How to care for tomato frogs

Common Name: Tomato Frog

Scientific Name: Dyscophus antongilli

Housing

You will want to use nothing less than a 10 gallon wide terrarium. A screen top is required for security reasons and good ventilation. Use a non-chemical potting soil mix covered with moss as a substrate (never use astro-turf). Add some plastic/real plants (a spider plant is the best choice for live plants), and hiding places. Never use gravel or anything small enough to fit in the frog’s mouth in your frog's enclosure. Anything you collect from the outside must first be soaked in a mild bleach and water solution overnight, then soaked in water for another night and allowed to thoroughly air dry to kill any bacteria or bugs that may harm your frogs. Be sure the items are not releasing any fumes when they are placed into the enclosure. Your frogs should also be provided with a shallow bowl of 1 to 2 inches of dechlorinated water for soaking and defecation (this water must be changed every day or when dirtied to prevent bacterial infections). Just add dechlorinating drops, which can be found at your local pet store, as directed. You can find water bowls at your local pet store that are quite attractive and easy to clean. Distilled water should never be used in a frog's tank! You should thoroughly clean the enclosure once a week. Take everything out and rinse it and the aquarium under hot water (no soap).

Temperatures

During the day the temperature range should be between 75-85 F (15.5C-18.3C) and the night temp should be 60-65 F (23.8C-29.4C). This can be accomplished by using under tank heaters or a ceramic heat emitter (be sure the frog can’t come into contact with either source). It needs to be fairly humid inside of your frog's cage. To add humidity mist your frog with dechlorinated water about five times a day. A full spectrum light (vita-lite) should be left on for a couple of hours a day. Hot rocks/sticks/caves should not be used due to the fact that they can cause thermal burns.

Diet

While they can survive on just crickets and wax worms, Tomato Frogs can eat flies, crickets, moths, mealworms (should have their heads cut off before serving), earthworms, waxworms, butterworms, small grasshoppers, and, when they are fully grown, pinky mice. Before you feed the insects to your frog, coat them with a vitamin/calcium powder. Put the powder in a plastic bag along with the insects and shake to coat them. Then put the insects in with the frog. Instead of catching wild insects to feed to your frog, buy them from a pet store or mail order company due to the fact that wild-caught insects can carry diseases and pesticides! Remember to remove all dead or uneaten insects/food items everyday. Fireflies, ladybugs, and lubber grasshoppers are toxic to frogs and therefore should be avoided at all costs when feeding your frog insects.

Health

If your frog is cut or burned by something in its cage, remove the object and call a vet before applying any kind of medication due to the fact that some can be lethal to your frog.
Fungal infections are very common in tadpoles and younger frogs. They look like inflamed areas of the skin surrounded by whitish threads. In its early stages, it can be treated by immersing the frog/tadpole in a 2% solution of malachite green or Mercurochrome for five minutes, repeated again after 24 hours. A veterinarian should be called if the infection does not clear up.
Red leg is a common disease in frogs caused by bad husbandry. It causes small ulcers, hemorrhages, and reddening of the skin around the belly and underside of the thighs. The infected frog should be kept warm (85 F) and immersed in a 2% solution of copper sulfate or potassium permanganate.
You should always at least consult a veterinarian if you think there is something wrong with your frog!