A little of ADVICE!!! New RETF owner

[King]

I am new to this forum so glad to see all the people out there helping us new people at this....

But Anyways I have two baby Red Eyed Tree Frogs that i got a week ago. The tank I have them in is a 10 gallon tank, with some fake plants and a small water dish. During the day they sleep nice on the glass and their color is green very nice green and white bottoms. But at night when they wake up, and start to move around the color becomes more dark and if a turn the light on too see the color it is reddish with white bottoms. I havent seen anything else on here about it so i was wondering maybe they are sick or something.. Tonight I will take a picture and try to post the picture on here (if I can figure it out).

Also I have recently found the cricket bowl trick, so I ran out to get a good bowl for the tank. I tried it last night and they did not eat any of the crickets in the bowl, I was wondering if there is a good way to introduce them to the bowl.

PLEASE HELP....

[frognerd101]

I have an adult red eyed tree frog that I have been keeping successfully for over a year now.

My one question is if you have the correct lighting for the frogs. If you are keeping them on a regular incandescent light bulb, than their skin color may not be what it should be. I had a blue sided tree frog, one similar to a red eyed, and was keeping him on an incandescent light bulb. During the night, his skin turned a reddish brown color. He is still alive and very healthy, but it is recommended that they have a UVB bulb made for frogs, available at most pet stores. My favorites are those made by exo-terra.

Good luck with your frogs.

[King]

I dont have a night bulb, the tank is completely dark, and have 3 sides covered, because I thought it was the snake light near him doing it. I have a night heat lamp on my snake and its right next to the tank, but its not that. During the day i use a 18 watt florescent bulb for the daylight. So I dont know what to try next.

[frognerd101]

It sounds okay. Also, sometimes if these frogs were recently introduced, they may show signs of stress with skin color, but this will go away as they get used to their environment. As long as they are awake every night and they are eating on a regular basis, they should be fine.

Also, try introducing some live plants in addition to your other decorations. This may minimize stress levels because they feel more comfortable with live plants.

[killerecho]

It is normal for red eyes to change to a different color at night when they're active, usually darker than when they are at rest. So I wouldn't worry about it. Keep using the cricket bowl. Just make sure the crickets are within the width between the frog's eyes. It might take them a little while to adjust to their living space, but they will get used to it eventually. They should learn to use the bowl as well.

[King]

Thank you, I will continue using the cricket bowl... I will also keep the update on them. I hope everything turns out ok for them, just need to get use to the tank i guess.... Thanks again....

[Shanny]

I agree, it is very normal for there color to look different. I have two babies (an inch in size) and at night they are a dark almost red color, during the day they are back to there normal green selves. My adults on the other hand, just turn a very dark green color at night. So maybe the coloring has to do with the age of the frogs.


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.926758,-93.081087

[VooDoo]

Yup, as others have said, this is normal.

I have 3 RETF's, and they're bright green during the day when asleep. But at night, when it's dark, they turn a very dark green color. I believe this helps them blend in more with the dark in the wild, or so I've heard.

[Heatheranne]

Yep, mine too. My babies are a night bright lime green to minty green during the day when sleeping, and they turn a nice dark green at night, sometimes brownish green. I like to joke and say it's their hunting camouflage since they are always this dark color when hunting .

[Heatheranne]

Nice* bright... Oops!