Found a tree frog in grocery cabbage, not sure how to help

[toxxxickitten]

It looks like a Green Tree Frog to me too. They are a very hardy species and easy to care for.

[ak737]

Here is another picture from a different angle. My phone really sucks at small pictures. Trying to catch flies but they keep dying before I can get them in the aquarium and I don't know if they're small enough for him/her to eat anyway. Hoping to catch fruit flies at work. I'm wondering what else I should be doing to help it out. His back left leg seems to be broken but the other three seem to work and he can lift his head and turn his body, but he hasn't moved anywhere. Should I set him in the shallow dish to drink and maybe cleanse any toxins from the cabbage farm or is a spritzing enough. If I do move him are nitrile gloves safe/useful to protect him from anything I may have gotten on my hands? Is moving him a bad idea because of stress? Any advice on helping an injured tree frog or catching him a meal would be helpful. Thanks.

[InfinitysDaughter]

If the black things on the leaf in that pic are the flies then ya, there a bit too big and he probably wont go for them. Its possible that the leg isn't working because hes still malnourished/cold. As for catching flies, you can try a small amount of honey or thick sugar water in a dish. Keep a good eye on it, though, because when you catch them you want to get them out of the "trap" and into another dry container before they suffocate/drown. Offer them to the frog with tweezers or small tongs if he wont move to catch them himself.

You can put him in a small very shallow dish of water. He is probably dehydrated from his journey. You can also try a pedialite bath as well if you can find UNFLAVORED pedialite. 10 parts water to 1 part pedialite. This will help him regain some electrolytes hes undoubtedly lost from the trip. The bath should be warm but not hot. Make sure its in a bowl that he cant hop out of and let him soak for 15-20 min and make sure to try and keep the water warm while he soaks (keep the dish under a warming lamp or something similar).

As long as you wash your hands with soap and water (make sure to get all the soap off) before you handle him its ok as long as you dont handle him for prolonged periods of time (wash your hands after too). I dont know about the gloves. My first instinct is yes its ok but I'm not 100% on that...

[ak737]

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm going out with a fly trap and possibly a shovel (worms). Tomorrow I should be able to get to a store before it closes to get the rest of what I need. Hopefully he can make a full recovery. I'll keep you posted.

[InfinitysDaughter]

I'm not too sure if tree frogs will eat worms. I could be wrong but thats what the girls at work told me and makes sense since they are arboreal. But if s/he will eat it I'm sure its better then nothing.

Good luck and totally keep us posted!

[UncleChester]

Tree frogs will generally try to eat anything that 1) moves and 2) fits down their gob. Earthworms are a nutritionally fantastic food. Be sure to collect them from a chemical free area and clean any debris off them. Some worms secrete foul tasting substance (not harmful, just bad tasting) which can put of some frogs. 1 of my grays generally refuses them, the other 2 consume them readily. My American Green Treefrog will destroy them on sight like he is on a personal crusade to rid the world of worms. You can chop them up into smaller sized chunks if you can only find big ones, they'll still wriggle.

Anytime I've recently handled nasty chemicals (sunscreen, gas, oil, whatever) and need to handle a frog the powder free nitrile gloves come out. You can lightly rinse them with your spring water before handling. I won't bother with the gloves if I haven't recently handled any chemicals, but still wash and rinse very thoroughly. That said, it's best to avoid handling as much as possible, especially a sick or injured little dude.

You might want to give Frog Forum - Gray Tree Frog Care and Breeding a read. The care is pretty much the same for Grays and American Greens (assuming that's what you have).

Also, big kudos for rescuing this little frog. No matter the outcome, it's terrific that in it's foolhardy attempt to see the world it landed in the hands of a caring individual.

[InfinitysDaughter]

Tree frogs will generally try to eat anything that 1) moves and 2) fits down their gob. Earthworms are a nutritionally fantastic food. Be sure to collect them from a chemical free area and clean any debris off them. Some worms secrete foul tasting substance (not harmful, just bad tasting) which can put of some frogs. 1 of my grays generally refuses them, the other 2 consume them readily. My American Green Treefrog will destroy them on sight like he is on a personal crusade to rid the world of worms. You can chop them up into smaller sized chunks if you can only find big ones, they'll still wriggle.

Damn. Should have kept those red wigglers I had for my pac. >.< Oh well. Live and learn. Thanks for that clarification, though. If I can find a place that hasn't been treated with fertilizer or other chemicals I might see if Percy will like them. Do you have to feed with tongs or will putting the bits of worm in a small dish in the tank be ok? (see "percys 'day' out" for an example of what happens if the door to her tank is open for too long)

And I'm not hijacking a thread! Its a valid question for ak737 too! >w>