# Frog drowning time.



## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

I saw another thread where a post by Dave mentioned some things about frogs aquatic capabilities. 

So I tought it might be interest to get peoples experiences just for accumulating knowledge. 

First when I transferred my D. auratus portobelo to their final home I washed them twice in spring water. Now previous to this I had never seen them in water because I heard they drown easily. But I wanted to reduce chances of any micro fauna transferring the tank. So I figured 10 seconds in water wouldn't hurt them right? Well when I put them in the water they just swam like a bull frog would right on the top of the water over to the side.

So a couple days ago I ventured over to my vivarium which has a very small pond for water access / egg deposition. It is about 2 inches deep. And one of the shy frogs was down near the water sniping spring tails off the emersed plants and water surface. So it decides to run and hide from me and in doing so goes under a leaf in the water completely submerged. So I sat there watching. And it just sat in the water hiding, after at least 30 seconds I became curious and pulled out my phone and started to time it. From there it lasted a full 3 minutes and 40 seconds before it finally turned around and popped its head up for air under a leaf. So I figure by its own semi free will in shallow water a frog will stay under for at least 4 minutes with no apparent ill effect.


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

interesting


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

I have also witnessed frogs spend a long time under water. If there is nothing to get trapped on/under or caught in then I wouldn't worry. Sadly, it is rare that they jump into a perfect bowl or cup of water and often times our ponds have too many places for them to get stuck or disoriented and this can and will result in them drowning. Yes, they can swim well and can go long periods without coming up for air but they will tire quickly and if startled can wedge themselves in someplace they can not get out of. I always tell people to take careful consideration how they construct water features in their vivs for exactly that reason.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Lots of things probably come into play here.

-physiological state of frog(somewhat stressed, versus trapped and struggling to get out-you bet oxygen consumption is going to be much higher for a stuck frog)

-dissolved O2 content in water

etc. etc.


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## wimvanvelzen (Nov 1, 2008)

I find it very hard to believe that PDFs would be unable to swim or stay under water for a while. Their natural environment is very wet, knows heavy rains and often flooding. 
Most animals, even from drier areas, are well able to swim. 

There are a lot of reports of dead frogs in water parts of hobbyists' tanks - I think there is another explanation for these losses.


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