banjo frogs: keeping different sized frogs together

[MissChams]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone had experience keeping banjo frogs, or frogs in general, of different sizes together? In your experience, what is the maximum difference in size before there is a risk of the smaller one getting eaten?
I currently only have frogs of similar sizes, but was wondering about the safety of some smaller frogs I may be acquiring.
Thank you!

 

[Bluetongue1]

Earlier today I posted this in another thread… “Firstly, do NOT keep big frogs and little frogs together. Frogs are indiscriminate carnivores and they will eat most any living thing they can fit in their mouth, including other frogs, including their own species.” There was a good reason I made this my first point. Do NOT underestimate the size of what a frog can fit into its mouth! Banjo Frogs have a wide gape, not dissimilar to that of the Green Tree Frog. The following image is a good indication of how similar in size a smaller frog can be and yet not be safe from being eaten.



Hopefully this adequately answers your question.

 

[MissChams]

Earlier today I posted this in another thread… “Firstly, do NOT keep big frogs and little frogs together. Frogs are indiscriminate carnivores and they will eat most any living thing they can fit in their mouth, including other frogs, including their own species.” There was a good reason I made this my first point. Do NOT underestimate the size of what a frog can fit into its mouth! Banjo Frogs have a wide gape, not dissimilar to that of the Green Tree Frog. The following image is a good indication of how similar in size a smaller frog can be and yet not be safe from being eaten.

View attachment 330507

Hopefully this adequately answers your question.

Wow thanks for your reply! I'll keep them separate until they're within a cm of each other in size. Thanks again!

 

[Friller2009]

Wow thanks for your reply! I'll keep them separate until they're within a cm of each other in size. Thanks again!

I’m pretty sure you can keep spotted marsh frogs and southern brown tree frogs together

 

[MissChams]

I’m pretty sure you can keep spotted marsh frogs and southern brown tree frogs together

Thanks for your input, I read that too, but it was mainly because they are the same size. For example if you keep a 2cm froglet with a 6cm adult it may be eaten, regardless of species. I was mainly wondering if there was a rule of thumb like if there is a 20% size difference it should be ok, or if you should just not risk it at all.
From the sounds of it the basic rule is that the smaller frog should not fit in the larger frog's mouth.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Speaking from experience keeping both frogs and turtles, you definitely want to keep them as close as possible to the same size. Obviously there is a size difference between mature males and females but rearing juvies, or introducing new animals to existing setups you want them the same size. Even if you think a smaller frog won't fit in a larger one's mouth, guarantee you it'll try if it's hungry enough.

 

[Herpetology]

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Green tree frog eating bird


Green tree frog eating snake.

 

[Bluetongue1]

@MissChams
I started on a reply last night but the need for sleep intervened. In the meantime you have posted part of what I was going to say. That’s great to see! I will still post what I had written, but with a little extra note (given the clear understanding you have demonstrated of what has been written earlier i.e. on the same page)…

What @Friller2009 says is correct. In the context of this thread, it is tempting to conclude that the sole reason this can be done is that the adults of these two species is similar i.e. 3 to 5 cm each. However, there are several other factors at play that should be mentioned. The Spotted Marsh Frog has a relatively narrow gape compared to many of its cogeners (other members of its genus). It is not simply about the size of the frog but more about the size of its mouth and what it can fit into it. The metamorphlings of both species are relatively large compared to the ultimate adult size – usually around 2.5 to 3 cm. Both species utilise the same sort of habitats for breeding and their habitat preferences outside of the breeding season can overlap.

The point here is that size (or perhaps more correctly “mouth size”) is not the only criterion taken into account when considering housing mixed species of frogs together. You do need to ensure that you are able to adequately cater for the needs of all species involved, within the one enclosure.

Extra Note: Having said all that, not every species is as voracious a feeder as your typical Green Tree frog. With experience you can get to know the feeding habits of individual species. For beginning keepers it is best to lump them all in the “voracious feeders” category to be on the safe side. It is so long since I kept frogs that I cannot really offer much more info than what appears above. What I did notice from personal observation back then was that the relative width and depth of the mouth, compared to the body size, was a bit of an indicator as to how voracious a feeder that species was. This is based on keeping a limited number of species only and may be entirely wrong when applied more generally.

 

[MissChams]

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice!
While I asked the question in relation keeping different sizes of the same species together, but it was really helpful to read about considerations when keeping multiple species of different sizes too.