Among owners and enthusiasts, African Clawed Frogs are known as escape artists and their keepers often swap amusing stories of the frogs' grand adventures.

African Clawed Frogs are purely aquatic. Like other frogs African Clawed Frogs will attempt to eat most things that they can fit in their mouths. For this reason it is best not to house them with anything you do not intend to have as lunch. African Clawed Frogs will accept food from the hands of their owners and are quite amusing to watch while swimming. African Clawed Frogs should generally not be fed raw meat, mealworms, goldfish or cat or dog food. The best diet for these frogs at any age includes frozen or freeze dried shrimp, squid, and beef heart [sparingly]. They may also be fed Earthworms that have been cut up and rinsed, live guppies, minnows and more. Shrimp pellets and other formulated foods may be fed. They should be fed an amount of food that they can eat in approximately 15 minutes. It has been reported that feeding krill and other salt water species too often may make your frog sick because the sodium content is too high. In the wild, African Clawed Frogs will eat both living organisms and detritus and live in stagnant pools. If the pool dries up, the African Clawed Frog can aestivate in the mud with an air hole for up to ten months. Because these frogs breathe through highly developed lungs, it is important that they can come up to the surface for air frequently. While male African Clawed Frogs will vocalize, females are usually silent. In captivity, these are very lively frogs that are quite enjoyable to watch. African Clawed Frogs make excellent pets, but they do require quite a bit of attention and this should be kept in mind before purchase.

Like all members of their genus, African Clawed Frogs lack tongues. These frogs do not have teeth either. They have wedge-shaped bodies, and eyes on the tops of their heads. Their eardrums are not visible. The bodies of African Clawed Frogs are dorsoventrally leveled. Their skins are slippery and they are able to make sounds without any inflatable sacs. These frogs are gray or brown in color and may be mottled or patterned with darker colors. The underside is white. Albino varieties are also available. African Clawed Frogs get their names from their huge rear feet, which have five toes and three claws each. Their fingertips are very sensitive; as is their sense of smell, and both aid them in locating food in water or mud. At maturity, female African Clawed Frogs measure between 3 and 6 inches and males are about half this size. Females have an extended cloaca and males have dark pads on their forearms and hands.

Although African Clawed Frogs have been kept as pets since the 1800's, a surprisingly small amount of information is available about them. These frogs are quite old, and their fossilized remains of their close relatives may be found from the Cretaceous period. Today, they have spread to many areas outside their original range of southern Africa; and in some places it may be illegal to keep them as pets due to the possibility of escape and colonization. Clawed Frogs have been used as lab animals. They were the first cloned vertebrate and have even been sent into space. They make good pets for novices and experienced reptile keepers alike.

Mature African Clawed Frogs may be kept in groups of similar sized individuals. Most will eat or try to eat fish or other amphibians, if they are not at least as large as the frog. These are fully aquatic frogs, and should be kept in a tank. The tank should have a substrate that is made of stones or pebbles. Be careful the substrate is not so small that they can ingest it. These frogs are known to destroy live plants, but provide plenty of artificial ones. Also, make caves from rocks for hiding places. Metal is toxic to African Clawed Frogs and even water that has splashed onto metal can greatly lower the frogs' immune response. Make sure your tank has a lid. These frogs can, and will jump out. If your frog escapes and becomes desiccated, he might be saved by placing him in a bowl of water with his nostrils above the moisture line to allow him to breathe. Many will become plump again in a few hours, and after a few days some will fully recover.

African Clawed Frogs should not be kept in direct sunlight. They can be maintained at a temperature between 60 to 80 degrees and can do well in a wide range of Ph levels. These animals need stagnant water, as rippling or motion causes them extreme stress. If you use a filter, choose one that is not too noisy and one that does not create a lot of turbulence. They say water should only be changed when it grows cloudy every three to four days, and distilled water should not be used. Do not use algae removing chemicals; if build-up is present on the tank walls, wipe it off. If African Clawed Frogs remain out of water for more than a few minutes, they will dry out and could die. Adults may be gently handled for short periods of time, but this is generally not recommended, because their skin is delicate and handling can cause them stress. They should not be handled outside of the water. Small pebble substrates may be eaten and cause problems. Captive African Clawed frogs are often fed things such as feeder fish, bloodworms, crickets, mealworms, and pelleted reptile and amphibian foods.

When African Clawed Frogs are tired they often float on the water surface. If this happens, don't worry, this is normal behavior.

African Clawed Frogs reach sexual maturity between 10 and 12 months of age. Male frogs are very vocal and are significantly smaller than females. In order to encourage the frogs to mate, they will need about 25 gallons of water per two pair with a depth of about 8 or 9 inches. The frogs mate at night when they perceive no other motion around them. African Clawed Frogs will release hundreds of sticky eggs over a period of about three and a half hours.

The eggs will hatch into tadpoles within about 2 days and will transform into froglets in about 6 to 8 weeks. Tadpoles swim head-down and have barbels. They need very tiny food and should be provided with at least a pint of water per frog. Powdered egg or finely ground goldfish food may be offered. Offer only tiny amounts of food and change their water very, very often, as too much food in the tank will clog their gills and suffocate them. African Clawed Tadpoles are extremely delicate and should never be handled. It has been reported that netting tadpoles may kill or injure them. If you need to catch the tadpoles try using a clean cup. A large proportion of them have genetic defects. African Clawed Frogs should be given larger peices of food when their tails begin to disappear, and there will be a crucial four to five day period when they may not eat. They will first accept adult meals about ten days after the formation of their forelegs.

Tadpoles should be kept in de-chlorinated water that is maintained at 72 - 76 degrees Fahrenheit. They seem to do best when provided with an air stone.