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Atlas / Library / Terrestrial Frog / African Bullfrog / Pixie Frog
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Terrestrial Frog

African Bullfrog / Pixie Frog

Pyxicephalus adspersusกบยักษ์แอฟริกัน

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. joshsfrogs.com

Photograph: Rudolph Steenkamp · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

Burrowing · warm · humidFrom the sheet: warm end 26–30°C, humidity 60–80%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/pyxicephalus-adspersus

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end26–30 °C
cool end22–24 °C
Humidity60–80 %
Enclosure90×45×45

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
22–24°Cool side
26–30°Warm side
32–35°CBasking surfaceMeasured on the surface under the lamp, not in the air. It is not drawn on the rail above: that scale is the air the enclosure holds, and a basking surface sits far outside it.

A real gradient, 26–30°C warm against 22–24°C cool, so the animal chooses. The sheet states no separate night figure.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states26-30 °C warm side; 22-24 °C cool side; important thermal gradient; basking spot 32-35 °C possible

Humidity

60–80%Target RH

The sheet states60-80%; large and shallow water dish (frequent soaking); misting 1×/day

UVB

5–10%beneficial

The sheet statesUVB 5–10% recommended (improves bone health); photoperiod 12 h

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m24 cm
1520100400 cm
24 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Adult size
♂ up to 24 cm SVL, 1–2 kg; ♀ ~12 cm; juvenile ~2 cm
Lifespan
20–45 years in captivity
Legal status
Unrestricted
Difficulty
Beginner / intermediate (extreme appetite, powerful bite)
Origin / habitat
Cohabitation
Solitary only (cannibalism between individuals of all sizes)

How common this animal is

19,044Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

26–30 °Cwater60–80 % RHUVB tube90 cm45 cm
warm sidewaterUVB tube
50100150200 cm
90 × 45 × 45 cmWidth × depth × height
41dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesTerrarium 90×45×45 cm for adult ♂; 60×45×30 cm for ♀; solid lid; burrower - deep substrate 10-15 cm

Terrarium / aquarium
Terrarium 90×45×45 cm for adult ♂; 60×45×30 cm for ♀; solid lid; burrower — deep substrate 10–15 cm
Temperature
26–30 °C warm side; 22–24 °C cool side; important thermal gradient; basking spot 32–35 °C possible
Humidity / water
60–80%; large and shallow water dish (frequent soaking); misting 1×/day
Lighting / UVB
UVB 5–10% recommended (improves bone health); photoperiod 12 h
Substrate / decor
Coco fibre + peat + sand (burrowing mix, 10–15 cm depth); large water dish; feeding dish
Feeding
Voracious heavy eater: crickets, Dubia roaches, earthworms, adult mice (adults); juveniles 3–4×/week, adults 1–2×/week (obesity risk); calcium + D3 at every meal

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
20–45 yrLifespan in care
20 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Sexing
Extreme dimorphism: ♂ up to 4× heavier than ♀; ♂ bright green, ♀ olive-brown; ♂ with mandibular 'fangs' (odontoid processes)
Maturity
♂ 12–18 months; ♀ 18–24 months
Breeding trigger
Rainy season simulation: large aquatic area (outdoor pond or breeding pool); heavy misting; T° 28–30 °C; prior intensive feeding
Egg laying
Inguinal amplexus in shallow water; up to 4 000 eggs; hatching 48 h; ♂ aggressively guards the breeding site
Tadpoles / metamorphosis
Very dense in shallow water; carnivorous (cannibalistic); metamorphosis 2–4 weeks (fast); separate immediately
Juvenile care
Froglets very voracious and cannibalistic: house individually or keep in same-size groups in spacious enclosures

Common health problems

Obesity in captive adults
Signsfeed 1×/week for adults; never excess pinkie mice
Gastric impaction
Signsgravel or decoration ingested — coco fibre substrate only; no pebbles
Bite
Signsvomerine 'fangs' can cause deep wounds — handle with thick gloves; caution with young children
Quarantine
Signs30 days; solo terrarium; tested feeding (refusal to eat = stress or illness); weigh on entry and exit from quarantine

Good to know

  • ♂ guards eggs and tadpoles with extreme aggression: digs channels to connect isolated pools so tadpoles can move between them
  • Prolonged aestivation in the dry season (shed-skin cocoon): can survive several months without water in captivity if substrate dries out
  • Exceptional longevity (record >40 years): purchasing an individual = very long-term commitment
  • ♂ guards eggs and tadpoles with extreme aggression — digs channels to connect isolated pools so tadpoles can move between them
  • Prolonged aestivation in the dry season (shed-skin cocoon) — can survive several months without water in captivity if substrate dries out
  • Exceptional longevity (record >40 years) — purchasing an individual = very long-term commitment

Common questions

Does it bite?

Yes, and a big one can draw blood. It has bony projections in the lower jaw and a very strong bite, so use long tongs for feeding.

How big does this actually get?

Males get genuinely large, easily the size of a dinner plate in bulk, and heavy. Buy the adult enclosure now, not later.

Can I keep two together?

Never. They will eat each other, even at similar sizes. One frog, one enclosure.

How often should I feed it?

Adults only need a meal every several days. Overfeeding is the number one mistake with this species and it makes them fat and unhealthy.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 90 × 45 × 45 cmbecause enclosure — Terrarium 90×45×45 cm for adult ♂; 60×45×30 cm for ♀; solid lid; burrower — deep substrate 10–15 cm
A heat sourcebecause temp — 26-30 °C warm side; 22-24 °C cool side; important thermal gradient; basking spot 32-35 °C possible
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — 26-30 °C warm side; 22-24 °C cool side; important thermal gradient; basking spot 32-35 °C possible
A thermometerbecause temp — 26-30 °C warm side; 22-24 °C cool side; important thermal gradient; basking spot 32-35 °C possible
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 60–80%; large and shallow water dish (frequent soaking); misting 1×/day
UVB 5-10%, stated as beneficial rather than requiredbecause uvb — UVB 5-10% recommended (improves bone health); photoperiod 12 h

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Josh's Frogs — Pixie Frog care sheetFrog Forum — African Bullfrog Care and BreedingExotics Keeper — Captive Husbandry of Giant African BullfrogsThe Amphibian UK — Pyxicephalus adspersus care sheet

Others in this group

AxolotlAmbystoma mexicanumYellow-banded Poison Dart FrogDendrobates leucomelasMimic Poison FrogRanitomeya imitatorDyeing Poison Dart FrogDendrobates tinctoriusGolden Poison Dart FrogPhyllobates terribilisGreen-and-black Poison Dart FrogDendrobates auratusStrawberry Poison Dart FrogOophaga pumilioAfrican Clawed FrogXenopus laevis

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.