Tomato frogs update, watch them grow.

[Pluke]

I'm just giving an update on my Tomatos that I got back in August. When I got them they were about the size of a nickel. Here's some pictures of when I got them..



And here are some pictures that I took today when I was spot cleaning their tank.The last two pictures are of their setup, fake plants and some real driftwood I got from Lake Superior.



They are doing really good and eat a lot... they probably go through 20 crickets a night give or take. I don't feed them every night anymore, but when I do they feast. They'll eat whenever I put food in there tank but I don't want to over feed them so I'm starting to slow down. I'm trying to get them started on nightcrawler chunks but they aren't to keen to them yet. They will lick at them once or twice then just give up. They'll normally take whatever I put in front of them with the tongs, but I rarely tong feed them.. only if I'm trying to get them to eat a worm or a roach or I'm just trying to interact with them more. They don't seem to mind the tong at first, but if they fail to grab the food after a couple tries they seem to get defensive and take their defense stance.. which is basically just flexing and bloating up, it's pretty funny. In the pictures you'll probably notice that one of their heads is a little lighter than the rest of their body.. I notice this happens sometimes when they are buried and their head is barely sticking out.. not sure why they do this. It usually goes back to normal when they come out for the night. In the third to last picture, she is clearly waiting for me to feed them.. but going to have to wait until tonight.

Anyways enjoy, I plan to show growth pics every 2 months or so.

[Pluke]

I should have waited just a little longer to take all the pictures I did.. later in the day they were posing for me. I had one actually climb to the top of the driftwood and was just sitting there in the perfect position. I didn't feel like getting the camera out, even if I did, it would have moved, heh. They say these frogs are semi-arboreal and now I know it's true, I've never actually seen them climbing it until yesterday.

[ejh805]

They're very pretty
If you don't mind my asking, where did you get them from?

[Pluke]

I bought them at the reptile show in Taylor, MI.

[GrifTheGreat]

They're looking good Pluke!!

[emandkel]

They are doing really good and eat a lot... they probably go through 20 crickets a night give or take. I don't feed them every night anymore, but when I do they feast. They'll eat whenever I put food in there tank but I don't want to over feed them so I'm starting to slow down. I'm trying to get them started on nightcrawler chunks but they aren't to keen to them yet. They will lick at them once or twice then just give up. They'll normally take whatever I put in front of them with the tongs, but I rarely tong feed them.. only if I'm trying to get them to eat a worm or a roach or I'm just trying to interact with them more. They don't seem to mind the tong at first, but if they fail to grab the food after a couple tries they seem to get defensive and take their defense stance.. which is basically just flexing and bloating up, it's pretty funny. In the pictures you'll probably notice that one of their heads is a little lighter than the rest of their body.. I notice this happens sometimes when they are buried and their head is barely sticking out.. not sure why they do this. It usually goes back to normal when they come out for the night. In the third to last picture, she is clearly waiting for me to feed them.. but going to have to wait until tonight.

Anyways enjoy, I plan to show growth pics every 2 months or so.

Great pics. As far as feeding worms, try dragging the worm slowly away from them. Or, just dropping a wriggly piece of worm in front of them. That is what works with my tomato frogs. But you are right, after a few times they give up.

[Pluke]

Yeah.. they don't hesitate to strike at the worms when I wiggle them in front of them with tongs, they just never seem to get a hold of them. They take roaches, crickets and hornworms with no problem from tongs.. I think it's just because the nightcrawler chunks are a little slimy that they have trouble with it. I'll give it another try when they are a little bigger, in the mean time they'll have crickets and small dubias even though I hate using them because they burrow almost immediately if they aren't taken from tongs.. -_-

Thanks for the comments guys.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

very cool pluke, i was never interested in tomato frogs but you have me second guessing

[Pluke]

I like them a lot. They are really fun to feed / watch eat. I'd almost prefer to watch them eat instead my pacmans.. probably because they are just more active and feisty about it. They never refuse food.

They just started calling recently too which is really cool, it surprised me considering their size. I didn't expect them to start calling until they were nearing 2" but they are already. They tend to make a bit of noise when you disturb them too. They don't like being touched at all and are super defensive at first, but they settle down pretty quick once they know you aren't going to harm them.

[danhm87]

Nao i want some tomato frogs... what size enclosure do you need to put them in for an adult?

[Pluke]

Nao i want some tomato frogs... what size enclosure do you need to put them in for an adult?

These three are kept in a 20 gallon long tank. I might upgrade them to a 40 gal once they're adults.. if I do this I might add a few more tomato frogs as well. They actually like climbing the wood thats in their enclosure too so if you get some give them some easy to climb stuff. The plants are fake.. though I may use real ones in a large tank.

[Pluke]

Just giving a little update.. these guys are really vocal. Sometimes I will walk into my room and if I'm humming/singing or something they'll start croaking, lol. They're probably telling me "SILENCE!!!" I have a feeling I've got three males since they are all the exact same size and growing at the same rate, we'll see. I really hope one of them is a female but if not, oh well. They're still great nonetheless.

[emandkel]

On feeding worms ... have you tried drying them off first? I wash my worms off then put them on a paper towel and fold it over the worm to gently dry it. It gets off the mucus. Just thought I would suggest that. My tomato frogs have more success getting them when they are drier.

[Pluke]

Yeah, that's exactly what I do too. I haven't even tried offering them nightcrawlers in a while. They are a little bigger now, but still not sure if they'd take them. I'll give them another try here shortly, I'll make sure the worms are extra dry and I'll wait for the frogs to be a little more hungry. They normally get crickets every night.. I'm not going to feed them tonight and I'll try worms tomorrow I think, thanks.