By: All About Frogs

For the first frog encounter, I strongly recommend the African Dwarf Frog. These guys are small, active, cute, and about as difficult to maintain as a tank of goldfish. You also don't have to deal with live bugs and they can be kept in the same conditions as goldfish for extended periods of time...(as long as there is a cover!) Dwarf frogs are very easy to take care of once they've become used to their new home. As with all fish, expect the first couple of weeks for adaptation time (many times pet stores will sell frogs that are already sick, or that are very very small and which may be a bit fragile in the first couple of weeks.) The best recommendation here is to get them at a decent size. Avoid really skinny ones or ones that are as small as your pinky-nail. In addition, if the frog doesn't give the pet shop owner a really hard time when the net goes into the tank, it may indicate some initial signs of being in less than perfect condition. Don't confuse these with African Clawed frogs, which look very similar when small. The clawed frogs get quite large and actually are illegal in some states (Like in Oregon and California!)

For a beginning frog owner who wants to get the full terrestrial frog experience, Oriental Firebellied Toads are an excellent choice. These guys are fairly simple to care for, in so far as they can survive fairly well off crickets with vitamin supplements, and they are incredibly active critters. They also don't get too large. Finally, there are no hibernation requirements for this species and they do well in temperatures that people generally are happy to have in their homes. Unless you live in an icebox or in extremely hot climates, this species of frog won't need special climatization for it's terrarium. You'll need to find someone who can handle crickets when you go away on vacation for a week or more to take care of them though, but keep in mind crickets are much easier than frozen mice! 

A good Tree Frog for beginners is the White's Tree Frog. This frog has a funny personality and seems to be quite a popular pick. It should be warned however, that some children bore of the whites tree frog despite its funny personality, simply because they tend to just sit around a lot. Much of the behavior of the frogs however, can be traced to how much they eat (and how fat they get!). In addition, the Whites Tree frog is one of the few frogs that is fit to occasionally be handled, and it certainly has warmed the heart of many frog enthusiasts!
In addition to dealing with crickets, the Whites tree frogs need a little more care than the Firebellies need, simply because they live best with humidity and are happiest when the tank is sprayed with water once or twice every day. However, as far as Tree-Frogs go, they are by far one of the easiest to deal with and hardiest species available to be kept as pets!

Frogs NOT Recommended for the Beginner
Poison Frogs are absolutely NOT a beginners frog. Even though these frogs lose their toxicity in captivity, their care is very complicated and these fragile beings have very specific requirements for healthy captivity.

Expensive frogs in general should not be a frog considered by the beginner because a frog that costs over 50 bucks is a high investment to make when you are still learning about frog care. Even if you've read all there is to read about frog care, you really ought to start with an easier breed before taking on the more expensive breeds like Red-Eyed TreeFrogs and such.

Frogs captured in the wild should be a frog that you KNOW, otherwise you take the risk of not knowing the proper temperatures, diet, etc. It is often asked about frogs that naturally appeared in an outdoor pond where weather patterns lead to pond ice-overs. It's not a good idea to "save" frogs from an environment where they naturally occurred in the first place. It is suspected that the types of frogs that appear in such climates probably hibernate in the colder months.

Frogs that get FAT, like Horned (Pacman) frogs, Budgettes Toads, and Bullfrogs can get to be pretty boring as pets for the beginner. The Budgettes toad can also pack a good wallop of a bite when it's full grown, so watch those fingers! This doesn't mean you absolutely should not get some of these for pets, (Pac Man Frogs, for example, while somewhat "boring" to some, are also very hearty and not as prone to the usual frailties of other types of frogs) but I'd really think carefully about how long you're going to retain interest in this type of frog before you've made any sort of commitment by going out and getting such a pet....