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Care Sheet: African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis)
Common Name: African Clawed Frog, Clawed Toad, and Strange Foot.
Scientific Name: Xenopus laevis.
Distribution: Eastern and southern Africa, introduced in to southern California.
Size: 8-15cm.
Sexing: Males can be heard making a trilling call, and nuptial pads can be seen on the fingers and forelimbs during breeding season. Females are slightly larger and have visible swellings (papillae) around the cloaca.
Colouration: The normal colouration is brown with grey marbling. Captive breeding has created several albino strains, some of which are now as common if not more so than the wild colouration.
Wild Type
Albino
Golden Albino
Reticulated Albino
Requirements: These aquatic Frogs are rather large and require a large aquarium. A 15-gallon tank would be adequate for 2 adults. They require a totally aquatic set-up with a substrate of gravel or sand. Furnishings such as large pebbles and aquatic plants can be arranged to provide a number of hiding places. The water should be clean de-chlorinated or spring water at a depth of 8-15cm. The water will need to be filtered using a submersible power filter to avoid the build up of ammonia and bacteria in the water, and partial water changes should be carried out at regular intervals. It is also a good idea to lightly oxygenate the water with the use of an air-stone. Clawed Frogs require a water temperature of 21-25°C, and a low wattage fluorescent tube may be used as a light source.
Feeding: Juvenile Clawed Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including tubifex, bloodworm, whiteworm and chopped earthworm. Adult Clawed Frogs should be fed three times a week with a mixture of earthworms, slugs, maggots, small fish, and chunks of raw meat. Clawed Frogs of all ages can also be fed pelleted foods.