New frog mum - help ease my anxiety!

[rosequoll]

Okay guys, new frog mum and super excited, but I'm prone to worrying (understatement of the century!) so as I have no one local keeping frogs that I can bounce my worries off of, I'm posting here.

1. Everything I read online for White's and Magnificents seems to be saying that humidity should be around 50-60%, but when I checkthe recent weather for Broome (where these guys are found the AVERAGE has been 68% and it was 91% humidity today. The issue here is that in Brisbane right now we're running at about 80-90% humidity so there is no actual way to keep it LOWER. Should I just assume that the standard fluctuations will be fine as long as the humidity doesn't go too low?

2. Fed the new guys for the first time today. I have 6 little ones in an ExoTerra 18x18x24 tall with hydoballs and spagnum moss over the top. Two questions here:
-I'm feeding them using a cricket bowl so I know that they are eating. I watched 4 of the 6 eat (at least one, the fattest baby ate 4 in quick succession) but two haven't even looked at the bowl. Should I worry, or is there nothing I can do and just keep an eye on their condition? I'm leaving the cricket bowl in overnight and will take it out in the morning.
-With the spagnum moss, is there anything I can do to keep from having them get little bit of moss on them? It's not that bad and they seem to brush off most of it, but I worry that it might bother or hurt them.

3. One of the little guys has a gimpy leg (just realised it today, I didn't bother the yesterday other than to take some photos, and he wasn't walking around then so only noticed tonight after work). It doesn't look injured, no bruising or anything noticable. When he stands it looks a bit like the front right foot is twisted inwards a bit. Is he just 'special' or should I be worried? This first meal wasn't dusted with any calcium but the next meal will be.

He seems to get around okay, a bit slower than the others and his climbing isn't that good, but he doesn't seem in pain or anything like that. I've attached a picture. He's the one stretching on the leaf. He's small but not too skinny, and as you can see one foot (left) sits normal and the other folds in towards his chest. He does not stretch this leg forward at all. Again, I see no sign of injury or pain, just that the leg is not quite useful. =(

[rosequoll]

Just to add, since I don't want to clog things up by starting another thread. Came home after work today. Two crickets left! So someone (all of them?) have been eating like little piggies.

Went to put the two back in the tub and give them some fresh gutloaded crickets and ANTS have attacked and killed my entire box of crickets. Now I'm freaking out about ants getting into the tank. Unfortunately with where I live, how wet it's been lately there's no way to prevent ants from getting into the house (these are tiny little black ants, they do bite, but not horribly) but I'm super worried about ants hurting the frogs.

Are there any ant killers/traps/etc that wont hurt the frogs? I wont put anything IN the tank, but I don't want to put anything in the same room or around them that could be risky.

Thanks!

[toxxxickitten]

Caresheets are provided to give you an idea of how to keep a certain species. Of course, variations of the care sheet for you to go off of is completely up to you. White's Tree Frogs are recommended to be kept at about 50-70% humidity. As long as the humidity doesn't get too low then your froggies will be just fine. Since you have moss as a substrate then the cricket bowl is excellent to keep the White's from ingesting the moss. Being relatively new to your set up it may take some longer then others to locate where the food is. You also want to make sure you're putting enough crickets in for everyone as some may eat more then others. Them getting moss stuck to them isn't anything to worry about. As you have seen they will wipe it off themselves. I'm not sure what to tell you about the frog with the gimpy leg. I would think that if he eats/soaks/poops fine then it isn't anything to worry about.

As far as the ants go...I would put down traps to catch them near your cricket bins. You can also sprinkle baking soda around the bin (if you keep it on a table or something?) to deter the ants from getting into the bin. Baking soda is toxic to ants.

[rosequoll]

Caresheets are provided to give you an idea of how to keep a certain species. Of course, variations of the care sheet for you to go off of is completely up to you. White's Tree Frogs are recommended to be kept at about 50-70% humidity. As long as the humidity doesn't get too low then your froggies will be just fine. Since you have moss as a substrate then the cricket bowl is excellent to keep the White's from ingesting the moss. Being relatively new to your set up it may take some longer then others to locate where the food is. You also want to make sure you're putting enough crickets in for everyone as some may eat more then others. Them getting moss stuck to them isn't anything to worry about. As you have seen they will wipe it off themselves. I'm not sure what to tell you about the frog with the gimpy leg. I would think that if he eats/soaks/poops fine then it isn't anything to worry about.

As far as the ants go...I would put down traps to catch them near your cricket bins. You can also sprinkle baking soda around the bin (if you keep it on a table or something?) to deter the ants from getting into the bin. Baking soda is toxic to ants.

Thanks for the help. While I know the care sheets are there and written by people with experience, I'm getting annoyed at the natural humidity here for not fitting into what I'm trying to replicate for the little guys.

Heading off to get more crickets today and I'll try the baking soda trick. Might also get a shallow litter tray and create a 'moat' to help with the situation. I do need to get some non toxic (to me, cats and frogs) ant traps soon. Ants are horrible this time of year and it's driving me nuts.

I think with the little guy, if he continues to be far slower than the others I'll move him and one of the other little guys into a separate tank so they can work on catching up to the bigger babies without too much stress.

[Nano]

Hi Rose!

You have some pretty nice photos there, I love them! I'm pretty sure you could easily win many photo of the month contests that are held here in the forums.

I have 6 frogs that look exactly like yours, but I have been told that they are Litoria Caerulea (Green Tree Frogs). I know they are very similar so maybe they start differentiating as they grow...

I think the weather up here is pretty good for them, maybe Brissy gets a tiny bit colder than where I am, but I wouldn't worry about humidity being too high.

I was worried about all of them being fed properly at the beginning but then I learned that they are quicker to eat and some others a bit more lazy. I usually check them the morning after to see if they look full. They can be days without eating so if they don't eat today, they will be a bit more interested in the next feed.

I just keep an eye on them to see that none are skinny, if I find one that I think is not eating properly, I feed it separately. But in general I try not to be overly concerned as they have their own character and eat differently.

I also have sphagnum moss. I think that if it is very moist it sticks less. I haven't been very successful in getting it to get green though. I kept some outside in the backyard in a shade/sunny area and that one is getting green now

When I give them crickets, I put tem in the tank and leave them to wander off. I like seeing them chase the crickets and I think it's also good as they all have more chances of catching one.

Regarding calcium, I just bought this Calcium Sandoz Syrup , it's much easier than the powder to administer.

Hope this helps

[rosequoll]

Thanks! I saw Tiny Tim (cause he has a gimpy leg!) eat today. Had to pick him up and put him IN the cricket bowl, but he grabbed the biggest cricket, swallowed it down and then crawled off for a nap. I'm quite fond of him, so as long as he keeps eating hopefully he'll grow okay and learn to jump around a bit better.

The magnificents and greens look very similiar when they're babies, I find that from research (and someone I know with large adults of each) the mags just get...fatter looking on the top of the head, slight different in colour when big, but that depends on the individual as well.

Thanks for the help though, I guess I just need reassurances that it's all okay. =)