Some Basic Guidelines

Because of the myriad of species that are available in different parts of the world, it would be impossible to make specific recommendations here by species. It is up to you to delve a little deeper to find out if there are any unusual requirements for the species you want to keep, but here are a few general tips to get started with. (We hope you've read the General Guide page first.)

In designing the enclosure, try to recreate the environment where your frog is coming from. There are a few things to watch out for at this stage. If you seek the advice of various frog keepers, you will get a few different suggestions and warnings, but these are based on our own experiences:

1. Don't use potting mix for your substrate; this has chemicals in it and can cause disease - I use beach sand or river sand which has been soaked in fresh water (changed every other day for a couple weeks) to leach out any salt. I also add a little soil which has been fully composted from my compost pile - this has the advantage of containing little bugs and slaters which will clean up the frog's droppings or be eaten by very small frogs.
2. Lids really need to be secure on tree frog enclosures but be careful of what the lid is made of - rough surfaces can damage the frog's snout if it jumps against the lid or squeezes up into the top corners because of a lack of hiding space or too small an enclosure.
3. There should be something suitable for the frog to crawl into or under so that it can hide from view during the day; frogs that can't find shelter during the day tend to get stressed and stress is a precursor to disease.
4. Even tropical humid climate frogs need good ventilation (but not drafts) in their enclosures to minimise the growth of fungus
5. Enclosures should not be kept anywhere where they will get full sun unless the species you are keeping is known to be a day-basking frog
6. Ensure that the insects you feed your frog are as 'clean' as possible; in other words, don't use cockroaches caught in the kitchen or yard as these move around and might contain pesticides from a neighbour's spraying; buying from an insect breeder is a safer way to go or catch moths or flies using an insect trap. Some insects can be bred easily but do not do any spraying of any kind in the same building as your breeding bugs; avoid feeding insects with large mouthparts to frogs as they can do internal damage and avoid spiders generally as they all carry toxins of some sort. Mealworms are easy to get and breed but they offer no nutrition at all to frogs -- crickets, soil roaches and wood roaches are far better -- sprinkle these with reptile vitamins and calcium powder (available from a pet shop). Some keepers use pinky mice to feed larger frogs but this is not quite the right protein type for frogs and eventually causes growths and fatty tumours in mature frogs.
7. Always wash your hands and rinse with cold water before handling your frogs and wash again afterwards -- this is to prevent the frog from picking up residues from your skin and for you to remove residues from the frog's skin; the cold water rinse also lowers your surface temperature a little which makes life easier on the frog since its body temperature is significantly lower than yours.
8. The size of the enclosure should be as large as possible so that the frogs can move around, jump properly, find hiding places and have room for a decent size water bowl. A frog will soon damage its snout if the enclosure is too small.
9. Some keepers in colder climates who have tropical species will put light bulbs/globes in their enclosures for heat. If you are keeping a species that will require heat, this should be external to the tank so that the frog can't come in contact with it, or have wire screening around it that the closest a frog can get is several inches away from the surface of the bulb. There should be a temperature gauge so that you can monitor and control the temperature and only one end of the tank should be heated so that the frog can move between warmer and cooler areas of the tank to position itself as needed (these should be horizontal choices - not vertical).
10. If you acquire any new frogs after you start keeping, the new ones should be kept away from your existing frogs for at least two months. This ensures that if a new frog is diseased, you won't lose all your frogs as a result.
11. If you are buying frogs or tadpoles from a pet shop, ask them where the animals came from and if they don't provide a clear answer, don't buy from them. We receive emails from folks in the USA needing help who have bought frogs and tadpoles from pet shops and these animals have turned out to be diseased, parasite ridden, deformed, ill and dying, and/or sometimes the adults appear to have been smuggled. The old saying: buyer beware is appropriate. If you have already purchased a frog or tadpole from a pet shop and it developed medical problems that had to be present at the time of purchase, report the matter to your local F&WS office or USDA.

There is much to learn and enjoy when you keep frogs in captivity and once you learn something about them, you can get involved with conservation projects which are trying to help these endearing and ecologically important animals survive better. But please do your homework before deciding to set up frogs in captivity so that you won't be disappointed later and your frogs won't be either!