Frogs cold, urgent

[kittiekuddles]

This is a tricky time of the year, its not really cold out so my house thermostat hasnt been kicking on too often, it is set to 75 and the house is warm, however the basement is 66 degrees and thats where the frogs tank is
Their enclosure is 70 during the day and im worried about them
I cant figure out how to get them heat the way my tank is set up. i have a glass top but read that i cant put a heat lamp on glass, is that correct?
i do have an unopened undertank mat heater but because the soil is 12" deep i dont think the heat will reach the surface, can i stick the heat mat on the side of the tank instead? will the frogs know to go to it? (the tank is 220 gallons)
Then i thought about clamping the heat lamp onto a chair and aiming it at the front of the tank about 6" from the glass...would that work?

The frogs are cold i can tell, they arent bright green, their like that dark/blue green. they still want to eat, but i notice one was soaking in the water for 24 hours straight before he finally hopped out
They used to hang out high on the branch under the light (400 watts pc lighting) but now only one stays, and hes still bright green, the others dont seem to want to hang out there anymore and thats the warmest spot! I dont know what to do
Humidity is 68%

[Leefrogs]

I would put human heating pads up the back and put blankets over the pads to trap it in. Frogs loose calcium when going hypothermal, so give them extra. The light and chair is a good idea, but may not warm it up enough. I would use what u have to keep heat in. Blankets help allot.

[kittiekuddles]

I would put human heating pads up the back and put blankets over the pads to trap it in. Frogs loose calcium when going hypothermal, so give them extra. The light and chair is a good idea, but may not warm it up enough. I would use what u have to keep heat in. Blankets help allot.

I covered the tank with a blanky, it is now 73
still too cold right?
i was in petco looking at heaters, they had a no light emitting heater bulb, can that go on top of glass?

[Leefrogs]

I think it would crack your glass. If the entire pane of glass can reach a temp it adjusts well. But with such a big tank, I would just call grandma, friends, neighbors and borrow heating pads, the human kind. On low it's 87 degrees.

You're going to spend over 250$? on reptile heat mats.
I would try human heat pads. That tank is sooooo huge...

[kittiekuddles]

I think it would crack your glass. If the entire pane of glass can reach a temp it adjusts well. But with such a big tank, I would just call grandma, friends, neighbors and borrow heating pads, the human kind. On low it's 87 degrees.

You're going to spend over 250$? on reptile heat mats.
I would try human heat pads. That tank is sooooo huge...

grandma lives in Washington lol...i can buy a heating blanket but not sure how heavy they are? if its too heavy it wont stay i think, because on top of the tank is a 6 foot long light, so i would have to keep the blanket away from the light or we will all burn
the undertank pad i have is 24 watts, i can stick that to the side near their cork bark, but i dont know how smart they are, if they would use it or not
ugh i hate this weather! its nice out for us but not for the froggys

[Wormwood]

The real question should be - what kind of tree frogs are they?

66 degrees at night isn't cold for any tree frog, even tropical ones during winter months in the tropics.

If they are a tropical species I'd suggest a small heat pad (sold at any petstore) that sticks to the side of the tank, then cover part of the screen top with a towel or blanket during the colder months. If the tree-frogs hang around the heat pad source, cover more of the top to trap more heat until you notice them moving about the tank again.

A small space heater set up in the basement with the frogs might be another good source of heat. That's assuming it's a smaller room, or one with a low ceiling.

[kittiekuddles]

I went through my basement to see what i had, and i had a space heater, so i have that going about 2 feet from the tank...hopefully this will raise the temp a little bit more

[kittiekuddles]

The real question should be - what kind of tree frogs are they?

66 degrees at night isn't cold for any tree frog, even tropical ones during winter months in the tropics.

Oh my bad lol..their whites tree frogs, i got so frantic i forgot to put that lol
the tank is now 73 at mid level
73 is a bit chilly no? or am i just worrying for nothing?

