Rana clamitans

The American Green Frog or Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans) is a species of frog native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada. In some states, green frogs are commercially sold as pets.

Description

Adult green frogs range from 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) in body length (snout to vent). Males have a tympanum twice the diameter of the eye and a bright yellow throat. Female tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye. Dorsolateral ridges, prominent, seam-like skin folds that run down the sides of the back, distinguish the green frog from the bullfrog, which entirely lacks them.

Habitat

Green frogs live wherever there is shallow fresh water - ponds, road-side ditches, lakes, swamps, streams, and brooks. Most often seen resting along the shore, they leap into the water when approached. By inhabiting an ecotone, in this case the terrestrial and aquatic habitat boundary, green frogs (and other aquatic ranid frogs), by employing a simple leap, leave behind their many and faster terrestrial enemies that cannot similarly cross that boundary.

Reproduction

Green frogs breed in semi-permanent or permanent freshwater. Males call from and defend territories. The distinctive call sounds like a plucked banjo string, usually given as a single note, but sometimes repeated.

The breeding season is from April to August. Actual mating involves amplexus, whereby the male grasps the female with his forelimbs posterior to her forelimbs. The female releases her eggs and the male simultaneously releases sperm which swim to the egg mass. Fertilization takes place in the water. A single egg clutch may consist of 1000 to 7000 eggs, which may be attached to submerged vegetation.

Green frog tadpoles are olive green and iridescent creamy-white below. Metamorphosis can occur within the same breeding season or tadpoles may overwinter to metamorphose the next summer. Males become sexually mature at 1 year, females may mature in either 2 or 3 years.

Feeding

Green frogs will attempt to eat any mouth-sized animal they can capture, including insects, spiders, fish, crayfish, shrimp, other frogs, tadpoles, small snakes, birds, and snails. Tadpoles graze on algae and water plants.

As a pet

With proper care, Green frogs do well in captivity.

Housing

One Green frog can be keep in a 10 gallon tank. For a terrarium set-up, use moss and keep it damp, or else it will dry up. Logs or pieces of large bark will be use as a hiding place for the frog. Use a water dish for the frog to go in, change daily. Use a UV flourscent lamp for the frog to get its nutrients. For an aquarium set-up, use half land and half water. Use water plants and rocks to build an underwater cave for the frog to hide in. Logs and pieces of the bark can also be used for frog's hiding place for when it is on land. Tadpoles can be keep in full water aquarium in groups of 3 or 4. As they turn into frogs, it is best for them to be keep by themselves.

Feeding

Feed the frog three times a week. Feed the frog a variety of insects and vertabates, such as crickets, slugs, minnows, crayfish, and earthworms, careful of overfeeding. Tadpoles can be fed with steam vegatables, fish flakes, turtle pellets, and zooplankton. Do not feed the tadpoles celery or salad.

Hygiene

Clean the tank at least once a week. If moss smells and looks brown, replace it with new moss. Change 1/2 of the water in the frog's aquarium, you can use a gravel vacuum or a turkey baster to suck out the dirty water. When using bleach use 5% of it to disinfect the harmful pathogens and clean the tank throughly to get rid of the smell of the bleach.

Conservation status

The green frog is an abundant frog wherever it occurs.

Green frogs are protected by the law in some states.

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of Rana clamitans: Bronze Frog, Rana clamitans clamitans (Latreille, 1801)
Northern Green Frog, Rana clamitans melanota (Rafinesque, 1820)

Translation

The phrase "Rana clamitans" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese.

Translation(s) in other languages: Dutch: Lithobates clamitans, Russian: Крикливая лягушка, Swedish: Grön groda, Chinese: 青铜蛙.