purple-ish Australian Frog....

[mrcaptainbob]

We were given a frog two days ago. We are told it's an Australian tree frog. Kind of purple-ish in color. I read a bit about it and see that it needs more stuff than it has. Presently it's in what looks like a ten gallon aquarium. There is a ceramic swimming pool looking bowl for water and some plastic plants and other stuff in there. I see where it needs to be 80*-86*. And it needs something to climb. Temporarily my wife put in a molding stick in there and Mr. Frog quickly climbed it. She has fed it two meal worms once so far. We are learning, but we need help. I have a 40 gallon aquarium and we plan on using that as a base. We plan to cap it with a mesh screen, maybe 1/4" hardware cloth, over the top that would be the same size as the base aquarium and be lifted out of the way for access. This would give an opportunity to place some taller items (tree branches?) for the little guy (girl?)(How can we tell??) more liberty to choose what to do and where to go. I see there are heaters that can be placed under the tank. How can I choose one that will give the right temp range? They are listed as 100 watts, 200 watts, etc. We are sure bright light, especially sun light is not good for Mr.(s?) Frog. We will see to that. What else does it like to munch on? We were told crickets. She found there is some beetle looking critter moving around in the bottom of the present tank. ANY help, suggestions, recommendations are welcome. My wife presently has three fish aquariums: a 60G with four golds, a 40G with four tri-tales and another 40G with some other unique gold-type fish. She also has a 60" x 18" x 20" turtle tank.
Thanks for any help....
Bob.

[Animallover3541]

Frogs will burrow to cool down, so don't place it on the borrow of the tank. You can put it on the side of the tank, or use a ceramic heat emitter. Heat emitters will greatly lower the humidity though. I think Australian tree frog is another name for White's tree frog? I've never owned this species, but plants of people on the forum do.

[BossFrog]

Can you post a picture of the frog, current setup, and future setup? That would really help with his/her care. Thanks!

[elly]

I have seen a purple morph of the White's species before, but I think they're pretty rare!
In any case, it will help to have a thermometer/hygrometer to measure temp and humidity. Putting a heater underneath may not be as effective at heating as having a heating pad stuck to the side. If you do this, you should make sure there's no water on that side of the tank that might cause cracking.

[mrcaptainbob]

We sure appreciate the quick help. Great advice for us frog novices. The new tank is 30" longx12" deepx18" tall. I will take pictures of existing set up and occupant tomorrow and post tomorrow night. What do we do for building the new dwelling? Starting at the glass bottom. I read that Sphagnum peat moss is used. Is that across the entire bottom? How thick a mat? And what might be the following layers?
About that new tank. My plan is to put a tower of sorts on the left hand side. Structure 12" deep x 15" long x 18" tall. It will rest on the tank and provide some taller items for M. Frog to climb on. The remaining 15" of tank top will be covered with a screen that will be hinged to the tower. About that tower...glass/plastic sides with an open top? I thought maybe large mesh screen for sides, but think it may not keep breezes out and let the needed warmth out. Thoughts?
I like the idea of a ceramic heater on the side. Are those thermostatically controlled? I will look into that.
Thanks again for helping us.

[elly]

Is this what you mean by "purplish"? In that case it's not a morph.

Anyhow spagnum moss will work to hold humidity. You don't want to put it where the frog can get it while trying to eat a bug. It's been known to stop up frogs.

You might want to put aquarium gravel or lighter clay LECA balls or other material meant to soak up water on the very bottom of your tank if you want to avoid having the substrate sit in water.

I wasn't suggesting a ceramic heater on the sides: that might be a bit much for the glass. I was thinking of the heat pads they sell for reptiles. I have not found any of those that are controlled by thermostat. Personally I use overhead heat emitters in heat lamps. I have a large one and a small one and I switch them out as needed.

Covering up the open side part way with glass or plastic seems like a good idea because keeping warmth and humidity in can be very important in the winter. In any case, that's ambitious and I hope to hear more about how it goes.

[Larry Wardog]

An Under Tank Heater is best with a Whites Tree Frog because it can stick on the side of the tank. It will warm the tank and if the frog wants to go on that side to warm up it will and it will jump off if it doesn't want to warm up anymore. Peace lillies and pothos are great plants. You can buy a misting system if you want so your wife doesn't have to mist anymore. The temperature needs a day temp of at least 80 or more all year and can go down to the upper 60's. Humidity I feel is best tropical like 70 up. They are very hardy. You should get calcium dust and get crickets and dust the crickets in the calcium so the frogs can be healthy. Feed the crickets fruit and fish food at least a day before feeding the frog so the crickets are nutritious. I'm confused on your proposed building plan. You can also pick up special lights online or at a pet store. I recommend the Exo Terra UVB lights. They are very bright. You can buy hygrometers online too. They will show you temp and humidity. If you need more help and advice let me know.

