Newbie with mystery tree frog rescue

[favrielle]

Hi! My name's Angela, and I'm new both here at FrogForum and to (non-aquatic) frog keeping. I rescued a mystery tree frog this afternoon (off Craigslist), and hope I can master the learning curve quickly so this guy gets the home he deserves. First I need to identify him, though, so I think I have my work cut out for me.

Anyway, hi! I'm glad to find such an awesome resource and look forward to becoming part of the community here.

[The Fluffy Injun]

Do you have any pictures? That would get the train moving.

[Mentat]

Hello Angela and welcome to FF! Where's the pictures ?

[favrielle]

Lol... I was digging through pictures on Bing to see if I could ID him. Let's see if I can figure this photo posting thing out...



In these next two, he's a little dry... I snapped them just after bringing him in and opening the ExoTerra doors for the first time.




Little frog (now named Ackbar) apparently hopped out of a box of imported (Brazilian?) bananas at the grocery store, and the guy unpacking the box took him home and put him in an ExoTerra 12x12x18tall with the foam rock background. All that was in there was a "moss" mat, a reptile heat rock, a piece of mopani, and a corner-style water bowl. He said he fed Ackbar crickets from the local big-box pet store, dropping in a dozen at a time. I'm going to guess they weren't eaten quickly, but they do appear to have been eaten because while there were a bunch of shed cricket skins on the moss mat, there was also what looked like (I'm assuming froggy?) poo near the top of the viv's styrofoam background. The guy didn't know anything else about the frog, just that it was a "green tree frog", which when I called him I naively thought he meant Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea) because the pet stores around here sell them from time to time. I didn't find out until the guy delivered little Ackbar to my house what the backstory was.

Anyway, he's a little over an inch from nose to rump; I couldn't get a precise length without handling him, which I wanted to avoid until he settles in more. The colors in the photo are pretty good... if anything the green is a tiny bit brighter, but not much.

I've made some minor changes to his enclosure -- putting in some eco earth to replace the nasty moss mat (it was dirty and had a bunch of cricket bits & shed skins on it, ewwww!), adding a probe thermometer, covering the top and misting with non-chlorinated water. I'll be researching more specific care requirements over the next few days, especially if I can get an ID on him.

In case it comes up, I know I probably shouldn't have jumped into frog ownership so quickly, but I have a soft spot for neglected animals. And even I know a heat rock and a mostly dry viv with no greenery isn't standard tree frog equipment. I figure a week of less-than-ideal-but-improving conditions has got to be better than being left where he was.

Anyway, there it is... my little mystery tree frog.

[favrielle]

Any ideas?

And I've determined he must be a HE, because he's been calling sporadically through the morning/evening. Wish I could get a recording of it, it's really neat.

[UncleChester]

If a free exotic treefrog came out of every box of imported bananas, I'd probably eat more bananas.

It doesn't sound like they were doing too horribly for care given that frog ownership was unexpectedly thrust upon them. The heat rock as you mentioned is a big no-no and fewer crickets offered more frequently would be better. Adding a few live plants would be appreciated no matter the species. Pothos, or devils ivy, is an easy start.

No idea on the species, but the rough skin and serious fatness looks more like one of our north american hylids than the things you usually see in the pet industry out of Brazil. But Brazil has such a huge diversity of treefrogs and I'm not at all familiar with them. Here's a big list from Amphibiaweb:

http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphi...e-isocc=Brazil

Photos of the underside may also help if you can catch him sticking to the glass this is easy enough to do. Or if you ever take him out to do major cage remodeling, you can put him in a clear deli cup for an easy belly photo.

For recording the sound, if you have an mp3 player or smart phone or whatever, they often have the memory capabilities to record for several hours at a time. You can set it recording near the cage and forget about it. This works well for a 'shy' frog.

Good luck!

[favrielle]

LOL. I wonder if I should check the display for frogs the next time I go to grab organic bananas at the store, you know, in case I find him a friend?

I've been researching and getting some ideas for remodeling his viv and putting in live plants. Pothos should be a cinch, my mother-in-law has a huge one that I could get cuttings from. For other plants, I'll probably have to find a specialty source. This is going to be lots of fun, I think!

I'm not sure his skin is really all that rough. He was pretty dry in the two brighter pics... the entire enclosure was dry as a bone when I got him (except the damp moss mat) and I took the pics before I did anything else. Since I started misting a couple times a day, he looks pretty smooth. I'll try to get a few more pics, and maybe a belly shot if I can.

I'm really confused by the golden tone on his sides. I haven't seen any tree frogs that have that yet, and I've been trying every search I can come up with. I'll check the amphibiaweb link you posted and see if that helps.

I don't have a smart phone, but I have an old mp3 player that might have some recording capability.

Thanks for the tips and the link!

[favrielle]

Ok, more pics. He wasn't too happy with me for pulling him off his comfy leaf, though. Boy can he jump!





At this point, I still have no clue what he is. I haven't found any pics that really match up, American or otherwise. He is cute, though, and I am going to have a blast designing a nice vivarium for him.

[UncleChester]

Have you looked at Squirrel Treefrogs, Hyla squirella? Your recent picture is a dead ringer for the one on the wikipedia page (on the right) Squirrel tree frog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some sound recordings here Sounds of Hyla squirella - Squirrel Treefrog might help comfirm it

For other plants, I'll probably have to find a specialty source. This is going to be lots of fun, I think!

A specialty store with knowledgeable staff would be great, but you can also find some useful plants at the box stores like home depot or walmart

[Jenste]

Welcome to the forum! Lovely frog - very jealous about how he was found! You should name him Cracker Jack - reminds me of the prizes in the Cracker Jack boxes....obviously a much better prize than any I have come across!

[flybyferns]

Welcome to the forum! Lovely frog - very jealous about how he was found! You should name him Cracker Jack - reminds me of the prizes in the Cracker Jack boxes....obviously a much better prize than any I have come across!

So true. I just get rotten bananas .....or a box of cracker jacks w/ no surprise

[favrielle]

Have you looked at Squirrel Treefrogs, Hyla squirella? Your recent picture is a dead ringer for the one on the wikipedia page (on the right) Squirrel tree frog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some sound recordings here Sounds of Hyla squirella - Squirrel Treefrog might help comfirm it

Wow, you nailed it! I had written Squirrel Treefrog off as a possibility because the first picture I saw had a very defined line between the golden-ish tone and the green and Ackbar doesn't. I didn't realize there was a rather wide range of color variation. After reading your post last night, I did an image search and about 5 minutes slogging through photos has me convinced. The colors and size/shape are dead on. Although the mating call recording you linked to was just a bit too quack-y sounding, I found several Squirrel Treefrog "rain call" recordings that sound identical to Ackbar's little outbursts.

So... my mystery frog is American, just not native this far north, and it looks like his care is going to be exceptionally easy. Although I'm still wondering about those bananas...

Thank you SO much for the help!

[UncleChester]

So... my mystery frog is American, just not native this far north, and it looks like his care is going to be exceptionally easy. Although I'm still wondering about those bananas...

Thank you SO much for the help!

You're welcome. And being American makes it no less awesome. It still falls under 'exotic' to me. It may even be a world traveler that rode a box of Florida oranges to Montreal, then rode a shipment of Maple Syrup to Moscow, then rode a shipment of Vodka to Tokyo, then rode a shipment of Tamagotchi to Rio, then bananas to you.

[Mentat]

Great job Brian helping ID frog and wonderful "world traveller" illusion !