Q&A for How to Care for African Dwarf Frogs

The average life span of these frogs is five years, but they can live as long as 20 years.

These frogs cannot survive out of water for longer than 20 minutes in low humidity, as they dry out. Leave them in the water as much as possible

The males are slightly smaller than the females and skinnier, too. The males also have a post auxiliary sub-dermal gland. This is a small gland behind each armpit, and it can be whitish or pinkish in color. It looks a little like a pimple.

Lift the frogs up and look for signs of a white bump on the back of each front leg. This subdermal gland indicates a male. During mating it should be easier to spot the difference: the male is the frog clinging to the back of the female. During the mating season, the male frogs sing to attract females.

African dwarf frogs have terrible eyesight; they're almost blind! As they move around the tank, the frogs will smell the food and eat it. You can use an eye dropper to place pellets where your frogs are more likely to find them.

When female frogs are getting ready to lay eggs, the male frog will do what looks like hugging or taking a ride on her back. As soon as the female lays eggs, the male will fertilize them. They're not hurting each other, but you'll need to be prepared for the frog eggs.

Try getting another couple of frogs, as these frogs like to live in social groups. You could also try live food to entice it to eat.

It really depends on how good the breeding process goes and if the frogs are healthy, but they can lay hundreds of eggs at once.

Sometimes American dwarf frogs get depressed when they are not in a group of other frogs. You can also try taking it to the vet to make sure there isn't anything wrong with it health-wise.

An African Dwarf frog may lie upside down, but only for an extremely short period of time. They will get right back up if they fall down.

Silk plants will not agitate the frogs, but the harder plastic ones can hurt their skin. However, in the wild they would come in contact with rough surfaces, so do not be too worried if you are unsure of what to use.

No. The newts will bother the frogs and try to eat their limps. The frogs will be very stressed and may suffer injuries as a result.

Your frog most certaintly can hear you and may respond. It can also see you and may react to your finger near the glass. Try not to shout at it for attention, as it is much louder underwater.

A bad smell may indicate that the tank needs to be cleaned, and a dirty tank is bad for your frogs.

You should feed as much food as they will eat within 30 minutes, though typically they'll be done eating in about 5 minutes. As with fish, remove any uneaten food. You can feed them a smaller amount (less than what they eat in 5 minutes) twice a day, or one larger amount (about what they eat in 5 minutes) once a day.

If a frog has laid eggs, yes, there could be eggs at the top of the water.

Since these frogs live in groups in the wild, it is highly unlikely that they will eat each other, but be aware that they may eat smaller fish in the tank.

African Dwarf Frogs shed their skins as frequently as every other week if they're growing quickly. It is quite normal for them to eat their own shedding skin, so don't be alarmed if you see your frog wrapped up in white film and using his legs to shove it into his mouth.

Move your finger around it. If it does not move, it's probably dead, so remove and dispose of it.

Yes, they can live together as long as your Betta is not super aggressive and the tank is at least 10 gallons.

Leave them in their first tank while you are getting their new tank ready. Take the decorations and plants from your first tank and put them inside the new one. Use a little fishnet and carefully scoop up your frogs. Then, place them inside the new tank.

They can live on blood worms alone, but there are different types of frozen and living fish foods they can eat. A varied diet is healthier.

Because they are covered in hard scales, which consist of dead cells just like the most outer layer of our skin. These dead cells cannot grow and thus need to be removed to allow growth.

African Dwarf Frogs do well with small goldfish and guppies. Make sure you choose fish that are not too big.

Yes, if you keep them in at least a 55 gallon tank. You can include an assortment of fish, including mollies, Danios, and some snails (almost anything can go with snails, except some puffers and loaches, as they eat snails). Just make sure you have enough filtration for all of them, and you should be fine.

Actually, distilled water may not have the necessary minerals for your fish. Try bottled spring water instead.

Your frog may become depressed, which means it may not sleep well and it may not want to eat. These frogs are social!

There are two possible reasons for a floating frog. Floating frogs are sometimes bloated, which you will need to treat. It's also possible it's relaxing. In the worst case scenario, it may have died, but frogs usually sink rather than float when they die. Give it some time and see if it snaps out of it.

Live plants are infinitely better, but plastic aquarium-safe decor is okay.

Most of the frogs' eggs will survive the process of hatching, as long as the frogs don't start eating the eggs.