# Good frog for a 4 year old?



## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

My nephew is turning 4 next month and he tells me he wants frogs for his birthday. :lol: Frogs, he wants frogs...I am a proud Uncle now. I was wondering if any one has any suggestions of frogs he could have. I was thinking something along the line of a Whites tree frog or maybe a Black Eyed Tree frog. What ever it is it should be able to be handled (with adult supervision of course)  . Any ideas?


----------



## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

With a kid so young, keep in mind that the parents will probably end up doing most of the care for the animal. As long as you are OK with this, a White's or waxy monkey frog might be OK and stand up to occasional handling. And the keyword here is occasional. You also might consider an aquarium with fish and a dwarf clawed frog.


----------



## booboo (Jan 22, 2005)

welll this is a toughy but are you also putting together a simple tank and insect cultures if the family is willing to culture them? Definatley try and force them to read a book beforehand that way everything should go smoother (hopefuly).

As for the frog probably what arklier said whites or waxy monkeys


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Some of the care? How about all of it! :lol: 



Arklier said:


> With a kid so young, keep in mind that the parents will probably end up doing most of the care for the animal. As long as you are OK with this, a White's or waxy monkey frog might be OK and stand up to occasional handling. And the keyword here is occasional. You also might consider an aquarium with fish and a dwarf clawed frog.


----------



## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

The other thing to realize is that he most likely thinks this is something that he can "handle" (actually hold and play with).

Most kids that age that have seen my tanks - first thing they ask is if they can hold the frogs.

s


----------



## bgexotics (Feb 24, 2004)

I have a three year old and he loves to look at my frogs. I ocassionally will let one of my Red Eye Tree frogs sit on his arm for a minute. He is pretty good about leaving the frogs alone. I definately reccomend a White's tree frog. They are large and pretty docile for a frog. They will need a minimum of a 20 gallon tank with enough room to jump around. Just make sure you wash the child's hands after they handle the forgs.


----------



## Mantellaprince20 (Aug 25, 2004)

A waxy monkey tree frog would work well. I have occasionally let my 4 year old nephew and 3 year old niece hold the one I am caring for, and it does great. They are very docile, they can't really hop, and are fairly slow, and there skin is not nearly as absorbant as other frogs. Still though, the least amount of handling is best for all frogs . take care, 

ed parker


----------



## Jeffey_Kasparek (Jan 21, 2005)

There are a few different one's I could recommend. I started out at age eight on Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinera). They're pretty common ($6.00 on average) but a little messy. Have you thought about doing toads at all?
African Panther Toads (Bufo regularis) or American Toads (Bufo americanis) get a good size (so even if they happen to hop out of his hands, less of a chance of escape or of them hurting themselves) and are fairly hardy and don't seem to mind handling as much. Only downside are the parotoid glands (sp?). If say the kid's dog later happens to pick it up there could be trouble.

Just my two cents. :wink: 
~Jeff


----------



## asydabass (Jul 12, 2005)

I agree about the toads, ect... While for us Herpers, waxys and black eyed might be "easy" to care for, I recommend a true beginner frog. Maybe a a leopard frog or bull frog. Toads were also a good idea. As far as the handling goes, Everyone else has preached enough about that, so I'll just throw in, bigger is better. The size also comes into play as far as feeding goes. Buying crickets is alot easier than culturing; when your not a hobbiest and just want a "pet". The clawed frog was also a very good idea. Hope all goes well, and it's good to see you're starting em off young  
~Donald
Leopard frog
Bull frog or similar...Pig, edible, any of the larger Ranas
Firebelly toads (my 1st herps, along with firebellied newts)
Almost any of the Bufos
Clawed frogs
Pacman frog
Just a few suggestions


----------



## bgexotics (Feb 24, 2004)

American Toads would be a good option. My son chases them and catches them on my mom's farm. He has gotten pretty good at it. they will sometimes freeze uo when you catch them making it easier for kids to hold them. Plus if you can find them where you live they are free.


----------



## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

dmartin72 said:


> Some of the care? How about all of it! :lol:


LOL! Yeah, 4 year olds aren't usually known as paragons of responsibility.


----------



## MattySF (May 25, 2005)

*wow,*

4 Years old sounds kind of young to me. His deire would probally be to handle the frogs more then recommended. How about a stuffed toy frog and visitation rites to his uncles collection.


----------



## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

Thanks for the sugestions.  Yea, his parents WILL be taking care of the frog and it will not be handled occasionally. I just wanted something that was not as dellicate as a PDF and easy to care for that could withstand the occasional 4 year old handeling it!


----------



## Guest (Aug 16, 2005)

What about a bullfrog, you cant go wrong, and if you capture a native one, if they dont like it then can just put it back.


----------



## Jeffey_Kasparek (Jan 21, 2005)

Bullfrogs are nice pets to catch, but I wouldn't want to house one. Due to their overall size, I think they'd need three sides of a sixty gallon tank completely covered to ensure they don't get nose rub from any stress. In addition to the fact you would almost certainly need a half and half setup with frequent water changes. As far as I'm concerned, they're like the red ear slider of amphibians. Everyone thinks they are cool looking and good enough to try to bring home, but after awhile, people change their minds and then want to get rid of a burden.


----------



## Ccssrs69 (Jul 1, 2005)

I agree that a four year old is a little young for frogs. Best thing I could tell you is purchase two frogs for him, but house them at your place. You take care of them and let your nephew name the frogs, and also under supervised care feeder and help take care of them.


----------

