Caresheets

When you purchase or adopt a frog from the Amphibian Research Centre, you are provided with all the information necessary to make your experience enjoyable for both your frog and yourself.

We have produced a series of "care sheets" which cover the most important details that you must consider in keeping a frog. We have chosen to make these care sheets available online so that you can be armed with the information before you collect your frog.

The information covered includes licence requirements (if any), and suggestions for a successful enclosure (size, structure, and heating/temperature). For some species, setting up an enclosure can be a costly affair. If a licence is required, you must have it before you obtain your frog.

Care sheets available for download

Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

Green Tree Frogs are easily the best known of all Australia's frogs. They are also both the most popular and most common pet frog. They make excellent pets as they are long lived, easy to maintain, and seem very well adjusted to life in confined spaces. They will also tolerate a small amount of handling and for this reason have been very popular as children's pets. Known overseas as White's tree frog.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 91kb)

Giant Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata)

The Giant Tree Frog is Australia's largest frog and the world's largest tree frog. It is also known as the White-lipped Tree Frog.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 44kb)

Marsh Frogs (Limnodynastes species)

This care sheet covers both the Spotted Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) and the Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peroni). They are very closely related species and their requirements are almost identical.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 34kb)

Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)

The Great Barred Frog was first bred in captivity at the Amphibian Research Centre. This care sheet may allow you to do the same for this large burrowing species.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 43kb)

Southern Toadlet (Pseudophryne semimarmorata)

One of Australia's most beautiful frogs - when viewed from underneath. The first large-scale breeding of Southern Toadlets was carried out at the Amphibian Research Centre.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 41kb)

Tadpoles (pond dwellers)

In the interests of proper treatment of tadpoles we have written this very brief instruction to the art of observing tadpoles turn into frogs. It is intended to give an idea of the practicalities of raising tadpoles. This guide has proved to be very popular. Its scope is limited to pond-dwelling species.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 33kb)

Tadpole Kit (purchased from the ARC, usually for schools)

This step-by-step set-up guide accompanies the tadpole kits provided by the ARC. The kit includes all the materials required (including the tadpoles themselves) to witness the wonder that is metamorphosis. While specifically written for our kits, it may be of interest to others. Recipients of the tadpole kits are also given the "pond dwellers" tadpole care sheet.

• View Care sheet (pdf format, 75kb)