Habitat - Indoor :: You know the tiny white frogs sold at pet stores?

[Dormant]

Can they live with a tiny red eared slider? I'm not afraid of the turtle harming them since he doesn't even want to chase the two rosy reds in his tank, in fact, I'm pretty sure he views them as entertainment.

What do you all think?

[Vivi]

anything that is inside the tank will be food. the turt might not be interested now but sooner or later he is going to eat them. he might not be able to catch the rosy's or they might be to big but they will be food. lol

[megcornell]

It's not a good idea. Eventually the RES will eat the frog, and unlike with fish he may just pull a limb off the frog at first leading to a painful and slow death.
Even if he's not into rosy reds at the moment, he will be, it's their natural instinct.

[Cramer]

I had a 5 inch RES turtle that lived with 4 feeder goldfish for a year. It would just not eat them, but it would still eat new fish I put in. It knew which ones were which. She would let them eat the shedding skin from her body and come to the surface to eat with them. It was like a cat befriending a mouse.
Or so I thought. One night I hear splashing and kicking in the dark. I turn on the lights to see only 2 fish and they are being chased down by the turtle with a crazy look in her eyes.
I dumped in pellets and carrots (her favorite) and she started to eat all that. Next morning, the other 2 fish were gone. All gone. She must have been fattening them up over the year for one glorious meal.

Other than that anecdote, I'd say try it. What first got me into turtles was when I saw a snapper and a painted fighting over a frog that fell off a plant into the water at a zoo aquarium. I had no idea they were aquatic predators. Just do the research on the frog to make sure it's not toxic.

[Dormant]

yeah, I'm going to try it and see what happens.

[SpotsMama]

The reasons for putting live prey in with your turtle are to give your turtle the thrill of the hunt like they would have in the wild and to give them exercise. They will get these benefits better from fish like rosey red minnows or guppies than from a frog. Frogs are too slow. As long as turtles are getting a good balanced diet they don't have to have live prey for nuitrition. However, if they are going to have live prey, minnows or guppies are better for them nuitritionally too.

Many people never give live prey at all - it isn't essential. You say you want to see what will happen - well, I can tell you. The turtle will catch a frog and tear it to pieces. If you want your turtle to have the thrill of a hunt or get exercise or to supplement his diet, best to stick with minnows or guppies. I can't think of any other reason to give live prey.

[Dormant]

if that's the case, why hasn't my turtle gone after the two minnows I've placed in his tank? They've been in there for a while, and that pretty much goes against every bit of information that I've gotten from this place.

that isn't to say you all are wrong, but can we not agree not all turtles are the same? I've seen plenty of people here say they've had turtles live with other species - plecos, minnows, goldfish...why not frogs? Especially considering my turtle lives peacefully ( meaning not chasing or biting! ) with two rosy reds.

so, as far as what you are telling me, SpotsMama...I'm sorry, it just doesn't seem that simple from my point of view. again, it might just be my turtle, and he could prove me wrong one day by attacking one of the other species in the tank, but at this point in time he's never made a move towards anything that isn't dead, a plant, or a pellet.

it's not about having live prey in the tank, I'm really just seeing what species my baby turtle can exist with, at least now. Maybe I can eventually ween him away from things like that - he seems to enjoy dead things/plants/pellets more than anything, especially when you consider he hasn't even gone after the fish.

[eugenetimpog]

if i remember it right from old posts i have read in this forum. Frogs release toxins in water that can harm the turtles. I am not sure maybe someone can confirm these.

If the turtle tried to eat the frog. would it be healthy or bad? There are members here who have frogs as pets maybe they know more information. Just hope they will notice this tread.

[octpusgirl8]

If it's an African Clawed frog i believe they do release some kind of toxin. Industrialgirl would know, she's had one for years.

[SpotsMama]

My turtle isn't greatly interested in live prey. I got him a half dozen minnows a long time ago - over a year and a half now. He ate two of them and then seemed to loose interest. Time went by. For awhile, Spot lived outside in his pond and the minnows had a tank to themselves. When I brought Spot back inside in September, the minnows stayed in his tank and again they seemed to co-exist peacefully. Several weeks ago, though, I noticed that there were only three minnows left in the tank. Then there were two. As of a few days ago there is only one left. I know now that it's only a matter of time until the last minnow goes.

This is just to say that sooner or later even lazy turtles like mine eat whatever is in the tank.

[Vtolds]

UNless the frog you plan on getting is much bigger than your turtle I wouldn't do it. My turtle has tried to take a bite out of me before and I am no were near the size of a frog.

[megcornell]

In my opinion adding a frog to the tank doesn't do anything positive for either the frog or the turtle. The frog adds more waste to the tank, and turtle water is dirty enough as it is. Plus, frogs need cleaner water than turtles as they are totally aquatic and high ammonia levels will kill them. On the turtle's side of things, if he eats the frog it may be toxic.

If you want a frog so badly, buy a separate habitat. They don't need a lot of space, a simple 10 gallon will do... you may even have one hanging around your house. But adding a frog to a turtle tank is not a good idea.

And, all turtles are wild animals. Whether they always show those characteristics or not is variable, but they all are capable of killing prey and once your turtle feels like it that frog will be the first to go.

[april zephyr]

Man, just imagining the limb-tearing scenario gives me a headache. I'm glad to know that giving them live prey is not a vital necessity. I always thought they would need live fish to prey when they grow up, glad that cleared up, hehe.

[industrial_girl_2000]

If it's an African Clawed frog i believe they do release some kind of toxin. Industrialgirl would know, she's had one for years.

My understanding is that ACF's do not have any kind of toxins released on their skin (Those warty toads & tree frogs that live on land do have toxins, however, so that might be what you are thinking of).

Having said that, I would still not put ACF's in with my turtle because they would become dinner! If you want to give live food to your turtle, go with something $cheaper$, like feeder guppies.

[ajk7986]

why did you even ask for advice if you're just shooting down what everyone is trying to tell you and acting like they're stupid?