Tomato Frog

Facts

IUCN NEAR THREATENED (NT)

Facts about this animal

Adult male tomato frogs are about 65 mm long, weigh around 40 g and are orange or brown-orange in colour. The females resemble ripe tomatoes: their colour ranges from reddish-orange to bright vermilion, their head-body-length exceeds 10 cm, and they weigh about 220 g. Juveniles are dull brown in colour. The tomato frog belongs to the family Microhylidae, the "narrow-mouthed frogs". There are about 270 species of microhylid frogs, most of them living in tropical habitats around the world. Most have no teeth, but instead have ridges of folds on the roofs of their mouths.

The areas in which tomato frogs occur are almost uniformly warm throughout the year, with temperatures between 25-30° C, and humid. The forest in this part of Madagascar is made up mainly of Pandanus palms, but tomato frogs do not rely on primary forest. They can survive also in secondary vegetation, degraded scrub, and even highly disturbed urban areas. They appear to be localised to sandy ground near the coast, and are often found near farms and towns. Tomato frogs use an "ambush" strategy to hunt for food, sitting in a particular spot and eating whatever insect walks past. Although associated with water, this species is a poor swimmer. In fact, in zoos and aquariums, special precautions are taken to keep the froglets from drowning as they develop from the tadpole stage.

In areas where they occur, male tomato frogs are often heard calling from ditches, marshes and shallow pools after rains, summoning females to breed. Each female lays 1000-1500 eggs, which float on the surface of the water. The tadpoles hatch 36 hours after the eggs are laid, and are "filter-feeders", straining tiny bits of nutrients from the water in order to get everything they need to grow and develop. In human care they metamorphose into tiny froglets about 45 days after hatching. They reach adult size and are probably sexually mature in less than a year. Many frogs can live for more than 10 years, and it is probable that some tomato frogs live into their teens.

Did you know?
that tomato frogs are so brightly coloured to warn predators that they are not good to eat? They secrete a toxin from their skin as a form of defense, and humans who have eaten tomato frogs have suffered severe allergy-like symptoms. By advertising their lack of palatability the animals avoid getting killed or injured by potential predators.

Factsheet
Class	AMPHIBIA
Order	ANURA
Suborder	NEOBATRACHIA
Family	MICROHYLIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Dyscophus antongilii
Name (English)	Tomato Frog
Name (French)	Crapaud rouge de Madagascar
Name (German)	Tomatenfrosch
Name (Spanish)	Rana tomate
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
© Franco Andreone

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Lowlands of north-eastern Madagascar, mainly aroun Antongil Bay
Habitat	Shallow pools, swamps and areas of slow-moving water
Wild population	Unknown, but locally abundant.
Zoo population	240 reported to ISIS (2007)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 45 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Why do zoos keep this animal

Because of its restricted range and appeal, this species has been designated as high priority by the AZA Amphibian Taxon Advisory Group and is a flagship species for the Madagascar Fauna Group, a consortium of zoos dedicated to the preservation of threatened fauna and natural habitats of this unique island country.

How this animal should be kept

Being a rather large species it requires quite a spacious terrarium (120 x 60 x 60 cm), with a woodland type set up with about 6 cm of a damp but not too wet base substrate mixture to dig into. This substrate can consist of pre-sterilized chopped oak and maple leaves, sphagnum moss and river sand, or regular potting soil as long as it doesnt contain any chemicals. They need a soft substrate to burrow into. An area of live moss should also be provided. The terrarium can be furnished with a selection of bogwood, cork bark, rocks, and sturdy leafed plants as climbing and hiding areas for the frogs.

A shallow water bowl (no deeper than the frog's height at rest) should be provided with clean de-chlorinated or spring water which will need changing daily so as to avoid the risk of ammonia and bacteria building up in the water. The enclosure will need to be heated to a daytime temperature of 26-27 °C with a slight drop at night to 24 °C. This can be done using an under tank heat-mat controlled by a thermostat.

A fluorescent UVB tube should be provided as a light source. The terrarium should be misted daily with de-chlorinated or stale water to retain some moisture in the substrate and to maintain a relative humidity of 70-90 %. Also it should be visually inspected daily and any soiled items should be removed, cleaned and replaced. Once every two-three weeks the tank and its contents should be completely cleaned and sterilised using an amphibian / reptile safe disinfectant.

Young Tomato Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including fruitflies, pinhead crickets and mini-mealworms. These food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement two-three times a week. Adult Tomato Frogs will take considerably larger insects including adult crickets, regular mealworms, locusts, earthworms, flour beetles, waxworms, moths, flies and caterpillars. They should be fed every two-three days and the insects dusted with calcium and vitamin supplements once a week.