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| Leopard frog |
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| Bullfrog cannibalizing |
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| Green frog |
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| Garnished frog meat |
Raising and selling frogs on a commercial basis has not proven to be successful economically in Nigeria or elsewhere to our knowledge. Although farming for frog meat sounds promising, operating a profitable frog farm seems to be more of a myth than a reality. Those few individuals who claim to be successful frog farmers generally are distributors engaged in the selling of adult frogs, tadpoles, or frog eggs, frequently harvested from the wild. Many “frog farms” turn out to be natural marshy areas, swamps or shallow ponds with abundant food and habitat suitable to the needs of wild frogs. At some frog farms, culture methods simply consist of increasing the shoreline area, erecting a fence to exclude predators and retain the frogs, and stocking wild frog eggs or tadpoles. The frogs usually are left to raise themselves.
Intensive indoor frog culture techniques have been developed for the production of laboratory frogs used in medical and biological research. At present, however, it is doubtful that these indoor culture techniques can be applied economically to the culture of large frogs for human consumption.
Edible Frogs
A number of species of frogs, including the green frog (Rana clamitans), the leopard frog (Rana pipiens), and the pickerel frog (Rana palustris). However, the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has the greatest potential for culture. The common bullfrog, often referred to as the “Giant Frog” or “Jumbo Frog,” is the largest native North American species, often reaching 8 inches in body length. Because of its large size, the bullfrog is the most preferred and commonly attempted species for farming.
Breeding and the Life Cycle
Bullfrogs lay their eggs in shallow standing water during the Spring (April and May) in temperate climates. The large, floating, jelly-like egg mass produced by a single female may cover an area of about 3-5 feet square and include from 10,000 – 25,000 individual eggs. The eggs hatch in 1 – 3 weeks, depending on the water temperature, into larval frogs that commonly are called tadpoles. Bullfrog tadpoles chiefly are vegetarians, spending most of their time grazing on microscopic plants and bottom algae. Slow Growth Frogs and other amphibians are coldblooded animals that grow slowly, not a particularly desirable trait for farming. The rate of growth of the bullfrog tadpole varries with the climate, length of the growing season, and available food supply. Even in temperate climates, it may take a year or more to transform the tadpole into a young bullfrog. Another year or more is required to produce a mature, marketable size bullfrog.
ARTIFICIAL FEEDING
As mentioned previously, bullfrogs eat only live or moving prey. They do not take artificial diets. You, however, can try several approaches to increase their contacts with insects suitable as food. The simplest method is to surround your pond with artificial lighting. Insects attracted to the lights will spend their days in the grass around the pond and be available as a food source. Another method is to place decaying meat around your pond. This will attract insects which serve as a food source for the frogs. A slightly more sophisticated method involves placing the meat in screens staked twelve or more inches above the ground. Both methods involving meat have the potential to be somewhat odiferous and offensive.
DISEASES
Frogs held at high densities are vulnerable to a number of common bacterial infections. Most are highly contagious and fatal. The most common infections are those caused by the common soil and water bacteria Areomonas spp. Of these, Areomonas hydrophila causes “red leg” which is the congestion and hemorrhaging of the blood vessels on the ventral or under side of the frog. The frog becomes swollen due to absorption of water without compensatory release by the kidneys. The disease in the wild is invariably fatal.
Fungus infections are also a problem. One, Saprolegnia spp., causes felt-like blotches on the frog’s skin, especially in crowded conditions. This disease is highly contagious and usually fatal since there is no known cure.
Currently, frog legs find their way to the American consumer’s table through international seafood marketing channels. Major suppliers include Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. Most of the frogs entering this market are harvested from the wild.
You can become the next exporter of Frog legs to America. Take a step today
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