Advice on Temp Regulation & Infrequent Defecaction

[Gage]

Hi all,

Frogs: 2 WTFs (purchased Thursday)
Tank: 10 G Fish tank (working on upgrading soon, hoping to not move the WTFs again for a week or so, though, due to stress)
Substrate: Eco Earth Coconut Fiber
Humidity: 60%-75% (sometimes up to 80%)
Heating setup: Zoo Med Mini Deep Dome Lamp w/ 60W Daylight Blue Reptile Bulb and a Zoo Med Repti Therm UTH

So, in response to some great help I received the last few days, I have gotten my 2 new WTFs a heat lamp and a UTH. I am realizing that I should have figured all of this out in advance, but I can't do much about that now. In general, I am going through growing pains as a new owner, but these guys have seemed pretty stressed the last few days. Doing my best to get them into a comfortable homeostasis.

In any case, it gets pretty cold in my room at night, so maintaining a temp above 65 is tricky, and above 72 or so last night took WORK (as in a hole burnt through part of a blanket cause I needed heat from my lamp to get into the tank, without adding light). I did manage to keep it around 75 degrees F, and today I put the lamp on and went to classes.

When I returned, the temperature was up to 91, and both frogs were hanging out where they were when I left home 6 hours before: on the hot side of the 10 G tank (there is a water side with no heating elements), and both looked puffy with heaving sides (elevated heart rate? or hyperventilation?). I immediately took measures to cool the tank to 75 or so. I don't have a lot of money left after buying other stuff for them, however, I do want to quickly make sure the temperature is comfortable so these guys will be happy with their new home and their new owner.

My questions are:
-How can I make them more comfortable, rather than too cold at night and too hot if I'm not around in time to remove the lamp? **I will return the lamp and/or purchase another if needed!**
-I have only seen one turd between the two of them, and that was from Friday. They do seem to be eating, though I have only witnessed three crickets get eaten by one of them.

Sorry this is long - I'm aiming for completeness, so I can learn very quickly.

[Lija]

get hydrotherm - that thing is excellent!, if plugged into fogger/mister and heating devise(s) you will never need to worry about humidity and temperatures again day or night I would have a infrared heating lamp for heat + UTV if you have it and it is not enough to maintain temps

[Gage]

get hydrotherm - that thing is excellent!, if plugged into fogger/mister and heating devise(s) you will never need to worry about humidity and temperatures again day or night I would have a infrared heating lamp for heat + UTV if you have it and it is not enough to maintain temps

Did you mean the Zoo Med HygroTherm? And what is a UTV? Any specific suggestions on the heating lamp?

[Lija]

lol, by UTV i meant UTH, under tank heater, sorry, should have read what i wrote

yes, zoomed hydrotherm is the one, i would get any infrared lamp ( 50 or 75W depending on a size of your tank), frogs don't see that light, so it is ok to use day and night. hydrotherm will maintain constant temperatures and humidity with night drop if needed.

[Gage]

lol, by UTV i meant UTH, under tank heater, sorry, should have read what i wrote

yes, zoomed hydrotherm is the one, i would get any infrared lamp ( 50 or 75W depending on a size of your tank), frogs don't see that light, so it is ok to use day and night. hydrotherm will maintain constant temperatures and humidity with night drop if needed.

Great, OK thank you for your help. The HygroTherm is out of my price range for now, but I got a ceramic heater bulb. Gotta get one more kink worked out with it, but other than that it's good to go.

Thanks again!

[Gage]

Got a couple more big ol' turds today too! Probably just held it cause of the stress of the last forty eight hours. All good now though - can't wait for them to be comfortable and relaxed in their space.

[flybyferns]

Hi all,

Frogs: 2 WTFs (purchased Thursday)
Tank: 10 G Fish tank (working on upgrading soon, hoping to not move the WTFs again for a week or so, though, due to stress)
Substrate: Eco Earth Coconut Fiber
Humidity: 60%-75% (sometimes up to 80%)
Heating setup: Zoo Med Mini Deep Dome Lamp w/ 60W Daylight Blue Reptile Bulb and a Zoo Med Repti Therm UTH

So, in response to some great help I received the last few days, I have gotten my 2 new WTFs a heat lamp and a UTH. I am realizing that I should have figured all of this out in advance, but I can't do much about that now. In general, I am going through growing pains as a new owner, but these guys have seemed pretty stressed the last few days. Doing my best to get them into a comfortable homeostasis.

In any case, it gets pretty cold in my room at night, so maintaining a temp above 65 is tricky, and above 72 or so last night took WORK (as in a hole burnt through part of a blanket cause I needed heat from my lamp to get into the tank, without adding light). I did manage to keep it around 75 degrees F, and today I put the lamp on and went to classes.

When I returned, the temperature was up to 91, and both frogs were hanging out where they were when I left home 6 hours before: on the hot side of the 10 G tank (there is a water side with no heating elements), and both looked puffy with heaving sides (elevated heart rate? or hyperventilation?). I immediately took measures to cool the tank to 75 or so. I don't have a lot of money left after buying other stuff for them, however, I do want to quickly make sure the temperature is comfortable so these guys will be happy with their new home and their new owner.

My questions are:
-How can I make them more comfortable, rather than too cold at night and too hot if I'm not around in time to remove the lamp? **I will return the lamp and/or purchase another if needed!**
-I have only seen one turd between the two of them, and that was from Friday. They do seem to be eating, though I have only witnessed three crickets get eaten by one of them.

Sorry this is long - I'm aiming for completeness, so I can learn very quickly.

Yikes 91 !

Couldn't you simply move the heat emitter further away from the enclosure?
And, re-evaluate the need for the UTH?

It's a money pit , right !

I think I have tried every heat source there is.
I stick with the ceramic heat emitters ------they are easily adjusted ( can be done gradually) as the ambient temp in the room changes throughout the year.

Have you considered ventilation. I run a 28$ aquarium fan ( Azoo cooling fan) on a timer 356 days a year above the tree frog enclosures. Also easily adjustable. When the weather is really hot, just run it more often and longer!
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=14701

Lynn

[flybyferns]

Got a couple more big ol' turds today too! Probably just held it cause of the stress of the last forty eight hours. All good now though - can't wait for them to be comfortable and relaxed in their space.

That's great! It's a terrible feeling to worry about them.
You're doing a great job--paying attention to these details !
It is stressful, we can only imagine what they have been through !

They're home now

Lynn

[Gage]

That's right! Matching up ceramic bulbs to the lamp fixture put me through hell. Went to the store and back 4 times in less than 24 hours to sort it all out. GLAD THAT'S OVER!

Thanks to everyone for the support. Maybe in the near future, my posts will be more about giving advice than needing it! Or about posting pics of how awesome my pair is! Their names are Trust (maybe a male) and Hope (maybe a female).

Out,
Phil