It's my son's birthday coming up and I know he would really love a pet, his favorite thing is frogs, but how are they as pets? Do you have to feed them bugs? It seems kind of mean to me to keep a creature meant to jump around in a little aquarium. Have any of you had a frog or lizard as a pet, what do you recommend or what warnings do you have for me, lol. Thanks!
I raised toads as a kid. I'd bring the little tadpoles home from the creek, watch them swim around in a pie dish till they grew legs. Then they went into an aquarium that was filled with about 2" of dirt, a little pond made out of a flat dish, rocks and plants. I went out in the garden every night and found roly-polies for them to eat. This was in the day before pet stores sold fancy foods and crickets. LOL.
Toads are pretty low maintenance. Now, frogs? I never had one. But, they are a bit more high maintenance in the fact they need a higher humidity level habitat and more specific food (I think). You can always ask a clerk at the pet store. Ask for one who is familiar with the amphibians.
We have had lizards as pets. We've had Mediteranean Geckos and Green Anoles before. They require a desert type habitat. We had an aquarium lined with sand and topped with a substrate from the pet store. They had a log to climb and bask upon under the necessary light (as they need it for warmth since they are cold blooded). We made a little pond from a shallow dish so they had water to drink. Make sure your habitat has a screen lid. They WILL crawl out! We fed them crickets from the pet store. Again, someone at the pet store should know about the lizards and their needs.
believe it or not a snake would make a better pet. how old is your son? frogs cannot be handled much and require a lot more attention to keep their habitat right. a bearded dragon is a great pet for a kid, but you will need a large cage and expensive heat and uvb bulbs.
a corn snake on the other hand will do ok in higher-room temps maybe a warm room in your house, or a light near his cage. he does not need uvb bulbs and babies can be kept in the plastic kritter keepers. you can also feed them frozen mice, so less trips to the pet store to buy live bugs. snakes make great pets and corn snakes are gentle and can tolerate being handled.
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- chrisnjoesmom
on Aug. 8, 2012 at 9:12 AM