Acquired: Other,
Rescue / shelter organization
Gender: N/A
Leopard frogs might be far better as outdoor, backyard pets than terrarium pets. It is not advisable to buy them and release them into your own yard, but creating a wildlife pond in your yard and acquiring your local species of leopard frog tadpoles for the pond can be a better option than trying to keep adult leopard frogs in a terrarium.
Leopard frogs are medium in size but do require a lot of room. They are somewhat panicky and jump a long way to escape perceived threats, and so can very easily injure themselves in small confines. I would recommend no less than a 30-gallon long aquarium, mostly well-planted water 6-12 inches deep, with small, well-planted hauling-out areas. You can easily create a planted hauling-out area by using a terracotta flower pot that is just over the height of the water depth, filled with long-fibre sphagnum moss and soil-less potting mix, and planting it with moss and bog plants. They will also use driftwood as a land perch. Floating and strand plants such as Anacharis and hornwort are also good choices.
Water should be kept extremely clean, with 25% dechlorinated, chemical-free water changes weekly. An external filter is also recommended, as they can be quite messy. The temperature range for these frogs is 65-80F, any higher is dangerous to them and any lower and they may become very inactive.
Food should be gut-loaded crickets and other insects, earthworms, and even small goldfish weekly.
Handling these frogs is not recommended. If it must be done, it is best to capture them with a wet aquarium net. Hands-on handling should only be done with freshly washed, wet hands.
Again, these frogs fare better as outdoor, wild "pets" than terrarium animals.