Help, Whistling tree frog Sick?

[Ebony]

Oh...sooo...cute.

I forgot to answer a previous question sorry...Yes my whistlers are permanently out side. They were my first frogs and i just assumed they live out side so that's how it started. I have to be careful when it rains though. I let a certain amount of rain water in but gotta watch for flooding. They naturally go into hibernation so it works well. My adult Southerns are outside as well.
Here's Mork and Mindys home.

[jtay]

Wow that looks awesome, your frogs look so happy and healthy! How old are they?
I'm not sure about this hibernation thing... What exactly happens? Are they still active just not as much and eat less? Cant say I really noticed mine hibernating but then again they were my first frogs...
I would love to have permanent outside enclosures but I live in an apartment which means not much of a garden. One day when I move I will set one up

[Ebony]

They are a year old, They Morphed last spring. When my outdoor frogs Hibernate I throw in some Native leave in Autumn in the Tank and Frogery and then leave them to it. My Whistlers old tanks are in a spot that would protect them from frosts and My out door froggery has a roof over half of it and is under a large tree. I think the frogs go down the middle of the Punga's as well as other hidy places. They burrow down or climb into something. I only have my breeders outside.

[Ebony]

Your frogs are fine inside. Better inside actually. Mork & Mindy are inside. Green & Golden's are definitely better in the South island inside as the whether is too harsh for them here. But whistlers and Southern live naturally here in Christchurch so they are fine.

[frog boy]

Hi jess

I am sorry to hear your frog has dieded. I have had the same problem twice. Once with a southern bell who dieded because i didnt know how to help him second with a whistler. he would do the same as you discribed. she is now fully grown and very active. when this happened to me again i didnt want the loss of another frog. eventurly i found out it can be lack of vitamin D3 which frogs and humans get from the sun. since they are nocturnal they dont get much sun. so i brought some calcium power with vitamin D3 in it and my frog has been happy ever since

[jtay]

Hi Frog Boy, Thank you and sorry for your losses too.
Yes D3 and or calcium issues could have been the cause, I did have and use calcium powder though. Considering I only had the frog for 2 weeks before it died I think that maybe the care it received at the pet shop was inadequate - perhaps they did not dust the food?
The frog was about 2 months old - I'm not sure mbd would have presented itself that early?.
Anyway, thanks for the advice , and I'm glad to hear your Whistler is going well.

[Kurt]

Actually, humans produce vitamin D2. I only know this, because before I did my lecture today, I sat in on another lecture, on veterinary medicine.

[Hellie1]

My little Whistler is currently sick, sounds exactly like what was being described here - legs stretched out, twitching, lethargy & falling over when he tried to jump. I am intrigued about the calcium powder mentioned though, please tell me more!. I have found that whistlers are very hard to keep alive, I raised these from tadpoles myself & they've been with me a few years but I'd had many failures before that. I would love if someone in New Zealand who is a breeder could put me onto where I can get some more, I've just bought a bigger terrarium & now I just have the one lonesome little guy living in it. After I'd finally managed to source some new natural mosses too (and no, he was sick before they moved terrariums). Look forward to some feedback.

[jtay]

Hi Hellie1,

Welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear your whistler is sick - unfortunately I never found out what was wrong with mine.
I have had a hard time with whistlers too - I put it down to bad stock from the shop I sourced them from, but maybe they are just difficult little frogs?
One of the issues I had was the humidity in the terrarium being too low I think. I had a tall tank with only a small body of water - since they tend to drown. Solution to that I have found is to use coco fiber as a substrate as it retains moisture and keeps the humidity up.
Calcium and vitamin supplements are important to include in your frogs diet as the feeder insects we generally use lack all the important components. The one to use is calcium with D3. This can be purchased from most pet stores with a reptile section (it is generally marketed for reptiles) or off trade me. To use it just dust the feeder insects with it before feeding to the frog - do this maybe once a week, and/or dust over the feeder insects food.
By supplementing your frogs diet you can help avoid issues like metabolic bone disease.
As for your frog - taking it to a vet is the only thing I can suggest.
Hope that helps.

[Ebony]

Hi there Hellie1..Welcome to the forum. Im sorry your frog is sick. As Jess has suggested I would take it to the vet. I also recommend the Calcium and vitamin supplements.
I breed Whistlers and will have some available soon. Please feel free to check out my albums. There will be a care article on these frogs soon.

[Hellie1]

Thanks for all the replies, guys, although I think little Guru is beyond help now I am a little confused about this calcium powder though. Mine are usually fed houseflies, which arrive as maggots usually, then they pupate & eventually hatch, to escape through a hole I cut in the top of the pot. How exactly does one hog-tie a fly to sprinkle it with powder lol? Do I sprinkle the powder on the medium in the pot before they hatch out so they walk through it when they hatch?

[Ebony]

Hellie, Im so sorry about little Guru.

I know your dilemma with the dusting, very tricky. I usually dust my Locusts..easier. One way I can think of is once the flies have hatched, put them in the fridge until they slow down enough to get them out and put them in a bag with the powder. Shake them about until they are coated, then feed them out. Dusting crickets is easier too.

[jtay]

Do I sprinkle the powder on the medium in the pot before they hatch out so they walk through it when they hatch?

That's what I do I also put a slice of apple sprinkled with calcium powder in the container too. Ebony's way of putting them to sleep works well, I have done that with the flies I catch using a fly catcher.

I am sorry about Guru

[lordoftheflies]

its chytrid fungus the one that ive seen kill every single ewingii metamorph that i had from a pond in chch, and also some bells except a few more resistant ones i had from another pond, read up on the symptoms of chytrid, its where they came from