African dwarf frogs are complete aquatic frogs, that is to say they stay at the bottom of the water and does not survive for a long time on the land. Although they make use of lungs for breathing instead of gills. Having then in an aquarium is cool, until you begin to see them jump out of water, maybe get lost or die. So this brought about the question, can they actually jump out of water? we will find out soon in this article.
Can an African dwarf frog jump out of the tank? Yes, African dwarf frogs are great jumpers and will jump out of the tank if they have the chance.
As a matter of fact, frogs are known to jump very high.
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African dwarf frogs although are small in size and also completely aquatic, they do jump so high in the wild and dive into water.
So they will still do the same in captivity if they get the chance to.
Frogs are great explorer and will love to move around in their environment in order to explore.
So leaving the tank open will make your African dwarf frog to want to escape and so will have to jump out of the tank.
This type of frog is completely aquatic, so the question is, will it survive if it jump out of tank? Absolutely no.
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They don’t survive much out of water, so they will die if they jump out of tank and stay for a while on land.
Can African dwarf frogs Escape?
Judging from how high this frogs can jump and how they often swim to the surface of the water and sometimes climb aquarium trees and artificial cafes etc, one may begin to wonder if they can actually escape is they want to.
Can African dwarf frogs escape? Yes, they will escape if they have the chance by jumping or climbing out of the tank.
Like I explained above, all frogs are great explorers and this made them great escape artists.
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So an African dwarf frog will escape a tank if it find the opportunity, unless you will prevent it by having a secured lid and lowering the water, so they don’t swim at the surface and escape from there.
How deep can a tank be for African dwarf frogs?
Talking about African dwarf frogs jumping out of the tank and escaping, the truth is, tank size plays alot of role in this. This is because the frogs can easily jump out of tank and escape, etc. So which size of tank is suitable for this type of frog?
How deep can a tank be for African dwarf frogs? Normally, African dwarf frog tanks shouldn’t be more than 2 feet deep, so that they could be able to reach the surface.
2 feet tank deep tank is generally recommended for this type of frog, so that they could be able to reach the surface and also have enough oxygen at the bottom of the tank too.
Related: Why African dwarf frog will try to jump out of water
What am trying to say is, don’t put them in deep tank inorder to prevent them from escaping, or they might not have enough oxygen down there, instead try to cover the tank lid very well, so that they won’t have to jump out and escape.
Why does my African dwarf frog escape?
If your African dwarf frog has escaped or is showing signs of escape by jumping and climbing at the surface or tank wall, something must be wrong.
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Although naturally, this type of frog loves to stay at the surface of the water sometimes, especially late in the night, but if they continuously show signs of escape, then these are some of the reasons why they’re trying to escape the tank.
The water is not suitable for them Although frogs are known to survive in the wild range of water, sometimes the water they inhabit might become toxic to them and so they will need to escape from it.
The normal water pH for African dwarf frogs is 6.5-7.5, anything less or above these pH levels could only cause problems for them, and they will try to escape in such cases.
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Again the level of Ammonia and Nitrates in the tank may be high. According to sciencedirect.com ” These can be toxic to frogs.
So your African dwarf frog may be trying to escape because the level of Ammonia and Nitrates in the water is high.
Generally, frogs don’t live is water with any amount of salt, in fact, they are vulnerable to salt water.
So you might have to check the amount of salt in their water.
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African dwarf frog is a tropical animal and requires a temperature of 68-78°F, anything below or above this will not make them comfortable, and may be the reason they try to escape.
Another thing to look out for is if they have an unsuitable tank mate.
As a matter of fact, no animal likes getting stressed, not even African dwarf frogs.
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So keeping unsuitable tank mates with them who keep stressing them will only make them want to leave the tank at any chance they will get.
Also, a lack of enough food can make them try to leave the tank.
So try to give them a lot of food, but avoid overfeeding them.
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Why would you even have a pet that you can’t be able to feed properly? Doesn’t make sense.
Generally, frogs are great explorers and will try to escape and explore the environment if they have the chance.
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Many times, it does not necessarily mean something is wrong, but they’re willingly trying to explore.
How do you keep African dwarf frogs from escaping?
This article cannot be complete without providing a solution to your frog’s escape behavior.
How do you keep African dwarf frogs from escaping? To keep them from escaping, you need to cover their tank properly so that they won’t jump out, feed them properly, remove unsuitable tank mates, check their water parameters and temperature.
The only way to keep them from trying to escape is to take proper care of them and know what they want.
Although sometimes their escape behavior is natural, generally, no animal would love to leave an environment that keeps them very comfortable.
So taking proper care of them and covering their escape routes are the only ways to prevent them from ever jumping out of the tank and missing.
Conclusion
All frogs can jump out of the water and escape if they have to and the above are the common reasons they may do that.
Like I always say, this is not in any way medical advice. Meet your vet if you notice any strange behavior from your pets.