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Care Sheet: Cameroon Clawed Frog (Silurana epitropicalis)

Common Name: Cameroon Clawed Frog.

Scientific Name: Silurana epitropicalis.

Distribution: Cameroon.

Size: 5.5 - 7cm.

Sexing: Males can be heard making a clicking / 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 light brown often taking on an orange tinge.

Requirements: A 15-gallon tank would be adequate for 3-4 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, some aquatic surface plants provide welcome resting 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 24-27°C, and a low wattage fluorescent tube should be used as a light source.

Feeding: Juvenile Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including tubifex, and whiteworm. Adult Frogs should be fed three times a week with a mixture of earthworms, slugs, maggots, small fish, and chunks of raw meat. Frogs of all ages can also be fed pelleted foods.