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[mrcaptainbob]

Hi, AAron. Thanks for the help! The proposed building plan, now defunct, was to build a tower of sorts on one half of the existing tank. The thought was to place some climbing type object in there for the tree frog. I assume it's called a tree frog for a reason. But, we just have a plain piece of unfinished molding set at an angle and M. Frog seems to like that. What is the purpose of the plants? I'll look into getting them. The tank heater sounds good. I like that it give M. Frog a choice to control his environment. What wattage would be appropriate for a tank that's 30"x12" by 18" tall? The light you suggested....it puts out UVA and UVB. That's good? I thought frogs tended away from sunlight type light. What kind of calcium do we dust the crickets with? Something we get at a health food store? And about the crickets...are they placed in the tank and left to move around on their own? Presently M.Frog is hand held and fed his meal worms. We're new to the frog world, so please excuse so many questions. We still learning.

[Larry Wardog]

Hi, AAron. Thanks for the help! The proposed building plan, now defunct, was to build a tower of sorts on one half of the existing tank. The thought was to place some climbing type object in there for the tree frog. I assume it's called a tree frog for a reason. But, we just have a plain piece of unfinished molding set at an angle and M. Frog seems to like that. What is the purpose of the plants? I'll look into getting them. The tank heater sounds good. I like that it give M. Frog a choice to control his environment. What wattage would be appropriate for a tank that's 30"x12" by 18" tall? The light you suggested....it puts out UVA and UVB. That's good? I thought frogs tended away from sunlight type light. What kind of calcium do we dust the crickets with? Something we get at a health food store? And about the crickets...are they placed in the tank and left to move around on their own? Presently M.Frog is hand held and fed his meal worms. We're new to the frog world, so please excuse so many questions. We still learning.

These frogs like UVB lights so that would be best and you can checkout a local pet store and get some reptile Vitamin with D3 or a calcium with D3. You should get both. I believe Zoo Med makes great calcium and vitamin for frogs. I use it. Just throw in around 5 crickets and let the frog eat them. 5-7 crickets is enough for one feed or the frog can become fat!

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[elly]

The purpose of live plants, if you want them is that in a "living" vivarium setup they help prevent ammonia from building up in the tank so you don't have to change the substrate, maybe ever. The disadvantage of that is if your frog has parasites they can build up in the substrate.

Also plants give frogs places to hide and having plenty of hiding spots can make frogs bolder, less stressed. Artificial plants work too, but they come with some drawbacks, like needing to be cleaned. Also sometimes they have sharp parts that can seriously damage a frog.

[Larry Wardog]

One of the main reasons I use live plants is because they release fresh oxygen into the enclosure which is exclusively to your animals. I actually read somewhere Pothos releases the most oxygen lol that's why I tell people to use it

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[MichielB]

One of the main reasons I use live plants is because they release fresh oxygen into the enclosure which is exclusively to your animals.

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But unless you've got an airtight enclosure the oxygen in the tank will just diffuse into the room and vice versa. I highly doubt the oxygen content in your enclosure will be significantly higher then the surrounding room.

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[Larry Wardog]

But unless you've got an airtight enclosure the oxygen in the tank will just diffuse into the room and vice versa. I highly doubt the oxygen content in your enclosure will be significantly higher then the surrounding room.

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Not as fast as you think! I use plexiglass lids which hold in humidity and also I don't know if there is evidence for this but with a plexiglass lid and a lot of plants that release oxygen would produce a lot for the enclosure. I find it hard to believe it wouldn't be beneficial for the frogs.

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[mrcaptainbob]

I see the heater pad comes in 5watt to 35 watt sizes. Which should I get for this size aquarium? As for heat/humidity (and oxygen...) presently there are two heating pads on top of the screen mesh. That is covered buy a small hand towel to keep in the heat and humidity. Now, this could also keep the interior from fresh air, too. Although she opens it at least once a day for misting purposes. And the Pothos plant....get one that's potted and keep that in there with M. Frog? Or set it down at level with the peat? Also...philodendron satin, or golden, or marble queen devil's ivy? I had no idea of a plant by this name and now I find there are many varieties. Need some guidance on the light wattage, heater wattage and pothos variety. We are sure learning a lot from all the help given here. Thank you so very much!

[elly]

Either of those plants would work. Personally I'd suggest leaving the top open when and if you can for air circulation, but not everyone thinks that's necessary obviously.

I'd put the plants in the peat. Or if you go the potted route, maybe repot them into a pot with peat. That would prevent chemical fertilizer from leaching out or nematodes in the soil from breeding.

Any of those plants would work! You may need to rinse them off very thoroughly before adding to the tank. Removing dirt from the roots and all and maybe quickly rinsing with a water and tiny bit of bleach solution. those species in general are pretty tough.