Is this substrate actually bad?

[Geography Guy]

Hi

I have been using these little stones for a while with my frog with no negative effects. But people have been saying I shouldn't use it. How come? If it is because of him accidentally swallowing the stones, in the months I have had him, I have never seen him eat any stones nor have any been present in his feces.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/tjpetrowski/Frogs/100_0625.jpg

Cheers

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I don't know about eating, but I do know that every enclosure I've ever seen uses some sort of soil-like substrate (there are several options there) kept damp, instead of just water with rocks in it. For one thing, these guys like to bury themselves, and they probably can't do that in rocks. Water and rocks are not their natural environment - the forest floor is.

 

[Jer]

In the 70's and 80's gravel was the "norm" substrate for horned frogs. Honestly, it isn't safe. Albeit, if a frog picks up a rock while feeding, 9 times out of 10 it will spit it out. But if it does ingest a rock that is too large for it to pass, then it will plug up and likely eventually die. If you wish to use gravel I recommend either very small gravel so that it can be easily passed, or very large gravel than is too big to be ingested.

With that said, it's your frog and it's up to you to decide what type of substrate you wish to use.

 

[PrettyHate]

They should also be able to get out of their water if they feel the need to..

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Definately not a good option for housing. It is difficult to keep the water clean using gravel (and these guys are very prone to red leg), they really aren't meant to be in water at all times, they can consume it and die, and perhaps worst of all, it prevents natural burrowing behavior. In nature, these animals partially bury themselves in leaf litter and soil and wait to ambush prey; it is stressful for them to not be able to hide themselves. They sometimes burrow for prolonged periods of time when nearing a shed, as well as to escape uncomfortable heat. Your best bet is organic potting soil or coconut fiber with a wide, shallow soaking dish that can be cleaned frequently.

 

[Geography Guy]

OK People! I bought some natural soil from Home Depot. Is that OK? I gave him about 4 inches of it and some hiding places (pics coming)

EDIT:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/tjpetrowski/Frogs/100_0694.jpg

Photos

 

[GailC]

as long as the soil doesn't have any additives then its perfect. That set up looks much better,your frog will really appreciate it.

 

[Hedorah99]

I kept horned frogs on stones for a long time and they constantly ate mouthfulls of them while catching food. I mean you could pick them up and feel a gutload of gravel. They passed them alright, but why put the poor guys digestive system through that.

 

[Jer]

Improvement for sure!