# Budgett's frogs (?)



## EightLeggedFrea (Feb 6, 2009)

I was just wondering of anyone here has any experiences with these odd amphibians (Lepidobatrachus laevis). I simply love their rabid dog spirits and their deceptive baby-faces. 

http://www.tropicarium.ru/lepidobatrachus.jpg

It's February (usually the latest end of this frog's long captive aevistation period) so I'm seriously considering getting one of these, ideally a baby so I don't have to aevistate it for the first year. If anyone has/has had one of these I'd like to hear about it.


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## ScorpDemon (Feb 6, 2009)

I've had 2 and neither lasted very long in my care. My only advice is don't put anything in the setup thats small enough for them to swallow, unless you want it swallowed.


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## EightLeggedFrea (Feb 6, 2009)

I assume you had something like aquarium gravel in there? That's not gonna happen on my watch.


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## mindlessvw (Feb 6, 2009)

Mine is in an aquarium with a hide and thats it...they mostly stay hidden and don't do much...i have had him for some time now...they are awesome to watch eat though but don't get your hands too close...they go after fingers!


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## naturejoe (Feb 6, 2009)

*budgett's*

They keep best and live a long time if kept totally aquatic, similar to how you keep African clawed frogs.  They also like a current in their tank and often sit in the outflow of a powerhead or filter.  They will eat goldfish and crickets, or anything else for that matter.  Good luck.


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## ragnew (Feb 6, 2009)

I've had mine for about a year and a half now. Dingbat is kept in a 10 Gallon Aquarium, with about 4 inches of water in the tank. I use one of Tetras 10I filters and it seems to be great.

As for the food, I choose to go with Nightcrawlers, and the occasional crickets. Goldfish are extremely dirty feeders, and I myself would never use them. I know some people that give the budgetts mice and rat pups along with roaches. Dingers never seemed interested in them, so I haven't tried in many moons.

For the heat source, I use a 75 WATT red basking light (Zoo-Med variety). I leave it on 24/7 and it does a good job of heating up the water/ambient air temp. Some people use aquarium heaters, but I never needed to (the room the tanks in is fairly warm as well). Even with the filters up and running, these frogs can dirty up the tank really quickly haha, I usually  have to do a water change once a week. A bit more often if he soils the water more than usual.

There awesome frogs! You'll love them.


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## EightLeggedFrea (Feb 6, 2009)

ragnew said:


> I've had mine for about a year and a half now. Dingbat is kept in a 10 Gallon Aquarium, with about 4 inches of water in the tank. I use one of Tetras 10I filters and it seems to be great.
> 
> As for the food, I choose to go with Nightcrawlers, and the occasional crickets. Goldfish are extremely dirty feeders, and I myself would never use them. I know some people that give the budgetts mice and rat pups along with roaches. Dingers never seemed interested in them, so I haven't tried in many moons.
> 
> ...


What temps do you generally keep them at? And do you heat only part of the tank so the frog can choose where it wants to be? Also do you use a red light or an INFRAred light? Is a filter absolutely necessary? If the water gets dirty more often from the animal passing waste in it I wouldn't mind more frequent cleaning if that's the issue.

Also, does anyone have any advice about the long, mandatory aevistation periods with this funny guys? That's the part I'm most concerned about.


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## moose35 (Feb 6, 2009)

read up on hibernating these guys....its very important to their longevity.




      moose


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## ragnew (Feb 7, 2009)

EightLeggedFrea said:


> What temps do you generally keep them at? And do you heat only part of the tank so the frog can choose where it wants to be? Also do you use a red light or an INFRAred light? Is a filter absolutely necessary? If the water gets dirty more often from the animal passing waste in it I wouldn't mind more frequent cleaning if that's the issue.
> 
> Also, does anyone have any advice about the long, mandatory aevistation periods with this funny guys? That's the part I'm most concerned about.


The temps are usually right around 85 degrees, and usually a bit cooler on the side that the light isn't on. I use and Infrared light, but it does emit a red glow to it, so it's not like the ceramic infrared that has no visible light output whatsoever. The label reads "Nocturnal Infrared Basking Light".

Filters aren't absolutely necessary, and if you're willing to do frequent water changes you'd be fine not using one. There's a few people on another frog site that I'm a member of that don't do filters at all.

As far as the estivation, people usually take like a 5 gallon container (I use the biggest critter keeper so I can see the frog burrowed at the bottom), fill it with moist coco-fiber (Eco Earth or Forest Bed) and put the Budgett's inside said container when it starts to get colder outside. The majority of them did it in Nov - Dec, and usually let the little beasties pass out for a good 3 - 6 months (depending on who you talk to, and the age of the frog). Some people also go off of the frogs "natural" cycle and try to estivate in between the months of March - Sept. I'm going to try that this year to see if I get better results.

Make sure you stop feeding the frog about a week before you put him/her under, and it's a good idea to give them a warm bath the day you estivate them to make sure they get all the food out of the system. To wake them from the estivation gradually add water to the substrate, until it gets to that point that it's saturated completely. Some people actually gently dig the frog up after a certain period of time. There are some times where the frog passes away during the estivation period, but it doesn't seem to happen all to often. But it can nonetheless.

Here's a link to one of the better frog sites out there. They're kind of a rowdy bunch, but there are some seriously intelligent people on said forum. Lars is amongst the best of the best. He's usually who I go to when I've got very specific questions..

http://fatfrogs.7.forumer.com/

Hope that helps!


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## EightLeggedFrea (Feb 7, 2009)

ragnew said:


> The temps are usually right around 85 degrees, and usually a bit cooler on the side that the light isn't on. I use and Infrared light, but it does emit a red glow to it, so it's not like the ceramic infrared that has no visible light output whatsoever. The label reads "Nocturnal Infrared Basking Light".
> 
> Filters aren't absolutely necessary, and if you're willing to do frequent water changes you'd be fine not using one. There's a few people on another frog site that I'm a member of that don't do filters at all.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all of that. And yes I've actually been to that site quite a few times. Also I have Reptivite calcium powder (without D3) I use for my leopard gecko. Is this stuff suitable for a Budgett's, too?


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