepidobatrachus laevis

Budget frogs

The budget frog is a very unusual and unique species and, yet, a very rare frog in the collections of amphibia-keepers.

Background information

The budget frog was the first amphibian I have even had the opportunity to keep at home. I considered it very "cool", as not only was the animal exotic and people, visiting me and looking at my animal collection, were impressed, but also among experienced amphibian keepers this animal in my collection made my terrariumist status rise.

The budget frog originates from the savannahs of Paraguay and Argentina where the average annual temperature is 23-26 ºC. These frogs are aquatic and rarely leave the water. The full-grown Budget frogs are approximately 15-16 cm long. The widest part of the body, as all of the Leptodactylus species have, is the mouth.
The colour of the frog depends on the light brightness. At night, when it is usually dark, the coulour of the frog is dark-fern with randomly spread small yellow spots on the back. In the daytime, the frog becomes light swamp-green coloured with the spots almost invisible. Albinism is very rare.

Terrarium

In order to keep the frog at home, you will need an aquarium or a paludarium with the bottom area not smaller than 30 cm2. The height of the tank does not matter, as the frogs do not leave the water and do not crawl on the vertical glass surfaces due to the structure of their feet and body. However, I would recommend the container be no smaller than 25 cm as for the height as when hunting, the frogs may jump out.
The water level should not exceed 10 cm. Even though, these frogs are water inhabitants, they still require air to breather and oddly, the budget frogs are poor swimmers. The water should not be tap water; instead, I would recommend you to filter it in order to make is softer and getting rid of unneeded metal ions.

Substrate

The substrate is not necessary even for exuviating. Substrate will only make it difficult for you to clean the tank, however, if you wish to customise the bottom and the design of the terrarium, I would recommend you to use polished gravel without any sharp edges, as the frog's skin is extremely sensitive and fragile, making it easy for the substrate to harm the animal.

In order to ease the cleaning of the terrarium I would recommend you to install a small fish-aquarium filter on the bottom of the tank. This will not only absorb the dirt and make your regular cleanings less frequent, but will also aerate the water, preventing it's stagnations.

Temperature

In order to keep the animal at home you will need to maintain the temperature of the water, in which your frog lives/will live. 

Luckily, the frog is quite "unpretentious", and the temperature may vary from 18ºC-30ºC,  though the optimal would be 24ºC.

Light

The budget frog should not have any special lighting (incl. UV and heating lamps). Daylight lamps are not required either, however, I would recommend you to add one to your terrarium set to establish certain day- and nighttime.

Feeding

This frog species should be fed live crickets, roaches, various fish species, rainworms and mealworms, mice and frogs at least once a week, depending on the size of the frog. The younger the frog is, the more often it should be fed.
The size of the food should not be bigger, than the width of the mouth of the frog. Even though, when the frog is hungry, it might eat an animal almost the same size as itself.

Hibernation

This is one of the main reasons why beginners are not recommended to keep budget frogs as for first animals. Experts consider the creation of hibernation environment complicated and difficult, however, I disagree.
Even though the hibernation is only needed in order to breed most of the reptiles and amphibians, the budget frog's life depends on the hibernation.
In order to start hibernation, the water level should be gradually reduced and substrate should be added over two weeks either in the usual original tank, where the frog is kept, or a smaller container with good ventilation. As for the substrate, sphagnum moss or coconut flakes can be used: they both absorb much water and hold it for a long time as well. When the water level exceeds the surface of the substrate by approximately 1cm, the container should be moved to a darker and colder place. I would recommend to place the tank on the balcony or the windowsill (if you are living in Northern Europe), where cold wind contacts with the glass of the container, creating a colder environment with the temperature about 17-21 ºC. By the time the water layer evaporates and the substrates will start drying, the frog will form a cocoon from the mucus, released from the frog's skiing in order to prevent excessive moisture loss from the body. However, the substrate should not be completely dry and to keep it at the right humidity level, the tank should be sprayed with warm water twice a week.
The hibernation should begin in October or November and should last from 3 to 6 weeks.
In the wild the frog's life lasts about 12 years. When kept in a tank at home- up to 11 years, however, if hibernation conditions are not provided, the number drops down to 4 years.

Some extra information

First of all, these frogs bite!
And they will try to bite anything, that moves. You should also know, that the Leptodactylus frogs have a pair of razor-sharp teeth on the bottom jaw. Also, when biting, they have a locked jaw and they will not let go. Hence, you will not be able to have your hand released without hurting it. IF (!) it happens, place the frog under a cold water stream out of the tap.
Also, try not to hold your frog (or any amphibian) with your hands! Their skin is too sensitive and our warm hands burn their skin. If you absolutely need to hold your animal to show off to your friends or place it in a different container while cleaning, place your hands under cold water in order to lower the temperature of your hands.

Feeding my juvenile budget frog.