Substrait

[BreedleDee]

I have 3 Green Tree Frogs. When I got them they had a Dirt substrait with Some type of moss over that, as I read more on here about how to care for them I read that they may eat the moss and gain an obstruction and that I needed to use the coconut substrait. So I went and bought that and started over. My question is do I need to put something over the coconut fiber or is that fine? Although it leaves my frogs terribly dirty. LOL Also it looks to me like when they eat they still may eat the coconut stuff also. Is this harmful to them or is it ok? Also since my last post asking about my frogs being brown 2 of them have turned mostly green and the other is on his way also.

[mrzoggs]

since they are getting mouthfulls of the stuff, i would suggest getting some leaf litter. you can buy it from many online vendors and/or some pet stores. you can also collect your own.

also you can bowl feed. it makes things MUCH easier. get a small glass bowl and put the crickets in there. for starters you can put some inside the bowl and outside until they get used to it. once they start eating out of the bowl, you can monitor how much they are eating per night, you wont have dead crickets laying all over the tank, you wont risk the frogs getting a mouthfull of substrate, and im sure there are many more plus sides that im forgetting right now lol.

[DC101]

but would 3 frogs be able to share the 1 dish? Wouldn't one eat them all and leave none for the others?

[mrzoggs]

yeah you can put a couple dishes in there for them. i forget green tree frogs are little pigs :P some people also feed theirs with tweezers. they have nice ones at the pet store. i dont suggest metal because frogs can lunge and hurt themselves.

[DC101]

Yeah, i have 3 and i may try putting 3 little dishes inside my vivarium for them. Does it need to be big so they can sit in it or do they sit around the rim and eat them???

I might just put 1 big one in there... im not sure.

[mrzoggs]

i dont think the size of the bowl matters. with my red eyes they just eat til they are full and leave the rest...the only problem with that is sometimes i put too many in there and i think they see so many that they are scared to jump in. i would try a few small bowls with 2-3 each in there. not postivie on how many greens should be eating a night. im having a problem with my new female being really fat. i dont know if she has eggs in her, is overweight, or is sick. shes a fatty. when shes on the bottom hunting, her stomach is buldging on the ground and out the sides inbetween her legs. im gonna have to get her checked out to make sure shes just fat and not sick lol. i wouldnt mind eggs except i dont have a healthy male. i have a male whos ready BUT he has hookworms

[Pibblet]

That's what I do! I just put a plain glass cereal bowl in there and keep an eye on who's eating and who isn't. Granted, once my bigger guy is done pigging out, I kind of shoo him out of the way so my slower bugger can have a go.

As far as the size, I would say big enough so the crickets won't readily jump out even with the loss of traction. Trial and error

[DC101]

Bumber, hopefully your male gets well soon

Whites can be aggressive eaters and i don't have that much room to fit many bowls. Mine are only 4 months and are eating 2-3 medium sized crickets a night. Im going to cut it down to 1 cricket and 1 roach so they have a variety.

This may be a random question, but is olive oil safe for frogs. I have wood roaches and they can climb out of glass bowls and i put some olive oil around the rim and they can't get out. My only problem is, is that im not sure if its safe.
Any suggestions?

I am currently using tweezers to feed them.

[mrzoggs]

hmm good question. im sure there might be something thats a little safer. maybe try a bigger bowl for the roaches? just curious, do you have your own roach culture or do you buy them? i want to culture roaches so bad...but they are a bit pricier than crickets lol.

[DC101]

I have my own colony thats been going for around...3 weeks. On week 2, i pulled away the FIRST, egg carton and there were babies!!! Heaps of them. I dont touch the ones at the bottom because its hard to get to and i need to buy another box but im sure that i have heaps more. i bought 600 adult sized/medium wood roaches and they are great! Better to get ones that can't climb otherwise you will have the same problem like me

Ive been experimenting with ways to spot the roaches from climbing and olive oil seams to be the most natural and safe way. They can climb glass and I've tried but ill keep you guys posted.

Sorry for going a bit out of subject breedlebee

[BreedleDee]

I have read on other site's that you can also take the frog out and put it in a feeding cage (Large Critter Keeper) to eat so they do not eat the substrait. So I have been trying this for 3 days now and tonight when it was dinner time 2 of them gladly climbed onto my hand one at a time and went onto the Cage and ate 5 crickets quickly and climbed back on my hand to go home. Does anyone see a problem feeding like this? Are 5 crickets to many for my frogs and if so how many should I feed each night? Also this is just a little off subject but is there anyway to tell how old my frogs are?

[DC101]

BreedleDee, it is perfectly fine to feed your frogs like that, i may try it myself. How big are yours and how did you pick them up? i haven't tried to pick mine up yet and may try to today

[flybyferns]

That's what I do! I just put a plain glass cereal bowl in there and keep an eye on who's eating and who isn't. Granted, once my bigger guy is done pigging out, I kind of shoo him out of the way so my slower bugger can have a go.

As far as the size, I would say big enough so the crickets won't readily jump out even with the loss of traction. Trial and error

Pyrex bowls work well.
Yes, add the crickets and hang out to watch.
You want to keep an eye on their feed behaviors, making sure one frog is not eating all the feeders.
Make time, often, to observe things.
I would suggest the pyrex 1.75 quart for Whites (or similar......clear glass)It will not tip!

This is when a 'schedule' will help you, and the frogs.
My red eyes really get very use to the lights 'on/off' .
Their eyes open w/in minutes after the lights go out, then they shed, then they come down to eat.
It's like clock work!

[BreedleDee]

BreedleDee, it is perfectly fine to feed your frogs like that, i may try it myself. How big are yours and how did you pick them up? i haven't tried to pick mine up yet and may try to today

They are not very big! I have 3 and they are all diffrent sizes. Little'en is about 1 1/2 inches long, Mid-Lynn is about 2 inches long and Big'en is about 2 1/4 inchecs long. I just place one and in front of them and one hand behind them and slowly slide my hands together and they lift normally there front feet on to my hand first and then crawl onto my hand while I am moving then when I am actully moving them to the feeding cage i place one hand above them incase they decide to jump. Knock on Wood!! I have never had one try to jump yet.

But this is Day 5 of Feeding like this and I feed 5 crickets everyday and like I stated above 2 of them for 2 nights now gladly climbed on to my hand by themselfs with only me placeing one hand infront of them almost like picking up a bird.

[DC101]

Aw, so cute! I may try like that. Ill have them on my hand and i just hand them the crickets to eat. I just want them to get used to me and whenever they see me they think "FOOD!" and will come to me. Well...thats just what i think will happen after a while of feeding.

When you first tried it, did they jump away?

Thanks!

[BreedleDee]

I have never had one jump away but rather back up that is why I place one hand behind them. I have no idea if theis is the correct way or not but I am scared to actually put my whole hand around them I would hate too squish them. If anyone has a better way of doing it please let me know.

[DC101]

I know what you mean. I don't want to "grab" them either. I feel i may hurt them or as you said, squish them. I think your idea is the best because there is no grabbing involved and won't stress the frog as much.

At what age did you start to pick them up?