whats a good beginners frog/toad?

[Athen]

ok so i have recently decided that the living vivarium i am building that was origionally going to be for my ball python would be more suiting for a frog or toad of somesorts the tank is a square 31gal i believe not exactly sure on the dimensions but i would say they are somewhere in the lines of
24"W x 24"L x 16H what would be a good frog or toad to start out with? i thought about RETF or FBT i dont know too much about any of them but i was told that the RETF although a beautiful frog isnt too much of a display piece since they are nocturnal my local reptile store has baby ones for 16.99 and another pet store in my area has FBT for 6.99 has anyone got any other suggestions on toads or frogs? something active and nice to look at? thank you for your assistance

[smaug]

I have a tiger leg tree frog which is much the same way in habit as a retf,the good news is he doesnt hide and is always visible the bad news is that he doesnt move at all until the lights go off.Firebellys arent the best for a viv unless it is about half water deep enough for them to swim in.Have you looked at green tree frogs,they are cheap and easy to care for and are much more active then the more exotic types.I am also told that retf and the like are not the best choice for beginners.So far so good with me

[Athen]

i have looked at the GTF a little and and not too sure on it i know it is supposed to be an easy to care for frog but doesnt rly have the aesthetic appeal im looking for after all this vive will be a display piece more than anything and im looking for a nice looking frog to put into it it will be a couple months before im ready to do it so im doing my research now i have been considering PDF but they are just so expensive and i would have to get more than one the FBT is appealing because they are attractive and inexpensive. as far as the vive i am planning to make i gave the approx dimensions of it and about 1/3 of the tank in a diagonal corner will be a pond approximately 3 inches deep would you say that is adequate for a FBT? thx for your input =)

[smaug]

That should be good for 2-3 fbt I would think.Make sure you have a good way to filter the water and make it easy to change the whole supply.fbt foul there water very quickly.If you want something that will be visible and entertaining during the daylight hours they are the way to go.Ours are always doing something.Tree frogs,,,,,,,not so much

[froggsong]

Ah, nm.... lol. I don't feel like getting burned for having a mixed tank again...

FBT's would be great. Also, if you put in things they can climb on, they love to climb (at least mine does, and I have heard other people say that as well). You can keep a couple of small guppies in the water as well, sometimes my FBT will chase them, sometimes he eats them! (don't put in feeder guppies from the store unless you quarantine them for a while. Better yet, breed some and only put in the ones you bred) I want to get a couple more FBT's at some point and have a tank just for the FBT's. I think it would be neat.

I've noticed that my FBT does not like to go into the water if it is running, has anyone else noticed this preference for stagnant water? If that is common in other FBT's, I would use a filter that does not move the water too much. Maybe you could do a FB and have the filtered water pour into a stream that pours into the pond.

[smaug]

I havnt noticed a dislike for moving water from ours,but they dont have a choice,our filter is a bit big but they dont hesitate to go in.We keep ghost shrimp in with our fbt to cleen up cricket parts and what not.Once in a while a toad gets one to eat.\
BTW frogsong,what do you mean get burned for having a mixed tank?

[froggsong]

Originally Posted by smaug

BTW frogsong,what do you mean get burned for having a mixed tank?

So many people disagree with keeping a mixed tank. I think that even those that think it is ok under certain circumstances would probably not agree with the frogs I keep in my tank. I have one very large tree frog, I had 3 small tree frogs but now only 1, and I have the FBT. They are all in the same tank. I have been told that the FBT is lethal and as such should not be in the tank (and it wasn't said so nicely). I really think if it was going to hurt the frogs they would have died long ago, but they are healthy and happy. I just don't feel like someone criticizing me for it right now (too late now, lol [since I just posted it anyway, I mean]). When I started writing the post on this thread, I was going to tell Athen that it is possible to keep GTF's and FBT's in the same tank, but then I changed my mind.

[froggsong]

When I had my FBT in the larger tank with the whisper 10i filter, he wouldn't go in the water area while the filter was on... The ground was always very wet, so I know he was moist enough, but I just couldn't get him to spend any time in the water until I took the filter out. After that he was in the water all the time... and I was cleaning it all the time, lol...

[smaug]

Maybe he wasnt a strong swimmer?Who knows.As for the mixing goes,people have strong opinions on here,Im sure that many of them actually know what they are talking about.I am also sure that many more are just parroting things they have "heard".I know keeprs who are mixing many different species of frog together and have been doing so for a long time.Some very experianced some not so much.Nothing is written in stone,,,,,,,,,nothing.

[froggsong]

I agree!