Are my frogs strange?

[bluemoonmonkey]

I know this sounds strange, but I was wondering if my frogs are a bit.. strange in what they like. They don't like any substrate in their enclosure. None. They like hopping around and sleeping on the plain glass bottom of the tank. I have things for them to climb on, but does this seem typical? I have tried eco-earth and they obviously hated it. Is this kind of environment bad for them? I check their moisture and such and everything seems right on. I am just wondering if this type of environment could harm them?

[poison]

First off what kind of frogs are these? How do you know they don't like substrate? As for them laying on the ground it is not normal. This tells me they are looking for moister(its not humid enough in the enclosure) or you don't have enough hiding spots. Or they may just be hibernating. What are your temps and humidity? and what are you using to measure it?

[bluemoonmonkey]

They are Pacific Tree frogs..sorry, I should've mentioned that. When I tried the ecoearth, anytime they got on the ground they constantly kept trying to wipe it off with their legs, even tot he extent of washing it off all the time in the pond. they would stay on the glass sides of the enclosure as much as possible and on the rocks/ plants etc and simply seemed overall agitated. Without the substrate, they still hang around on the plants and such, but they really seem to like just hopping around on the floor. They are local type frogs (we raised them from pollywogs rescued from an unkempt pool) and we live in a very dry area. I keep their enclosure moist by misting, a pond and a small water type dish. Their skin is moist so I am sure they're getting enough moisture. We had one die because it was kept too moist and warm we found out so adjusted the temp and moisture. They've never had any substrate until someone told me they should so we tried various things and they were obviously unhappy although it did make their enclosure look much nicer. After cleaning it all out, they were hopping around like their old selves and actively hunting again. I just wasn't sure if other's had experienced frogs that liked the feel of the glass verses a soil?

[EJT97]

Try the Eco earth bark, I have WTFs but they love it, doesn't stick to them and they are so active,I agree your temps. probably aren't barnet high enough, do you use a heat lamp or mat

[bluemoonmonkey]

We keep the house same temp year round at 70. They have a UVB bulb in the hood light and in all respects seem very content. They're a local species and are found various places outside - temp varies from 35 (during winter) to 115 (during summer). I wasn't sure if they can develop any diseases or illness because of no 'flooring' in their enclosure. I thought it strange after looking at everyone's set ups on here and other sites.

[NatureLady]

Some people will use (white) paper towels, fleece, or the mat type stuff you can buy at pet stores as substrate. AS far as the diseases or illness because of no flooring...nothing as long as the glass is cleaned on a regular basis. My WTF was on eco earth and I didn't like how messy he looked so I purchased leaf litter to put on top of the eco earth. This provides my tank the look of a forest floor. If you do not have a temp and humidity gage you need to purchase these. Just because the frog's skin is moist doesn't eqaul happy temps/humidity. Hope this helps you

[bluemoonmonkey]

Thank you NatureLady . I am planning on purchasing these this next week. Is there an ideal area as to where to place them in the habitat? They didn't seem to like the leaf litter acting in the same way as the ecoearth and avoiding it at all measures. I haven't tried fleece as a flooring. Their skin doesn't react or get stuck on the fibers? What happens if they are eating and ingest some loose small strands - I've never heard of this before. If it's safe, I will definitely try this. Any info on doing this or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[NatureLady]

flybyferns is who uses the fleece...This is her post about it...

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...ree-frogs.html

She uses feeding bowls so I don't know about the fibers. I use feeding bowls as well with my substrate in my WTF tank being ecoearth/leaf litter and the other tank has the Exo Terra moss mat for my American Green Tree Frog. The moss mat is no problem for my little lady, but I have noticed it being a problem for herps that have nails and teeth getting hung in it (my neice has it in her leo tank).

[NatureLady]

I forgot the other question...

I personally have gauges at the top and bottom of one tank. I also have a digital gauge that I can move around to different locations in the other tank.

[Sasha]

I have whites tree frogs and use eco earth. They don't seem to like it and have learned to sorta step around it and climb on bowls and branches to avoid it. Although when a cricket gets loose they forget about it and make a mess of the whole tank! I like to use it because I feel like it gives them a soft landing spot for that rare instance that they fall from a high branch.

[bluemoonmonkey]

So far they don't like anything but the bare glass...they will do everything within their power to avoid whatever I put on the bottom of their enclosure. I think I am going to stick with just the bare glass, their pond, and lots of climbing structures and hiding spots. They seem much more relaxed and not stressed with it's this way. They eat better too because they don't try to avoid anything while hunting. They will go to all areas of the enclosure without hesitation, rather than avoiding the substrate, whatever it may be. Thanx everyone for your input; I love this frog forum!