Classification
Order: anura
Family: ranidae
Subfamily: raninae
Genus: rana
Species: rana arvalis
Habitat
Moor frogs are native to Europe and Asia. They are common in the north—eastern part of France, in Sweden and in Finland, in southern Europe up to the Adriatic sea and to the Urals in the east. They can be found in the northern Kazakhstan and in the eastern part of Russia to the Altai mountains and Yakutia. They live in a variety of terrains: tundra (the only species of anura that lives there), steppe, forests, semideserts, swamps, meadows, fields and gardens. They need water bodies nearby where they can breed.
They can migrate for long distances looking for food. It is mostly a terrestrial and nocturnal species.
Outward appearance
Adult frogs are about 6 - 7 cm long.
These frogs have sharpened snouts. The back can be olive colored, light brown, red brown or almost black. The belly is light yellow or white. They have a black stripe stretching from their nose to their ears and large dark ear spots. The color of these frogs can vary depending on the temperature, humidity and light. In sunny weather they are much lighter than in cloudy one. During the mating season males become silver-blue.
Their feet are partially webbed. Males have nuptial pads on their first fingers.
Character
Moor frogs spend most of the time on the ground, but they breed in water. When they go ashore, they choose a suitable area which they protect from their specimens and where they hunt. It is a nocturnal species; the hunt starts between 8 and 10 pm. After midnight its activity decreases.
At daytime they hide on the bottom of water bodies or under fallen trees, in stubs etc. Moor frogs hibernate from the beginning of October for 165-170 days. Young frogs hibernate later than the adults. They hibernate in groups on the ground: in holes, rodents’ burrows, in fallen leaves and driftwood.
When moor frogs on land sense a threat, they will make a large jump and bury themselves in soil or grass.
Maintenance care
You will need a 30-40 liter tank for 1-2 adult specimens. The ideal ambient temperature should be 18-20 at daytime and 16-17 degrees at night. These frogs cannot stand heat (above 25 degrees), so you won’t need extra heating. Extra light is not necessary either.
You should put in the tank a large shallow bowl with fresh clean water that has to be changed daily. You will also have to mist the tank daily. It is strongly recommended to have real plants in the tank.
Feeding
Like all frogs, moor frogs eat various invertebrates; flies, mosquitoes, crustaceans etc. During the hunt the frogs, in their turn, often become a prey for predators – mammals or birds. Some snakes also can eat them.
Diseases
Most moor frogs have tapeworms.
Breeding
The mating season takes place between March and June right after the end of hibernation. Males make breeding call in chorus. Males can also develop bright-blue coloration for a few days during the season.
The spawning happens very quickly and is completed in three to 28 days. The spawn of each frog is laid in one or two clusters of 500-3000 eggs in warm, shallow waters like in ponds.
