What am I doing wrong?

[Shaymac620]

This summer my sisters and I raised tadpoles that were found on our pool cover. Now that they are growing into little frogs, we decided we wanted to keep some. I did my research and went out and bought the supplies to take care of our little frogs, but the problem is, the frogs keep dying.

I have a small tank with moist paper towels on the bottom, with a stick and fake leaves for them to climb on and hide in. I feed them flightless fruit flies, because crickets are too big. I used to have a water bowl in there, but the flies would drown themselves in the water, so I took it out. I spray the tank with bottled water once a day. So my question is, what am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? Why do the frogs keep dying?

[Pactolus]

Are they actually eating? I have a froglet of the same species as yours, pretty much the exact same setup, and I've been feeding him mostly pinhead crickets. The fruit flies honestly seem a little too small for him. I'd be worried about each froglet getting enough food, especially with tiny fruit flies that can easily hop and crawl out of the enclosure. When the frogs are this small I don't think they need a water bowl as long as they're heavily misted a couple times a day. The only things I can think of that could be killing them is not getting enough food, being poisoned by something, or possibly dehydration. NOT saying it's any of those things, that's just what comes to mind as a possibility.

Sorry about this, it sucks to have frogs you raised die. Hopefully a more experienced member can help you.

[Heatheranne]

Do you know what species they are? Their humidity, temp, and housing needs will depend on their species.

Any pictures? They would help a bunch.

Regular bottled water may have chlorine in it. Switch to spring water or dechlorinated water.

[Shaymac620]

I am not positive that they are eating, but I think they are. The crickets that I got from Petco were too big, so I bought fruit flies which seem to be better for them because they are really tiny. We did have trouble with the flies escaping from the container, so we bought cheese cloth and taped it over the cover so they couldn't escape. I will make sure to put in enough flies and I am going to try and spray the tank more. Thank you for your help!

[Shaymac620]

I am pretty sure they are Grey Tree Frogs, after the research I did on the adults we found on our pool cover back in May. The brand of water I am using is Crystal Geyser, which says it is a natural Alpine sring water. Is that ok for them?

Also here is the pictures you asked for:


The first three pictures are of the froglets and the last picture is of one of the adult frogs we found in our pool.

[KingCam]

Hmmmm.... that water should be fine, and everything else you described sounds correct. I dunno why they are dying on you.

Those are definitely grey tree frogs, which is an AWESOME species to keep. They make fantastic pets.

[Rae]

Froglets need to eat alot and frequently. So if you aren't sure if they are getting enough that might be why... make sure you are constantly cleaning up the poop. if you don't have a bathing dish you definitely need to be misting more. Mine bath daily on there own for quite awhile and I mist at least once a day more if I see the humidity levels drop. Humidity should be between 60 and 70 and temp between 70 and 80, also make sure you are changing the paper towels very frequently as bacteria and germs can form very easy. Id say every few days max, daily if its not stressing froglets.

Also DO NOT handle them more than you need too... this causes stress and can also lead to deaths

[Rae]

I am not positive that they are eating, but I think they are. The crickets that I got from Petco were too big, so I bought fruit flies which seem to be better for them because they are really tiny. We did have trouble with the flies escaping from the container, so we bought cheese cloth and taped it over the cover so they couldn't escape. I will make sure to put in enough flies and I am going to try and spray the tank more. Thank you for your help!

Call them and ask about pinhead crickets, if they don't sell them they might know who does if you ask... then start calling other Pet and reptile places and ask. Most Reptile places that specialize in reptiles and anphibians will have pinheads which are really tiny. Regular pet stores usually only have 1 or 2 sizes

[Shaymac620]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the help. I am happy to report that since then no more of the little frogs have died. I guess I wasn't spraying the tanks as much as I should have. Now they are all doing great and eating, which is so fun to watch. Here is some picutes of them:



The first two are Oliver and Sylvester and the last two are Arnold and Arthur

[Shade38]

Beautiful little ones! Thanks for sharing and glad they are doing well now.