A couple of questions about my RETF

[Moreau]

My Red Eyed Tree Frog is doing great, I think he really loves his new enclosure that I set up for him. It is an 18 x 18 x 24 exo, with a full water bottom, live plants, vines and fake plants. He is active and vocal at night, is eating fine. I am really enjoying having him. At night he scoots down to the water and sticks his butt in it, it is quite funny. I also mist twice a day.

So my questions are;

Do only males vocalize? He chirps every night, is he doing this for a reason? Is he looking for friends? I thought it was female as it is a bit on the larger size. Do they chirp when they are hunting for food maybe? Is he/she looking for a mate? The chirping doesn't bother me, although last night it was rather loud lol!

I know that they can be social, will having only one be detrimental to it's well being?

He turns a very dark green at night while he is active and wandering around, is this common for red eyes to turn dark at night?

Thanks in advance!

[Heatheranne]

Hello Moreau, welcome .

Its a boy! congratulations! Red eyes tend to enjoy having a friend. I'm sure he would like a nice female .

The dark green color is normal at night. They vary their shades of green to blend into their surroundings. I like to joke and call it their hunting green since they eat at night . Do you bowl feed him?

[Moreau]

Cool, I've been calling it he, so good to know I was right.
I do bowl feed him now. I put the crickets in a small plastic bowl and put it in the middle of a snake plant, he has been using it. Before then I was just putting the crickets in, as there are LOTS of things in the water in case they fall in, but there were some crickets drowning anyway and this works better. He is starting to get used to it. I will look into getting some friends for him.
Thank you!

[Heatheranne]

You're welcome. You'll have to quarantine the new frog(s) for at least 30 days. Just something to keep in mind. A small 10 gallon tank with a lid, water bowl, paper towels, thermometer, hygrometer and paper towel substrate (changed daily) will do just fine.

[Moreau]

Could I keep them in a 12 x 12 x 12 exo terra just for the quarantine? I know it's a bit small but it would be temporary. That is what this guy started out in. It's funny, he didn't start croaking until he went into the new, bigger cage, I just assumed it meant he liked it better.

Do you know what the croaking means? Is he calling for a female?

[Heatheranne]

I would recommend at least a 12x12x18high. They need to climb to be happy .

They have different calls. Some are loud croaks. Those crack me up! They go back and forth across the room like they are competing to see who is loudest. Then there are a series of song like croaks together. They make different noises when breeding also. Its a deeper flowing series of click-like croaks. My males, when being territorial of their females, croak loudly with a slightly quieter series of croaks flowing together after, while shaking their plant leaves. It's pretty neat to watch and listen to them. I'd love to speak to someone who actually studies their behaviors with the different croaks for true meaning.

[Moreau]

Cool, thank you for the info! They are very neat creatures.
Thought I would share a few pics of my set up.

[Heatheranne]

Very pretty! You may want to decrease the water level a bit in case they fall in by adding some more rocks. Be sure not to feed on loose gravel though because they could accidentally eat a rock when lunging at crickets. The feeding bowl is safest.

I just love my red eyes. They make the cutest facial expressions .