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My African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis)
This is my colony of African Clawed Frogs. Each one has a story and personality and is a cherished member of my family.
The lives of these frogs inspire me to keep rescuing and helping other frogs in need.
The Tank : 40 gallon breeder.
Substrate : bare bottom
Temp: 70-73 F
pH : 7.0-7.5
Decor : African Driftwood
Vegetation : Anubias barteri and Anubias nana
| My African Clawed Frog Tank |
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Meet My African Clawed Frogs
BALI : This beautiful frog is my big reticulated albino female. She is just under a year old (will
be a year in Feb, 2005)! She is quite a character in the tank too. She will swim right up to the surface of the tank to greet
me. Sometimes she will bite onto one of my fingers and kick at me, splashing water everywhere. She grows so
fast, almost every time I feed her she appears larger. She is my pride and joy!
| Bali's baby picture |
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| only a few months old when I first got her |
| Current pic of Bali |
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| What a beauty! |
| Bali at 8 months old! |
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| Growing by leaps and bounds |
EDIPUS: This is my youngest baby. He/She has not yet reached sexual maturity so I am unsure of the
sex right now. This little youngster was "born" (morphed) with no eyes! All you see is an eye socket. But that doesn't
stop little Edipus from finding his way around! This little blind frog as no problems eating, hiding and swimming among the
big frogs. Who needs eyes when you have a super evolved latteral line system!
| Edipus fist baby picture |
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| no eyes doesn't stop this little wonder! |
FAYOLA : "aka" Sweet Fay. This cute little faint, reticulated female was "born" (morphed) with
only one arm. It appears that she is even missing her entire shoulder and socket on her right side as well. You can see the
noticible concave curve to her, giving her a neck. But this handicap doesn't slow her down either! She has no problem competing
with the others for food. She is always one of the first ones at the surface, begging for a tubifex cube or piece of krill.
Her name is African for "luck walks with honor". I thought it suited her well. Also, three legged frogs are feng shui, and
in oriental culture are a sign of "good luck and prosperity". She has been a blessing so far!
| Fayola at 1 year old |
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| who needs two arms? |
| "This is my good side" |
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SHAM: This hefty albino boy is about 2 years old. I walked into the local petstore one day and stared
into a 40 gallon tank full of 60 adult albino frogs! I had to pinch myself, I had never seen so many ACF together at one time. I
stuck my hand in the tank, and Sham was the only one who didn't freak out. So I had to leave with him, who I thought
was female until he developed nuptial pads two weeks later...he pulled a "sham" on me!
| My big albino boy |
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| Sham |
PINTO : This rare beauty is one of my pride and joys'. He is a true piebald African Clawed Frog.
This color variety only occurs in about 1 in 125,000 frogs. I was extremely lucky to stumble upon him. I was emailing a woman
with questions about genetics and desired traits, and low and behold she offered him to me! I was so excited and could hardly
sleep until he arrived, safe and sound. He is a super sweet frog, and is warming up to me quickly.
| Pinto |
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| Piebald African Clawed Frog |
TIWI: This little male is 3 years old. He is very special to me. When I lost my oldest frog, Wonder,
I was devestated. So I ordered a little froglet from Grow A Frog who has grown into quite a ham! Tiwi is very friendly and
will eagerly nip at your fingers for food. He sings constantly and amplexes with the all girls.
| Tiwi |
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| My little Grow-A-Frog |
WILLOW: This beautiful grey female is about 7 years old now. She is the oldest and wisest of the
bunch. I adopted her from a reptile rescue in Maryland and she is behind my inspiration to run a rescue devoted to the African
Clawed Frog. In her younger years, she was cast out, a Grow-A-Frog who got "too big". She took up residence at the rescue
until she was adopted by me. She now lives the good life, but is a constant reminder of so many frogs that are tossed aside
when proper research is not done. Unfortunatly not are all as lucky as her. She is a cherished part of my family.
| Willow at 7 years |
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| favorite treat is live fish! |
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