Move over dogs and cats… there is a new pet in town

I am the “mom” to six cats (yes…six!). I love them more then words can express. They are my “babies,” and they are all spoiled rotten. I always joke that I go to work and blog to support my spoiled cats (ha ha).

Our cats have everything they could ever need and want – fresh food and water every day, cat “trees,” scratch posts and pads, pet beds everywhere, more toys then they will ever play with… the list goes on and on.

We used to have a dog, which we also spoiled (and miss dearly). He passed away four years ago. We just haven’t taken the plunge to get another dog. We want to, but we would rather wait until we have a home with a yard and not living in our condo (our “yard” is a 6′ x 12′ balcony).

In addition to our cats, we also have a HUGE Goldfish. His name is Fishy. We won him at the fair eight years ago. We won seven fish that day, but he was the only one to survive.

For a fish, he’s very smart. He knows me and gets excited when I go near him and swims up to the surface because he knows I’m going to feed him. If he wants attention he will splash water out of the tank.

I actual talk to our Goldfish. After all, he’s a living creature and deserves attention just as much as the cats do.

We have new pets now, which we are really enjoying. I’m now a “mom” to two African Aquatic Frogs. Yes, you read that right – pet frogs!

I know people who have pet turtles, pet lizards, pet rabbits, and a variety of unique and exotic pets. But I don’t know anyone who has pet frogs.

African Dwarf Aquatic Frogs are not typical frogs. For one, they live strictly in water. They can come out of the water VERY BRIEFLY, but that is not recommended. They will die if out of the water too long.

According to Wikipedia;

African dwarf frogs live their entire lives underwater but need to rise to the surface to breathe air because they have lungs and not gills. These frogs are small in size and do not weigh more than a few grams. They vary in color, mostly ranging from olive green to brown with black spots. The average life expectancy of these frogs is five years, but they can live as long as 20 years, and they can grow to 3 inches (7.5 cm) long.

This African frog habitat in the wild consists of shallow rivers, creeks, and ponds during the dry season and in the flooded areas of the forests during the wet season.

I received to review from the company Froggy’s Lair an entire biosphere including two adorable little frogs. Their sets ups include;

Aquariums with Lid and LED Light

• 1 Food Pack with Care Instructions (One year supply each)
• 1 Bag of Bio-activated Sand (may be separated into two pouches)
• 2 Bag of Colored Gravel
• 1 Bags of Decorative rocks
• 1 Live Bamboo Stalk
• 2 Frogs

I should add that their customer service is AWESOME!

I received their octagon shaped tank, but they do have other tank shapes.

Set up was super easy. I rinsed out the tank, then I added in the special sand. After that I added in the bamboo stalk and the rocks. The frogs like to hide in the rocks. I tried to set the rocks up to support the stalk (which will eventually take root) and so the frogs had a place to hide if they wanted to.

After you put in the sand you can add the colored rocks on top. The rocks are available in a variety of colors. I opted for a rainbow of colors.

You need purified or distilled water for the tank. You can’t use regular tap water.

Believe it or not, you should add the water in using the lid to a coffee cup. Pouring the water into a clean coffee cup lid helps the water to enter the tank slowly. You don’t want to just pour the water in because it will kick up the sand and make the tank look cloudy. The sand will eventually sink to the bottom, but you’ll want to view your frogs right away, and you wouldn’t want them to live in a cloudy tank.

The frogs arrive in a plastic bag. Carefully pour them into the tank. You can also use the provided mini-net to remove them from the bag and put them into the tank. Do it immediately! Remember, they can’t live out of the water.

That’s it! That’s all you need to do. I had our frogs in their new home in just a few minutes.

The frogs get fed two itty bitty pellets twice a week. I feed our frogs on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The pellets come in a bag. I found it easier to use them in an old pill bottle. I washed the bottle out very well to makes sure there was no residue in the bottle. Then I poured in the food. I find it easier to get the pellets that way.

Froggy’s Lair sends you enough food to last an ENTIRE YEAR! Additional food is available on their site for $4.00. All their food packets have enough food inside for an entire year.

The frog’s tank doesn’t need to be cleaned out as much as a fish tank. You need to change half the water every other month. We recently did that and it was easy enough to do. We removed the water, made sure it was clean around the side of the tank, then added in more purified water. The frogs were OK. They didn’t seem to mind.

The tank comes with a lid with a light on it (three different light options) so you can view your new little friends when it gets dark. The light turns off automatically, so you can use it as a nightlight too.

Our frogs are on top of our television stand. That way we can watch them all the time.

I adore our new pets. I named them Speckle and Spot. I had a hard time coming up with names for them. I didn’t want to give them any cliché frog names. They went a few weeks just being known as “Frog 1” and “Frog 2.” Now they are known as Speckle and Spot. Spot is the active one. He’s always swimming up and down and he enjoys floating at the surface for a long time. Speckle is not as active and prefers to hide between the rocks. Speckle is also slightly smaller than Spot too (that’s one of the ways I can tell them apart).

I have seen them playing together. It’s fun to watch them. They swim up and down and enjoy floating where it looks like they are standing up. It’s the funniest thing.

They are not a fan of having their photos taken. Every time I get by the tank to take a photo or video they stop moving. I even had my husband try. I guess they are camera shy.

I never thought that I’d own FROGS. I used to catch tadpoles when I was a young girl living upstate. We have a creek along the side of our house and I was always catching tadpoles and frogs (I loved the little “peeper” frogs that used to stick to the back door, and the tiny tree toads). I never kept the tadpoles or frogs for long. I knew they were wild and would do better living in the creek. Who would have thought decades later I’d have frogs as pets and NOT return them to “the wild.”

The frogs from Froggy’s Lair are SO EASY to take care of. They are by far the easiest pet I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had A LOT of pets during the course of my life time. In addition, the frogs can live up to five years or longer.

The frogs from Froggy’s Lair are THE PERFECT first pet for a child. They are also a great pet to have if you live in a small home, or if your apartment doesn’t allow traditional pets. Their tanks take up hardly any space at all.

If you are interested in learning more, visit Froggy’s Lair’s website, www.FroggsLair.com. The brand can also be found on social media. All of their links are found on the bottom right of their website.

What do you think of the idea of having pet frogs? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.

Kimberly

*I received a free frog set up (including frogs) in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.