New to tree frogs - checking everything is normal!

[emmathe37th]

We got a couple of male green tree frogs just over a couple of weeks ago. We were really worried about them at first as they just weren't moving or eating, especially one of them. But now they are getting more active overnight, and the crickets we are leaving in a glass bowl are going.

We are mainly worried about the darker one, as he is a lot darker green and has lots of white specks on him (he has been since we got him), and he occasionally opens and closes his mouth a lot. There's no sound at all when he does this though.

We've got a 12x12x18 terrarium and it's 70 degrees temp and hitting 80 humidity. We've got a red pygmy bulb inside the terrarium for a bit of warmth as the temperature was struggling to get up to 70. We're going to change the bulb to a 25W red bulb today for even more warmth.

I've posted pictures on my profile...just want to make sure we're doing everything right for them, and check that our darker frog is okay as we're new to keeping frogs!

[John]

Hi Emma, and welcome. I love the names LOL. Anyhow, you don't need to get much warmer than 20 degrees C / 70 F for these guys, unless you want them to think it's high summer.

The darker fellow looks alright to me - am I correct in assuming he is eating regularly and not losing weight?

The mouth opening business, how often does this happen, and how many times does the frog do it in one bout? Does it seem obviously distressed? Could it be in the process of shedding its skin when you saw this happen?

One observation on the terrarium: I bet they would appreciate a couple of branches away from the walls in the terrarium, rather than having to sit on the glass. You can use commercial wood, or what I often do for temperate tree frogs is grab some thick sticks from the garden.

[emmathe37th]

Thanks for your reply
Neither of them are big eaters, and because they only eat when we're asleep we're not sure if Fred is nicking all the food! We put in about 4 crickets a night and usually one or two are left. We tried hand feeding the darker one but it only worked once (more a case of dropping it into his mouth than him grabbing it from the tongs!) We're hoping that now they're settling in more that they will start eating more. I've been keeping an eye on their size and neither look skinny.

The mouth opening business has happened twice that I've seen - once when we'd had him about two days, and again last night for about 10 times in about 5 minutes. He didn't seem too distressed - just wriggling a bit, so maybe he was shedding - I'll check more next time I see it.

We have a big branch with one of the plants over the top which they like to sit on amongst the leaves. Most of my photos are when they're on the glass because they're photographable!

[UncleChester]

That does sound like shedding. Check the corners of the mouth for bunched up skin the next time this happens. They swallow the shed to recycle nutrients, this is why the mouth opens and closes a bunch of times. The wriggling is to help loosen the skin. Another sign is a shiny looking clean frog after the process is finished.

[artgirl77]

hi..i have one american green and she stays dark green during the day...i cover the sides and the front of her tank at night and usally in the morning she is bright leaf green... i noticed she darkens down if she is scared by something and many times when she is hunting. so may be cover the sides of the tank and make more hiding spots and they will adapt a little better...she didnt like the other american green that was living with her so i seperated them. and now houdini is fine but getting used to me feeding her...the crickets are snapped up almost out of my hand....hope this helped a bit...

and i agree with the others sounds like shedding...

[artgirl77]

sorry for the double reply i checked out your set up...they might do well with more leaves..and i agree with the branches across the tank...was wondering how hot the bulb might get.? if it comes into contact with one of your frogs????

if you are using sticks from outside make sure you treat them...they can have traces of stuff that can harm frogs on them...im not sure what kind of water you are using in their soaker bowl but that needs to be treated and with two together cleaned all the time...since these frogs like to use the bowl for waste deposits.....mine does...lol..that might help with your darker frog

[emmathe37th]

We were concerned about the bulb getting too hot and burning them if they came into contact with it, but our reptile guy said anything under 25W would be fine to put inside.

Thinking about getting a jungle vine and maybe a bit more greenery And we use tap water that's been left for at least 24 hours to dechlorinate for our bowl, changing it every other day (or more if it's been used).