Care Guide - south American horned frog

Can they be Cohabilitated?

It is not a good idea to keep these together and should only be done in short supervised periods when breeding, this is because they will attempt to each one another especially if there is a good size difference. As juvinile/Babies they are more likely to be alright together for longer periods but if your not experienced and looking at a first one then its not advised.

What size do they get? -

Males are smaller than Females, generally males are 8-10cm from vent to snout whereas Females can get to 13cm. Due to this Females can weigh almost 500g in some cases.

When will i see them?

The are more active at night but tend to be oppertunist hunters of insects so you will see them most of the day and night just sitting in place unless they are buried away.

Costs to keep

How much will it roughly cost you to keep an individual South amarican horned frog well including the setup and ongoing costs, this does not include unexpected vet bills or the rising cost of products over time.

Used for energy calculation : https://www.sust-it.net/energy-calculator.php

Distribution -

There distributions is quite vast across the rainforests for south america and taper all the way down to argentina in more cooler enviroments.

Image captured from iNaturalist

Rating - (Ease of care) - Very easy- ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Setup Requirements-

I recomend a 45x45x45cm exo terra for an adult female and 30x30x30 for an adult male, however the more space you give them the better but due to there lack of movement you can use a smaller enclosure without effecting the health and wellbeing of the frog.

Substrate options and decor-

People use all sorts of substrates but i have found that sedge peat is the best substrate in my own findings, however you can also use potting soil mixed with coco fibre substrate.

I personally use Sedge peat as it is brilliant at retaining the humidity in the enviroment and allows moisture to directly penatrate the frogs skin, you can also buy feeder worms to put in the soil that will clean the frogs waste to make the substrates last alot longer, just remember spot clean and turn up substrate when you can. Avoid using spagnum moss on top when froglets as there is a potential for impaction to occur.

Heating and lighting-

These frogs don’t require extensive heating. A 25W fixture placed above their enclosure, regulated with a thermostat, works effectively. While low-level UVB isn’t strictly necessary, it can be beneficial. A trusted source who has visited the frogs’ natural habitat shared that the UVI (ultraviolet index) is quite high during the day, and the frogs do venture out of cover, exposing themselves to sunlight. Based on this information, I recommend positioning a compact UVB bulb near their basking area, allowing them to receive a dose of UVB similar to what they would naturally experience in the wild.

I’m still exploring the benefits of UVB exposure for these frogs. Currently, I use a compact UVB bulb to provide supplemental light. However, these frogs spend much of their time underground or in tree-covered areas in the wild, suggesting they’ve evolved to require minimal UVB exposure.

That said, I choose to use a UVB bulb as a preventive measure against metabolic bone disease (MBD). Even if these frogs synthesize UVB minimally, I prefer to err on the side of caution. If future scientific research confirms that UVB is essential for their health, this step ensures they have the opportunity to benefit from it.

Diet and nutrition-

Froglets - as small froglets its is important to choose the right sized foods , you can feed them the following confortably

• Small crickets
• Medium crickets
• Small locusts
• Mealworms
• Calciworms

Juviniles -

Adults -

There diets are very varied as adults they are almost like a compost bin they will eat a wide range of different things, and feeding them is one of the most interesting activities you can do with them. As Adults they will eat the following

• Standard crickets
• Adult black crickets
• Meal worms
  
• Morioworms
• Wax worms
• Large Dubia roaches
• Calciworms
• Pinkies
• Small mice
• Earth worms

Feed them once every 3-4 days per each individual , just feed them what they want to they will  stop when they have had enough.

Another thing they enjoy is wax worms these are a great treat to use to train and tame them down. They are smart enough to understand whats going on around them and they crave these sweet treats so will become tame fairly quickly if done enough.

Misting is required with this species in there hides every day, this keeps there skin in good condition and avoids health issues in the long run, keep the substrate damp aswell and they will soak in it whcih additionally keeps them happy and healthy.

Behaviours-

They have a tad more movement than a pet rock so observing there behaviours is quite boring most of the time, however if you are a night owl you can regularly see them scute a few inches and create a new hole every few weeks generally.

The most exciting part of there behaviour is when they eat , thos makes it compleatly work keeping them as a pet, i absolutly adore feeding them they all of a sudden have so much character. They suddenly have a burst of energy when you put food next to there mouth and lunge often grabbing half the tonges with the food, when they eat they sit there and 15 seconds later they swallow the food and close there eyes, they look really funny.

As far as i can tell they are very good at regulating there body tempratures and will activly move if they are not confortable, this is usually at nightime and related to on of my previous paragraphs.

Day and night Cycle - 

Common health issues  - 

Dry skin -

Impaction - 

MBD -

Chemical poisoning-

Skin infections -

Leaisons -  I have seen this commonly occur on forums and groups where a person is asking for help because there frog has a lision on the leg or side ect ect, usually caused by shart items in the enclosure or an insect thats been left to walk around and cause damage, 

Temprature requirements -

Cleaning - 

Cleaning should be done every so often when you spot that they have deficated, if you dont have other creatures like worms make sure to replace the substrate sooner you can ususally tell from smell like alot of other exotics. I keep minimal decor in the enclosure have one shaded place for the frog to hide or cool down so i wash this peice of decor every few weeks or so.

Clean the sides of the enclosure periodically but avoid allowing the D10 or antibac to make contact with the substrate as it could have negative impacts on the frog itself as there skin is permible and great at sucking in chemicals whcih is not ideal.

Brumation -

I have not had to brumate my frog yet as he was very young over the winter and i did not want to cause issues with his growth, however i have a plan for this year and intend to brumate in the following way.

Morphs - Im personally not a massive fan of morphs overall, however i can appreciate why people appeal to them and that there is deffinitly a market there for them and it keeps the hobbies cogs turning , the Frog i have is not a natural morph as in the wild thay are basically a brown colour which ive not seen in the pet trade unfortunatly.

There are quite a few morphs of South amarican horned frogs and below is a table with some of the details, this is only for the species Cranwelli as this guide is only for this species not other species of horned frog

Avalability -

 These frogs are very common in the hobby and all captive bred which is excellent although i believe that a few breeders export them from thailand which i can imagine being as stressful for the animal as being exported wild caught, but other than that they are a fantastic beginner frog with low upkeep and needs, if you love frogs this is a brilliant entry level frog for someone who is jsut getting into keeping exotics.

There are multiple morphs avalable which all look incredible and start from as low as £30, up to the mutant looking colours that can fetch up to £175 each.

References-

Gallery -

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