A new tree frog

[furcat]

Hi all .......... sorry it took me awhile to respond. I love the video! It is definitely funny. And, I do have FROG POOP! I found some! So, a video making fun of poop is appropriate when a grown person gets excited about frog poop!

I also saw my frog eat a fruit fly yesterday. That was exciting too! The first batch of flies I got were sorta on their way out, but the store near me didn't have more and were waiting on a shipment. I never saw whether he ate them or not. I got two fresh vials of flies yesterday, and I introduced a few of them into the bowl, and my frog started stalking them. I was able to watch him catch one and eat it.

As soon as I can I am going to give him a new "pad."

Is there any way at this point to tell if my frog is a male or female?

[Kurt]

Not really, its just too young.

[furcat]

I have another question. I am out of fruit flies, and all of the pet stores around me are out as well. The little vial I bought with fruit flies that was supposed to produce more flies didn't do that at all, and I've gotten 4 of them at this point.

But, I can buy crickets. I bought the smallest ones they have, and the batches I got contain some that are in the range of 1/4".

Will this be adequate for a tree from this small? Or, do I need to start figuring out another way to get fruit flies?

Thanks guys.

[Kurt]

I produce my own. Its easy. Below is a recipe I found on-line. I have tried it but half of the cultures molded up and died. What the recipe needs is a mold inhibitor. Josh's Frogs sells this as well as their own fruit fly medium, which I swear by.

Harvey Peterson Medium

1/2 cup Warm Water
1/2 tbs. White Sugar
1 tbs. Powdered Milk
4-6 tbs. Instant Mashed Potatoes
5-15 granules Baker’s Yeast

In a 24 or 32 oz. deli container or insect cup, dissolve sugar in warm water. Add powdered milk and stir well. Add mashed potatoes (the exact amount required will vary with the humidity level and ventilation of the cultures). Swirl the container in your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients, then let sit for a few minutes to solidify. Add yeast on top, then introduce fruit flies.
Alternatively, mix all dry ingredients together, then make up culture medium using equal amounts of mix and water

[furcat]

I have a bunch of fruit flies on the way from Josh's Frogs --- hopefully they won't be frozen when they get here. Then hopefully I can start culturing a better supply.

Which has brought more questions from me. I read some of the articles on this site about tree frogs, and was surprised to learn that one of them can live up to 20 years? That's amazing. Does anyone have an idea of how long an American Green tree frog could live? I am also curious about what they do during a Kansas winter, as I know I have seen individual frogs for successive years. Some of them even have favorite spots where I can usually find them in the spring and summer. I have been curious about this for a long time. One year we had a black trash can, and I found several of them decided to winter in there, and we left it alone for the entire winter, but next year they were not there.

Also, how often does the frog need to eat? I am tossing in small crickets since I have been unable to find fruit flies, but I am worried my frog isn't eating enough. But, hopefully the flies will be here tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for being so willing to help me learn how to take care of my little frog.

[Kurt]

I throw in enough fruit flies to keep my frogs busy for a day or two. When they go through that, I throw in more, so there is always food for them. Hyla cinerea can live to six year or more. I don't know where they go to in winter, but certainly isn't Kansas. Their range does not include the Sunflower State. The gray treefrog, however, does make its home in eastern Kansas.

[furcat]

Well, I guess I must have a gray tree frog, then. It is just such a deep color of green right now. It probably will change color later on. I did some more reading, and some of the text I read said they can be green in the beginning and change color later.

I am still curious about what the frogs do over winter. Since, right now in Kansas, it is about 0 degrees F.

Thank you for your reply.

[Kurt]

Gray treefrogs freeze and then thaw out come spring. If you ever catch Animal Planet's "The Most Extreme", they had an episode entitled "The Most Laziest" (I think) in which they show this. The only other frog I know that can do this is the wood frog, Lithobates sylvaticus, but I am sure there are others that I am just not aware of.

[furcat]

Oh, how absolutely cool! A friend of mine, who lives on the east coast, told me that there were a bunch of tadpoles that froze in a little garden pond she had last year, and she felt really bad about it until next spring when the water thawed, and they started swimming around again!

Nature is truly amazing. It makes my little frog all the more special. I got the flies from Josh's Frogs today, and there are a bunch of them in the container. I should not have a fly problem from now on (unless I find one on my food in the kitchen lol).

[Kurt]

You got media, excelsior, and containers to keep them going, right?