getting ready for new wft, advice please

[lraulston]

OKay guys, I am working on the planning for my new wtf. I am going this weekend to get a terrarium from CL. It is a 18''x18"x24". I am going to pick up some eco earth for substrate, find some nice decor and water dish and clamp lamp for my new little guy. Buy all the necessary stuff like spray bottle, thermometer, hydrometer etc. I will get everything set up and make sure I know what the temps and humitity is during the day and at night before I get my frog. I don't want to rush anything, I want to make sure I have a happy healthy frog for years to come, so I really want to do this right. Jugs of spring water for his water right? So please if you have any suggestions or see any problems let me know. I do have a question about treating for chyrtid. So I do not have to sanitize his whole tank each day of the 10 day treatment, should I put him in a smaller tank or one of those plastic critter keepers with wet paper towels in the bottom? Would doing that stress out a newly bought frog? I know I will just want to put him in his new habitat and let him climb and enjoy, but what is the best thing to do when I get him?

[tylototriton]

It sounds like you're off to a good start. In my opinion, and this is just my opinion, and it may not be shared by other people on the board, you do not have to treat for Chytrid. Heres my reasoning. 1st, those frogs are captive bred, and although that certainly does not exempt them from Chytrid (it was first discovered in captive frogs) I would doubt that it is infected. 2nd, you don't have a large collection nor are you introducing this frog to any other frogs, so there is no risk of it infecting others. Those two facts in conjunction with the fact that treatment carries its own risks and can stress out a frog further would lead me to advise against treating it. Thats just my two cents, and i'm sure others will have differing opinions. In the end its up to you.

Best of Luck,
Alex

[lraulston]

thank you Alex. I am a little afraid of stressing a new frog out. If there are symptoms, I could always treat later correct?

[tylototriton]

Yes, you can typically treat later. I have never had a problem with Chytrid in my animals (knock on wood). Kurt might have some insight, I believe he has some in his collection. (?)

Alex

[Kurt]

Once the symptoms of chytridiomycosis show up, it is usually to late. It is also very expensive to treat. I paid $40 for itraconazole which had a shelf life of just two weeks. The animal in question, a Salamandra salamandra, died with just few days of the first treatment. Now the big $50 question is how the heck did it get it in the first place. The salamander had been in the collection for well over a year, almost two. This thought scares me a lot and keeps me up at night sometimes.



I attended a lecture today by Kerry Kriger Ph.D. on the amphibian extinction crisis. He said you can raise the temperature on your frog to 28 Celsius for 16 hours. I always thought the period was three days. So do the research before doing anything like this as this approach can stress an amphibian out.



Ok that being said, if you are purchasing an "Australian" White's treefrog, chances are its captive bred and not likely to be carrying chytrid. Avoid buying large specimens, as they are likely to be wild caught "Indonesians". Of course, with wild caught animals, my first concern is gastrointestinal parasites such as protozoa and worms. Chytrid would be secondary and would have to be tested for, which will cost you $20.

[lraulston]

Kurt, thank you so much for your reply. I will get my setup all ready and have a 10 gal QT tank and decide what to do from there when I pick out my frog. Thank you so much for your help.