Rescued a WTF!

[Mushrooms]

So I never intended to get tree frogs (a pacman had been my intended next phib addition) but I couldn't leave this one where it was. A person i know, who is an animal hoarder. Took two young WTF from someone who was mistreating them. Yesterday they asked if i would take them, and knowing that although they mean well they often cause more suffering than needs be agreed.

I went to collect the frogs today, I was told that she couldn't find the second one. So i opened the viv and i saw number two, straight away dead at the bottom of their (dry) water bowl. And rather crispy. They had also been put into one of those exo terra nano tanks, with a fake plant on the floor to small to climb in and not even a background for a bit of interest. This tiny tank also has a huge heat/sunlight lamp in the hood too, am i right in presuming that a heat mat like most frogs is the preferred way to heat?

So needless to say i now have a 1 1/2 inch long Whites next to my bed. It's really odd compared to the firebellies! But very cute and I love it's color. I have an old fish tank in the shed, which should be ok for a little while (certainly better than the nano) and will only cost me about £8.00 for convert by putting a mesh on the lid and will give me the room to put some branches and live plants in for it, until i can afford a big tank. I have said (to keep my mother sweet) that I will re-home it to a tree froggy home but im hoping eventually it will become part of the furniture so to speak and it can stay, and get it a companion am i right in believing they are a communal species?

Here are come pics, does it's general condition look ok? I thought maybe a bit skinny but i'm aware it's only young and it's shape is very different from the FBT's. I apologies for the mold in the substrate, it's been picked out now.

[Fbt123]

Well done on rescuing him/her! i myself have fbts and theyre great! Im sure you will care for the WTF as well as you care for your other frogs

[Fbt123]

Just wanted to say that your fbts look great and your viv also looks awesome! How did you get grass(?) in there? Do u mind if i can see a pic of your viv please ?

[deranged chipmunk]

He seems to be in much better care now. Get some crickets into him/her. It is very thin. As long as it eats, the road to recovery should be a pretty smooth one.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Bombina Bob]

Great Job! I remember when i rescued my WTF he was in a tank with gravel and FBTs. Be sure to get him a larger tank as he grows.

[jarteta97]

I'm very sorry about the dead one, but great job for having the courage to save this little guy! I would actually, just for now, keep him on dampened paper towels, just to reduce the risk of him swallowing coco fiber. A quarantine setup is usually recommended whenever getting a new frog, particularly since this guy is so skinny. Other than the paper towels, this is a perfect QT. Fake plant, water dish, and dampened paper towels are what you always want. I would also get a pyrex dish to bowl-train him, so that you can keep track of his/her eating, and prevent it from being bitten by crickets. Once again, nice job on the save, and I'm glad he/she is in better care now

[Frogman1031]

It is soooo cute!! Very thin. You want to really feed that thing now. The QT is a must as has been mentioned. They grow pretty fast too. Mine went from an inch or inch and a half to almost three inches in a year so you must get that other tank ASAP. Im surprised it has retained its green color though. I would think that it would become a dull olive when stressed.

[Mushrooms]

Thanks for the tips guys. I will clear out all the coco fiber when i get home from work and give it paper towels. I guess it will also be much easier to tell if it is toileting too. I fed it last night, which it was very happy about. I was feeding each cricket by hand to make sure they were eating.
Eli it was very brown/olive when i brought it home, but its colour came out once it ate. So must be happier. It was very active last night, so its good it wasn't lethargic.

[ColleenT]

if you get a chance to find a nice long piece of wood at the pet shop, i'm sure he'd appreciate climbing on that as well. Good job so far. thanks for helping the little guy.

[Mushrooms]

Okay so little frog is doing well. Eating a good few crickets a day, beimg nice and active at night. I find it in its water dish every morming looking about and waiting for food. I have changed the massive uvb heat bulb for a standard 50w that keeps the temp at a pretty steady 28 c. But humidity is nearly always 80% which is to high for whites from what I am reading ? How is the best way to get it down?

[LilyPad]

Are you sure it is 80? What kind of hygrometer are you using? Many of them are inaccurate. Does the tank have ventilation? I doubt it's too high if the tank is ventilated and you have a 50w bulb on it.

[Mushrooms]

Amy it is one of those dial hydrometers, it was only a cheap one so im begining to think its just really useless. The tank is ventilated by mesh at the top and little vent slats along the front. A little after you replied last night the humidity was reading 75% this morning then I turned the light on its literally shot up to 90% and by just putting my hand in there I can tell it is not that humid at all.
Any one reccomend a better type of hydrometer?

[flybyferns]

Congratulations - He hit the 'honey pot'
It's funny how they find YOU

The hygrometers are very frustrating.
Use a fan ? Ventilate a little more? Move them around ?
I have never found one that is reliable.
You want to use them as a guide while you are getting comfortable making a judgement on the humidity.
Maintaining his temp is more important.

If ....or .... when you add any wood to the enclosure be sure to bake it first--- to get rid of all the nasties.
Plants should be prepped first --- bleach dipped roots and all ( 1:10) (bleach:water) then rinsed, rinsed, rinsed in de-chlorinated water.

When rinsing -- submerse the entire plant. If it's a delicate plant re-pot it into ABG / spray it often / and wait several weeks to 'grow it out' before planting it into the frogs's enclosure.

[Mentat]

Thanks for helping save this frog from dying baked ! Here is a good care guide for them: Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea. Try and find ReptaBoost locally and use it to dust it's crickets for a week, then go into a normal dusting schedule: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html. Make sure crickets are smaller than distance between frog's eyes and gut load them with carrots, lettuce, and cherios 24-48 hours before feeding frog. Hope it recovers soon and good luck !

[Mushrooms]

flybyferns - I will perhaps move the tank, it's currently in quite a tucked up corner so ,maybe not getting enough airflow. His temp has been pretty much perfect to the Whites Tree Frog care guide on here. I know it is not that humid in there, it's just very frustrating looking at that dial and seeing that it's 90% humidity in there!

Mentat - Thanks for the link on dusting. That is really helpful. I usually dust crickets and gutload/feed veg etc anyway. But i've never heard of reptiboost, i will see what equivalents we have in the uk (I seem to live in an area that is bit of a herp dryzone)

Funny i never ever would have chosen to have a tree frog, i much prefer ground dwelling phibs (looks like my pacman & bumblebee toads are not going to be arriving for a loooong time) but i'm actually pretty smitten with him. I can see why people like these bold TF's so much. He is chilling in his water dish each morning and then is very happy to eat until he is full, and will come to the front and take crickets from tongs or my fingers.

This is what he looked like this morning. I think there is already a clear improvement, now that he's at the correct temp, not being fried! and having a day/night cycle. He jumped out of the tank onto my bed ... :/ don't think i was giving him his crickets quick enough.

[Mushrooms]

So, I have done as flybyferns suggested and moved his QT. Humidity Is now pretty much perfect so it must have been a problem with airflow.

Now I have a question about worming. Should I worm him as routine QT procedure. He poops really well abd I havent found anything that looks out of place ( or alive) . I looked on the first aid care sheet and saw that panacur can be used. I dont have panacur-c but I do have panacur granules for cats, kittens and puppies. 1.8 or 1.0 g sachets. 22.2% same as panacur-c. And the amount of fenbendazole per pack is the same too, so I presume if advise was to indeed worm this would be safe ?

Also - looking a bit chubbier today and hes been this sweet turquoise-jade colour for a few days running now, rather than dropping to an olivey colour each day. I presume good colour is a good sign?