Scientific Name: Rana (Pelophylax) lessonae.
Common Names: Pool Frog.
Distribution: Wide spread through Europe.
Size: 9cm.
Sexing: Males are significantly smaller than females and have paired vocal sacs, they can be heard calling during the breeding season and at this time they will also develop nuptial pads on the first two digits of the forelimbs.
Colouration: The dorsal surface can range with locality from green to brown, darker markings appear in the form of stripes on the limbs and spots on the back. A light dorsal stripe may also be present.
Requirements: Pool Frogs are largely aquatic and require a good sized aquarium. A 36x12x15" tank would be adequate for an adult pair. These Frogs should be maintained in a semi-aquatic set-up the best method of doing this is with a built in glass shelf covering 1/4 of the water surface to form the land area. This land section can be covered with a substrate of carpet moss with pieces of cork bark and fake or real plants aranged to form hiding areas. The base substrate for the aquatic section can be river sand or gravel with a number of large pebbles, broken pots and aquatic plants arranged to provide a number of under-water hiding places. The water should be clean de-chlorinated or spring water at a depth of around 25cm (10") and will need to be filtered to avoid the build up of ammonia and bacteria in the water. Temperature can range from 5-25°C. Lighting can be provided by a flourecent tube or compact flourecent. These frogs will actively bask during the summer months so a low-wattage bulb may be suspended over the land area of the tank.
Maintenance: Gravel syphoning and partial water changes should be carried out at regular intervals and the land area should be visually inspected daily to remove and clean any soiled items.
Feeding: Juvenile Frogs should be fed daily with a mixture of suitably sized insects including small crickets & fruitflies. The food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement two-three times a week. Adult Frogs should be fed every two-three days with a mixture of crickets, earthworms, waxworms, and flies. The food items should be dusted with a calcium and vitamin supplement once a week.