[Leefrogs]

I would say change in behavior is a reason to worry. Going down to 66 is ok, but it's not good when there's no daytime highs. I didn't suggest a heating blanket-- human heating pads. I would atleast get them some place about 75-85. Even if it's just one side of the tank. Running a space heater will run a couple bucks a day.
No your frogs won't die, but don't have proper temps to digest their food.
And whites will go into a hybernation and be very stressed by it. As a cooling period isused for breeding and that also stresses them

[kittiekuddles]

I would say change in behavior is a reason to worry. Going down to 66 is ok, but it's not good when there's no daytime highs. I didn't suggest a heating blanket-- human heating pads. I would atleast get them some place about 75-85. Even if it's just one side of the tank. Running a space heater will run a couple bucks a day.
No your frogs won't die, but don't have proper temps to digest their food.
And whites will go into a hybernation and be very stressed by it. As a cooling period isused for breeding and that also stresses them

I threw in crickets just now, three frogs are eating with gusto, the one in question, who was soaking for 24 hours, perked up when he saw the crickets but he hasnt left his leaf yet to hunt, i will check back in a half hour to see if he left the spot to hunt.
the tanks been about 77 all winter, but now that its spring the temps changed indoors.
the tank is still 73 right now..i just need to get it up 2 more degrees right? to 75?

just curious, but how would i get a human heating pad to stay on the side of the tank?
i cant put it on top because it would block the light

[Wormwood]

A change of behavior isn't nessacarily a bad thing, any tropical cold blooded animal at 66 degrees would adjust and slow down. Being at 66 degrees constantly for something like a white tree frog will stress them out and slow digestion, but a few days of cooler temps won't kill them or cause any lasting effects.

Aiming for 75-78 degrees sounds about right.

Good luck with the space heater! It worked fine for my toads when they where down in a basement for winter months. I've never used a human heating blanket, I'd check the instruction and warning labels though - I highly doubt they can be turned on 24/7. You might risk a fire. I most certinally wouldn't try to attach it directly to the tank.

[kittiekuddles]

A change of behavior isn't nessacarily a bad thing, any tropical cold blooded animal at 66 degrees would adjust and slow down. Being at 66 degrees constantly for something like a white tree frog will stress them out and slow digestion, but a few days of cooler temps won't kill them or cause any lasting effects.

Aiming for 75-78 degrees sounds about right.

Good luck with the space heater! It worked fine for my toads when they where down in a basement for winter months.

the rooms 66 not their enclosure
this morning their enclosure was 70, it rose to 73 by mid day and its been at that since
so possibly the frog in question might be ill from something else
i will check on him now to see if he ate. his body is clean, no signs of anything, no reddness or sores. my husband said he saw him yawn once..i felt a little concerned when he said that..

[Wormwood]

70-73 is fine, no reason at all to be concerned.

Just because a frog/toad doesn't eat doesn't mean he's sick after a little cold snap, now if he/she doesn't eat for a week or two and starts getting skinny then something is up.

[Leefrogs]

just tape it on the side, wide shipping tape is good. An old heating pad is better than a new one. The old ones don't have an automatic shut off.

[kittiekuddles]

thanks so much, i feel a bit better now
i will keep an eye on the "odd" one...although its kinda hard when they all look alike lol

is their any medicine i can buy over counter? or at a petshop? that i should keep on hand just in case something were to happen?

[Wormwood]

The fact remains that human heat pads are not designed to be left on 24/7 (or anywhere even close). Using them in the manner brings an increased risk of fire. IMHO its not worth the risk to save a few dollars

Use the ones designed for pets that attach to the tank.

[kittiekuddles]

The fact remains that human heat pads are not designed to be left on 24/7 (or anywhere even close). Using them in the manner brings an increased risk of fire. IMHO its not worth the risk to save a few dollars

Use the ones designed for pets that attach to the tank.

which is exactly what i was afraid of
i wasnt about to do this so no worries lol
the space heater got the tank up to 74 now

[Leefrogs]

There's allot of packman people who only use heating pads. That's where I heard of this. On this site. I've had mine running for months. I used it because the other UTH didn't do much at all, 1-2 degrees. And if it drops 50 degrees, I can switch it to medium, gets cold here in wisconsin, and goes from 30 to-20 in six hours.