Is It Legal to Own a Frog in Australia

Many people love frogs so much that they would like to observe them closely and take care of them as pets. Before deciding whether to pick up local frogs or buy them from a pet store, it would be wise to contact your area, conservation, parks and wildlife office, or fish and wildlife office for regulations. You may find that keeping frogs and tadpoles is prohibited in your area, or is allowed with certain restrictions, or that a permit is required. A licence from the Ministry of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (telephone 136-186 Client Service Centre) is required to keep most frog species in captivity. FROG ENCLOSINGS Glass aquariums can be the best enclosures because they are easy to clean, last a lifetime, and offer clear vision. Plastic enclosures can be less expensive, but can corrode over time due to UV light. A 90 cm aquarium would be suitable for up to three frogs. 16.2.9 Large frogs (more than 8 cm long) may also eat small fingers and dead “fuzzy” mice in the early stages. A fuzzy mouse is about 4 to 8 days old. 10.6 For southern frog species, water at room temperature is sufficient. Insert sticks and stones into the water to give the enclosure a natural look, but also to provide young frogs with escape routes on land. Although frogs can climb on glass, juveniles do not always have strength and can drown if they cannot escape.

All other frog species are not protected. No permit is required for the custody or sale of these species. No permit is required to take them from the wild in South Australia, but they cannot be collected from national parks, reserves or private property without consent. Native frogs and amphibians are protected by law, so if you want to keep one as a pet, you`ll need a biodiversity protection license granted under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 by the Department of Planning and Environment (National Parks and Wildlife Service). 8.1.5 Do not install the pen solely for a burrowing frog with soil. Stones, water and plants should also be included. 5.7 Normal hygiene procedures must be followed. Hand washing should be done just before handling frogs to remove salts and impurities from the attendant`s skin. If detergents are used to wash hands, they should be thoroughly rinsed with clean water. When frogs breathe through the skin, it minimizes the transmission of pollutants.

This license allows you to keep more than one frog bred in captivity as a pet. You can also add another class of animals if you want to keep a native bird or other type of animal as a pet. In South Australia, the Department of Environment and Water regulates the ownership of native animals, including reptiles. You will need a permit if you want to keep a native animal in captivity. The licensing system is designed to protect native animals from illegal acquisition and sale in captivity. To learn more, click here. 10.5 For tropical frogs: Water heater temperatures should remain 20-22°C in winter and 24-26°C in summer. Each state sets its own rules for keeping native animals, and this can be any system that completely prohibits gathering and keeping – up to the unrestricted custody of everything. In Queensland, frogs are allowed to be kept in the following circumstances (and these are subject to change without notice, so always check before you buy). 10.3 Tropical and semi-tropical frog species need artificial warming during the colder months. Tropical species must be maintained at a temperature of at least 20 °C and semi-tropical species at a temperature of at least 15 °C. There are no amphibian species in Western Australia that are exempt from licensing.

Taking amphibians out of the wild for any purpose except with a buyer`s license is illegal, and anyone who attempts to keep these animals illegally will be prosecuted. 5.1 Hands should be cleaned before handling frogs, dried thoroughly, and rinsed with clean water. 16.2.6 Tiny frogs and frogs (about 1 cm long depending on the species) require exceptionally small insects such as pinhead crickets, bloodworms or flightless fruit flies. To the best of our knowledge, the legal information presented here was accurate at the time of writing this report. However, since rules and regulations may change without our knowledge, all facts mentioned here should only be read as an indication. If in doubt, please contact the appropriate legislative authority – usually the government agency responsible for wildlife in your state. Line the floor with washed gravel and enclose stones, pieces of wood and palm peat. Aquarium plants and understory plants from tropical rainforests offer visual interest and also areas where frogs can hide and sit. Some bromeliads, small ficus trees and palms will thrive well in an indoor enclosure, but caution is advised with the soil as it can be soaked and be a breeding ground for bacteria.

Keep plants in small pots that rest on pebbles in a larger container or tray so that excess water can drain out of the ground and be collected and emptied before it stagnates. Of course, plastic plants give the same effect and are much easier to care for. TEMPERATURE The frog enclosure must mimic the temperature of its natural environment, so it is important that it is warm and humid. Frogs can die if kept below 10°C for long periods of time. The most effective way to heat an enclosure is to use an aquarium heater in water. Heating the water to 24°C to 26°C should result in an air temperature of about 18°C and also bring moisture into the air. The inclusion of a type of water feature such as a waterfall increases evaporation and also creates optimal humidity. There are 29 native frogs classified as A2 animals. These frogs are rare or more difficult to keep than the more common companion or A1 frogs. They are not marketed by pet stores and are only available from specialized frog breeders. 12.6 Water from taps may be saturated with dissolved gases, which may cause gas bubbles to form under the skin and in the nets of frogs` toes. The incoming water should be left in open tanks for 24 hours to allow excess gas to escape.

16.2.4 Live mealworms, crickets, bloodworms, grasshoppers and waxworms are available in pet stores and are suitable for frogs in captivity. Some worms can cause intestinal complications if not digested properly, so they should be used sparingly. All animals sent to or from the state require an import/export permit from the Northern Territory. A wildlife licence is required to allow people to legally own wild animals in captivity in the Northern Territory (excluding exempt species) – to obtain a wildlife licence, you must first purchase the animal from a legal source. 14.3 Frogs of different sizes shall not occur together. 14.9 Species known to eat other frogs and tadpoles are frogs – L. aurea and L. raniformis.

A word of warning to the residents of NQ/FNQ before you start buying frogs from all over the state or other states. BUYERS BEWARE. For one, the vast majority of captive breeding will take place in this southeastern Queensland state. If you need to buy frogs from a producer or SEQ store, they were bred in a different climate than ours and come from an area where the chytrid fungus has been active for many years. In addition, new diseases may be active (see our diseases section for all the problems we have been documenting for more than 20 years) and not yet detected. Buying Sight-Unseen is a risk because you have not seen the conditions in which these animals are kept. They do not know where they originally came from; And they can be stressed by transportation and get sick when they arrive. There are also regulations on the transport of live animals – it is not allowed to put them by mail. 16.2.8 Medium frogs (4 cm to 8 cm in length) may also be interested in eating small frogs (baby dead mice of a day, available from commercial suppliers), which should only be administered occasionally as they are high in saturated fat. It is safe to feed very large (and adult) frogs from this type of diet, but should only be done sporadically. It is recommended to do this only with green and giant tree frogs (L.caerulea and L.infrafrenata). 8.1.2 The type of soil is important and depends on the type of burrowing frog kept.

Sound advice should be sought on the required sand or clay content. There`s a lot to learn and enjoy keeping frogs in captivity and once you`ve learned more about them, you can get involved in conservation projects that try to help these adorable and ecologically important animals survive better. But please, do your homework before you decide to install frogs in captivity so you won`t be disappointed later and neither will your frogs! Some native captive-bred frogs can be kept as pets in New South Wales as long as you have a license. 16.2.10 Frogs, in particular, need additives for healthy growth. If you supplement your frog`s diet with vitamin supplements or additives such as calcium, the manufacturer`s instructions should be followed. The application for scientific approval to keep the frog school appears to be specifically designed for programs such as ARC tadpole kits, where the school receives tadpoles from a licensed dealer (such as the RCAF) and then returns the adult frogs to the merchant when the metamorphosis is complete.