Aquatic Dwarf Frog

**ole** · 12th Apr 2011, 05:42

hi,

i'm keeping a small 5G tank. feel like keepin more diverse stuff inside my tank. found from online that ADF seems a good keep. i went to Aqua Star Trading in Yishun thinking of getting the frog and they said they don't know about it and told me there are strict laws regarding certain species in singapore.

anybody know if ADF is legal and available in SG?

**Mr.Oink** · 12th Apr 2011, 12:50

I think it should be African Dwarf Frog.

**ole** · 12th Apr 2011, 13:00

ops. sorry. yeah. African Dwarf Frog. my head wasn't working in the morning i guess.

**dkk08** · 12th Apr 2011, 22:00

Look at the following list of pets that we're allowed to keep and sell in Singapore... can always check out AVA website to double confirm

Types of animals allowed to be sold in pet shops

In general, the following types of animals can be approved for sale in pet shops:

* Dog
* Cat
* Rabbit
* Guinea pig
* Hamster
* Gerbil
* Mouse
* Chinchilla
* Red-eared slider (a terrapin)
* Birds [Birds listed in the CITES Appendices must have papers]
* Fish [Fish listed in the CITES Appendices must have papers]
* Land hermit crab (Coenobita rugosus)
* Green tree frog (Litoria caerulea)
* Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) CITES Appendix II

**ole** · 13th Apr 2011, 11:47

thanks lots.

**Shaihulud** · 13th Apr 2011, 16:05

Only one species of frog, the green tree frog is legal in the pet trade in Singapore unfortunately.

**ole** · 13th Apr 2011, 21:38

yeah. sad. ADF seems really harmless and cool to have in an aquarium really...

**stormhawk** · 19th Apr 2011, 11:26

It is boggling as to why the AVA has strict rules regarding herptiles, seeing how there is a ready and willing community of enthusiasts who will do their utmost best to care for these special animals. I guess it will take a very long time for them to realise that prohibiting all sorts of herptiles, with the exception of some tortoise/turtle/terrapin species and the White's Tree Frog is counter-productive, going by the numbers of animals illegally smuggled in.

We have already so many Red Eared Sliders released into our wild areas and breeding. Yet the farms produce thousands, if not millions, to sell to newbies who do not know anything about the RES and watch as it outgrows it's puny tank. Ditto for the poop and the ensuing stink from the RES, especially if fed on dried shrimps. People are allowed to keep endangered exotic fish or birds, as long as they come with a permit, but not exotic herptiles, even if they come from captive bred sources. Double standards but there's little we can do except hope that they will change on this stand. I personally would like to keep Dendrobatids, but due to the strict laws, I guess it's just fish and shrimps for me.

**jwuog** · 19th Apr 2011, 11:53

Actually it's not that mind-boggling if you ask yourself; as is common with government organisations (well from my experience at least), do they have the right person making a qualified decision? I would think that the right person to make that kind of decision in this matter will be a herpetologist/zoologist cum hobbyist, but they probably had a business grad etc at the other end who made a draconian and uninformed decision.

But if there's a will, there's a way as I know of hobbyist in the past who kept dendrobates etc, but just keep it to themselves. I remember when I was in junior college, my classmate even kept a baby snake that he caught that wandered into his home, cool!

**dkk08** · 19th Apr 2011, 22:14

Well try and look at it from a different perspective, look at the number of abandon dogs, cats, small animals etc... do you think qualified people like a vet or someone from SPCA or an animal keeper from the Zoo can or will be able to make that decision? If they really can then maybe we can start a petition of sorts, garner as many signatures as possible from folks like us (Layman) and from qualified individuals/organisations like vets, doctors, animal keepers, herptologists etc... and send the petition to AVA and the press and see what sort of response we can get from them...

I'm sure we'll get a big response (no doubt a negative one) from SPCA and ACRES and other animal welfare groups...

Sad thing is many people fear the unknown, and even more sadly is that many a times people or organisations use that fear to depict or control the majority... no matter how we can prove that dendrobates or even the cousin of white's tree frog; White Lip tree frog are totally safe and non poisonous... I seriously doubt that in the near future AVA will change their stand over allowing other herptiles into our shores...

The rumour is that even the inclusion of white's tree frogs were based on a business point of view from perhaps a business graduate? Who knows the actual truth? (Like I said that was a rumour)...

**stormhawk** · 25th Apr 2011, 02:03

Haha, yes you have a point Desmond. Still, the laws are highly unflexible, though as with everything in Singapore, control control control.

I find it strange as well, that we have books on ferrets, sugar gliders, herptiles, insects being sold at the book stores, but we are not allowed to keep these animals legally within Singapore.

Some of the pets we keep are dangerous to us, to a certain degree, yet we are allowed to keep them. Dogs can kill us, just as much as a terrapin can if we get infected with Salmonella from them. Perhaps in time, the AVA will see that herptiles are not as bad as they think.

Conserving the local herps is a good thing, but seeing the numbers of abandoned RES running wild in reservoirs and ponds is one of my pet peeves. Many species of herps make great pets, like newts and salamanders, but they are banned. Maybe the AVA wants us to keep the house gecko as pets in our vivariums.

**dkk08** · 26th Apr 2011, 06:59

I guess Dogs and Terrapins to many people and even to AVA are the "Normal" pets to have... whereas herptiles are term by many as "Weird", "Odd", "Exotic" so much so that many people are turn off by it...

I remember many many years ago when I was attempting to campaign with a group of like minded folks to petition and write to AVA, SPCA as well as government agencies to "legalized" herptiles and got a Straits Times journalist to interview and write up a small article... you cannot imagine the number of negative response, not to mention threats to make sure "we pay" or "get it" if herptiles are legalized and their neighbours keeps snakes, tarantulas and the many creepy crawlies or slimy animals... it was kind of scary for me and many in my group (we were rather young then)

As for the house geckos, they do not make good pets hahaha as they always seem to be "naked"... I think the forest gecko will make a good vivarium addition with their incredible markings and patterns hahaha (please do not go to any forest and poach!)

**stormhawk** · 27th Apr 2011, 17:45

Obviously those people who made threats must have been those "animal-lover" types who only care about furry things and people who fear anything that may seem "harmful" even if their bite is not poisonous. You should have reported them to the police for making threats to harm you or your family and friends if such a law came into place. No one is above the law and they should not attempt to hurt someone just because they disagree with whatever the other person is trying to do.

**dkk08** · 27th Apr 2011, 22:28

Ya well sadly they were anonymous and some wrote in to the journalist, so there's really not much we can trace from...

**Shaihulud** · 30th Apr 2011, 10:14

It used to be within the limts of the law one time, trade in salamanders, frogs, pig-nose turtle etc, or maybe it just wasn't regulated/enforced. For example, I don't think there is provision in the rules that allows us to keep many species of freshwater crabs like vampire crabs, but it is still being sold widely. Personally I think it is lack of attention or care.