Squirrel Tree Frog Questions-Help Needed Desperately

[Froggiemom]

Hello,
Well I found out that I have squirrel tree froglets, right now I have 12 of them..more coming they are morphing quite quickly now. So exciting!
These were raised from teeny tadpoles that I rescued out of my horses water trough. (it was about to be washed out)
Well I read all about how to care for the Gray tree frog which was recommended to me. The only thing now is I do not have anything local to me that sells fruit flies or pinheads. The cost of shipping on the ones online is outrageous. So I am wondering if I can go out and find some stuff to feed them. I live in the country on a large farm and we have LOTS of bugs! lol I read that some people feed red worms, do I like cut them up or something since they are so big? Do I use tweezers or something to feed them to the frogs?

I was planning on releasing the them, but I am scared to as it gets below 30 degrees here now at night. I don't want to kill them with the shock of leaving a nice warm aquarium to the brutal cold. They are in a 35 gallon aquarium with lots of rocks, real tree branches and shallow water in the bottom since I still have tadpoles that should be morphing soon and some in the mid stages.

I did manage to catch some gnats and put them in there but most are still flying around. Do they eat those? The crickets we have around here are the huge black ones, which are way too big for them to eat.

Oh and when will they start singing or chirping?

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. As you can tell I am a newbie I haven't ever raised frogs and know just about enough to be dangerous

Thanks again for your help.

[Kurt]

Is there a Petco nearby? They sell fruit flies. Here is the store locater page - http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_s...tor_Nav_2.aspx Some pet stores sell very small crickets. Reptile shows generally have vendors that sell a variety of feeder insects. Here is one I found - Georgia Reptile Expo Dec. 5-6
North Atlanta Trade Center, 1700 Jeurgens Court Norcross, GA
Info: Mark and Stephanie Patternson, gaherpsociety@bellsouth.net

[Kurt]

Oh and when will they start singing or chirping?

My best guess is it won't be for at least a year.

[Froggiemom]

Hi,
There isn't a petco around me for 70 miles. I live in the sticks lol
Are there any other options for feeding what I can find outside?

I would love to attend the expo! That is good info thank you I had no idea.

[Kurt]

Mealworms, bean weevils, and fruit flies are easy to culture, so once you get your hands on some you should be able to produce your own. With winter coming, field collecting of insects will be difficult at best.
My best advise is to bite the bullet and order what you need on-line. For fruit fly cultures, medium, and other supplies Black Jungle and Josh's Frogs are great places to start. I especially like Josh's fruit fly medium. I also find Drosophila hydei to be the tougher, hardier fruit fly.

[Froggiemom]

So the cultures are just the eggs that will eventually hatch? Do I need anything special to raise my own fruit flies or mini mealworms?

[Froggiemom]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I found some termites on an old piece of wood on my farm. I put some in the tank on a rock and they when crazy over them!! It was so cool seeing them going in for the kill
I am glad I came across these things, I tried little earth worms, but they had no interest in those. So for now it is termites. Thanks for the help

[Tropicok]

My zoo supervisor puts out pieces of cardboard, sprayed with water, around the base of a barn or shed and soon there are plenty of termites under the pieces. By placing the cardboard he always knows where a supply will be.

[Kurt]

Fruit fly cultures come with flies already in them. They will have laid their eggs in the medium found at the bottom of the culture. So the culture will continue to produce flies till it burns out. At that point you can buy another culture or make one your yourself.
To make a culture you will need some medium mix (available through Josh's Frogs), containers (that can also be purchased from Josh or Black Jungle), and some excelsior. You mix the medium up with some boiled, distilled water, place it in the container, and wait for it to cool. Once cooled, you sprinkle on some yeast, place some excelsior in the container (it will serve as a place for the flies to climb on so they don't get stuck in the medium or crush each other), and then place in some flies from your old culture. Depending on which fruit fly species you are using, it can take from 7 to 16 days to see some new flies. You will know they are coming when you start to see pupa all over the side of the culture.

[Froggiemom]

WOW thanks for the information! I will definitely be trying the cardboard thing I have plenty of it and plenty of barns! I have to say walking around picking up fallen trees and wood looks a bit odd plus if something weird jumps out at my I just may have a heart attack! lol

I will also get some fruit flies. Thanks for the info about the cultures, seems like that is the way to go with them. So I can make or raise my own. Doesn't seem too difficult.

Thanks again you guys are great!

[Kurt]

The difficult part about raising fruit flies is the timing. You have to know when to start a new culture so you into any periods of famine. If you do it to soon you will be up to your eyes in fruit flies. (Hey that rhymes ) It may take you some time and experience to get it just right.