What is an african clawed frog?
Xenopus laevis , also known as Xenopus laevis, is an aquatic frog in South Africa and an important model organism. They can grow up to 12 cm, have a flat head and body, and have no outer ears or tongue. Its hind feet have 3-toed short claws, which are used to dig mud to avoid predators. Since there is no tongue, it can only use its forelimbs to stir vertebrates in the water. Under natural conditions, Xenopus toads feed on small fish, shrimps, crabs, and insects. When eating, they can’t wait to use the three long claws of their forelimbs to put food into their mouths.
Completely aquatic, whether it is a tadpole or an adult frog, it lives in water all its life, and it lives in fresh waters, especially in still waters. During the day it hides in the depths of the water, and at night it crawls to the shallows. The breeding season is from early spring to late summer. The origin is southeastern Africa, from the savannah of South Africa, north to Kenya, Uganda west to Cameroon.
What does african clawed frog look like?
Xenopus has strong and well-webbed hind limbs and slender and unwebbed forelimbs. No tongue. The eggs are hatched in a small sac on the back and leave the mother when metamorphosis is complete or close to complete. Males will be slightly shorter than females, about 10-15 cm for males, 10-17 cm for females, and up to 20 cm. The streamlined, flat body makes it well suited to life in the water. Xenopus’ eyes are small and located above the head, helping to detect predators from the surface. There is a white stripe on each side of the body, which acts as a sensor, and can detect the direction of food and natural enemies by sensing water waves. This frog is characterized by small forelimbs and distinct claws at the ends of the three toes, hence the name Xenopus. The hindlimbs are stout, with well-developed webbed toes for swimming. The head is triangular, with tentacle-like protrusions on both sides of the mouth; the free fingers, without webs, are branched into 4 star-shaped protrusions at the front of the fingers, which are sensory organs.
african clawed frog living habits
The life cycle
The mature eggs of Xenopus laevis have well-defined plant and animal poles, and fertilization causes cortical movements. Xenopus embryos hatch into larvae through the stages of cleavage, blastocyst, gastrulation, neurite, and tail bud stage; tadpoles begin to develop hind limbs in about 5 days and gradually enter the metamorphosis stage, which completes metamorphosis in two months. Larvae take 1 to 2 years to reach sexual maturity.
The average life expectancy is 5-15 years, and some can live to 20 years old. They shed their skin once a year and eat the shed skin.
predatory traits
Xenopus swims very fast, and they don’t press their prey well when they hunt, and sometimes the prey even escapes from it, and they push the prey into their mouths with their forelimbs. Under natural conditions, Xenopus toads feed on small fish, shrimps, crabs, and insects. When eating, they can’t wait to use the three long claws of their forelimbs to put food into their mouths. Since there is no tongue, it can only use its forelimbs to stir vertebrates in the water. Under artificial feeding conditions, plant-based feeds and animal-based feeds can be fed, such as animal livers and plant-based algae. Xenopus are fast swimmers and will eat small fish (such as minnows and guppies) and insects (such as earthworms, waxworms, and crickets), as well as shrimp and ham.
Tadpoles feed on plankton; a pair of water outlet holes (belonging to the double water outlet type) are located on both sides of the middle of the ventral surface of the body; the tail muscles are developed, the tail and pelvic fins reach the abdomen in front, and the rear of the tail is slender and filamentous, and swings continuously. When encountering drought, Xenopus can crawl a short distance to find another source of water, but usually lie under cold and wet soil and lose weight gradually. After re-entering the water, it will continue to prey on small fish and insects, especially the eggs and larvae of a large number of mosquitoes. It also devours young toads of this species and a large number of deformed tadpoles, and its weight increases rapidly.
african clawed frog rearing
container
Indoor rearing in medium to large glass aquariums or round glass tanks.
water quality
The tap water used needs to be purified, precipitated, dechlorinated, etc. It needs to be oxygenated 3-5 times a day for 5 minutes each time; the water depth is 20 cm. There is a submersible pump to add oxygen in the water and a heater to heat it. The water in the tank should be changed regularly, usually after each feeding, to ensure the health of the Xenopus and prevent the occurrence of diseases.
temperature
The living environment temperature is required to be around 18°C. The water temperature is 12-25℃. When the room temperature is lower than 5°C, Xenopus will hibernate. If it exceeds 30°C, it will refuse to eat and it will not be easy to survive.
illumination
There are lights on the top of each box.
feeding
Tadpoles are filter feeders and can be fed with fine juvenile bait and other suspensions. The turbidity should be such that the tadpoles can eat within 4-5 hours. Tadpoles also sometimes eat water rotifers and scrape green algae. Xenopus toads feed on pig hearts and livers, once every 2-3 days. Xenopus can actively seek food and use its forelimbs to push the food into its mouth. Xenopus are afraid of being disturbed and usually feed at night. It is very greedy, the amount of food is proportional to the monthly weight gain, and the daily weight gain curve changes with the increase or decrease of the food intake. Metamorphosis can be completed in 5-6 weeks from the fertilized egg at 20°C. During metamorphosis, tadpoles eat less or stop eating. After metamorphosis, Xenopus can eat water worms or small pieces of pig liver. Under artificial conditions, as long as the management is appropriate, the mortality rate is low, only about 2% per year, and the survival rate of larvae is about 75%. Xenopus is easy to keep, so it has become a new favorite. They are generally kept with other fish or aquatic frogs. Red worms, shrimp and brine shrimp can be used as feed. Raised Xenopus will be larger than wild ones and can grow up to 15 cm. Sexual maturity can be reached in 1-2 years under indoor conditions.
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