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Wednesday, April 16th
April's meeting will focus on how to safely handle and present your reptile to the public. Please feel free to bring your own animal to show off.
Meetings start promptly at 8pm in the Alumni Room of Medaille College.
Annual Banquet
PLEASE NOTE: The annual banquet and recognition dinner will be rescheduled due to conflicts. The new date will likely be a Saturday in May, please contact a board member for more information.
African Clawed Frog Care Sheet and Information
Please click here for a printable PDF version.
Common Name: African Clawed Frog
Latin name: Xenopus laevis
Native to: Southern Africa
Size: Up to five inches
Life span: African clawed frogs usually live 10 to 15 years in captivity but have been known to live up to 30 years.
General appearance: African clawed frogs are wedge shaped, with the head being smaller than the rest of the body. The eyes are positioned on the top of the head and lack eyelids. The African clawed frog's color ranges from grayish to brownish with marbled and darker shades with a creamy white underside. Albino morphs are becoming more popular and are commonly found.
Housing requirements:
Enclosure: African clawed frogs are exclusively aquatic and should be maintained in an aquarium. Ten gallons of dechlorinated water per African clawed frog with a minimum of 20 gallons should be adequate. The water level should not exceed 12 inches to allow the African clawed frog to easily reach the surface to breathe. There should also be some hide places in the enclosure. There also should not be anything metal in the enclosure since the metal ions can be toxic to the African clawed frog. Most people believe that waterfall filters can be beneficial to the African clawed frog. Filters such as under-gravel filter or anything with an air stone can create problems with the African clawed frog.
Temperature: Water temperatures in the enclosure should be maintained at 70° to 75° F. Water PH should be maintained at 6.5 - 7.5. Water should be tested to ensure the optimal water condition.
Heat/Light: The African clawed frog requires a 12-hour photo period and can be provided with a standard aquarium hood and a household timer. A standard aquarium heater can be used to maintain water temperatures in the aquarium.
Substrate: African clawed frogs can easily have nothing at the bottom of the tank, gravel has been known to cause impaction.
Environment: African clawed frogs come from freshwater ponds and lakes and are strictly aquatic. They do not require any portion of land.
Diet: African clawed frogs are scavengers and will eat anything that they can put in their mouth. Items such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, krill, shrimp pellets, wax worms, tubifex worms, mealworms, guppies, silversides, waterfleas, or many commercially available foods such as Reptomin™ and HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites can all be offered as food.
Maintenance: In addition to a filtration system a 25% water change should be performed every two to four weeks with a gravel siphon.
Other references or recommended reading:
Sarre, Robert. "African Clawed Frog" Reptile and Amphibian Hobbyist August 2001
Staniszewski, Marc. Amphibians in Captivity TFH Publications 1995
Breen, John F. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians TFH Publications 1974
Halliday, Tim R. & Adler, Kraig eds The Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Facts On File 1986
Mattison, Chris. Frogs & Toads of the World, Facts On File 1987
Remember that in many places it is illegal to take wildlife out of the wild without the proper permits from local, state, or federal authorities. Please do not release any captive reptiles or amphibians into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment. See our amphibian and reptile adoptions page for more information on what to do with unwanted herps.
Help further herpetology research and education by donating to the Marvin R. Aures Herpetological Grant