Hi everyone! Also after some advice with regards red eyed tree frogs..

[ben7ani]

Hi everyone, I'm glad I have found what appears to be a decent community for advice and to share my own experiences. I am completely new to frogs having never kept any before; I have kept reptiles (crested geckos, giant day geckos, a panther chameleon and a royal python) but have never kept amphibians.

I bought a couple of red eyed tree frogs from a fantastic store with some experienced keepers of exotic animals that I know quite well now.

However, it can never hurt for some more advice. I pretty much went on my own experience and research with regards these animals and set up but want some opinions and suggestions on what I have done so far if at all possible?

I have bought two captive bred juvenile red eyed tree frogs, both seem healthy and free from infection from what I can see and come from a reliable breeder; both seem alert (when they weren’t sleeping in the vivarium), bright eyed and free moving when briefly handled (both can jump and crawl no problems).

I have the following:

• 1x exo-terra 30cm(W) x 30cm(D) x 45cm(H) (prepared to expand with age but have heard this is adequate, but obviously the more space the better as with any animal)
• 1x branch that covers the majority of the height and all of the width of the vivarium branching off at various angles.
• 1x artificial plant that covers ¼ of the tank dangling from the background.
• 1x medium sized water dish at the bottom to soak in when required (changed daily).
• 1x 60W moonlight bulb attached to a thermostat currently set to 27°C (this also allows it to come on at night not affecting the day/night cycle and to keep up the ambient air temperature). With it being a moonlight bulb, it will not produce as much heat as a standard 60 watt daylight bulb and appears to be working well (so I am led to believe).
• 1x standard lamp with no UV for daylight hours as I have heard these frogs do not need UV lighting (I will be dusting there crickets with calcium and D3 1x weekly) and standard calcium / minerals every 2-3 feeds whilst babys.
• The bottom of the tank currently consists of orchid bark chips. I am thinking about removing these and putting in paper towel (mainly to help monitor live food intake and faeces while settling in to there new home). However, as I have only just got the frogs I don’t really want to unsettle and stress them out and would rather them settle, so will it be an issue if I keep the orchid bark chips in the vivarium.

I have had my red eyes for 2 days now, and they are amazing animals. I have yet had the opportunity to watch them at night to make sure they are active because I have been working night shifts for the past couple of days. I did shake a tub of very small crickets in the viv on the first night and had a fair few drop off before I left for work around 2030. I then fed them again tonight before leaving for work with calicium/minirals (nutrabol) and D3 as I normally do this on Sundays with my other reptiles that require it. What I have found due to the crickets being very small and my style of set up, is it’s going to be very difficult to monitor what they are actually eating due to the food being able to hide during the day. Does anyone have any tips how to monitor this until I know they are eating then I can just leave them alone.

All this put into account does it seem ok so far?

Humidity seems fine it drops to around 50-60% during the day and I spray at night before bed and it monitors around 80-85% in the morning.

[John]

Welcome to our community! I wouldn't replace the substrate with paper towels - it's just going to be a stressor. However, I don't like orchid bark for frogs larger than dart frogs because I would be afraid of the frogs swallowing some instead of a cricket.

I understand your concern about whether or not they are eating, but you have to decide between letting them settle in or moving them in a simple terrarium so you can count crickets.

My last comment is about the humidity. I don't like the huge fluctuations. You want to set things up so the humidity doesn't change much in a 24 hour period.

[ben7ani]

Set up has changed.. for the better i believe.. new editions in bold

• 1x exo-terra 30cm(W) x 30cm(D) x 45cm(H) (prepared to expand with age but have heard this is adequate, but obviously the more space the better as with any animal)
• 1x branch that covers the majority of the height and all of the width of the vivarium branching off at various angles.
• 1x small exo terra vine for more climbing space
• 1x artificial plant that covers ¼ of the tank dangling from the background.
• 1x medium sized water dish at the bottom to soak in when required (changed daily).
• 1x 25W exo terra sun glo bulb (is this ok for growing plants)
• 1x heat mat on the side of the vivarium attached to a thermostat currently set to 24°C. The temperature gradient is approx 25-28°C during the day, which obviously varies accross the tank (due to the 25w sun glo bulb being on) and 19-23°C at night with the heat mat on.
• The bottom of the tank currently consists of orchid bark chips. I am thinking about removing these and putting in paper towel (mainly to help monitor live food intake and faeces while settling in to there new home). However, as I have only just got the frogs I don’t really want to unsettle and stress them out and would rather them settle, so will it be an issue if I keep the orchid bark chips in the vivarium.

[ViperJr]

More climbing space is always an improvement. Without seing any pictures of it, I would say that you need even more of it, for both climbing and hiding purposes. Generally, the more hidden they feel, the more active they'll be and the more you'll see them.
And I second John's opinion about the orchid bark, however I would wait a while before changing it. And make sure to do it when they're fast asleep.