Malaysian Leaf Frog

[ElliotH]

Hi, this is my first post and I have a few questions about my first frog. My girlfriend bought me a malaysian leaf frog for our anniversary and not being familiar with them need some help. I read they eat a lot and to be prepared for that (I raise two separate colonies of roaches), but how much and how soon will they eat? I also heard they need a tall humid enclosure, but is it possible to have a tank be too big? Would leaf litter (microwaved to kill anything) and coconut substrate be suitable?

[John]

Welcome to the forum Elliot. Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.frogforum.net/avatars/tom...ine=1256350595
(That's Tom Highum's avatar)

If so, then they tend to be rather shy eaters but they should be eating within a day or so of you acquiring them. I would first try to make sure they are eating before I threw a bunch of roaches into the tank with them, though if you're using Blaptica dubia roaches then there's no harm in it. I would feed them every 3 or 4 days initially, and see if you can find uneaten roaches each time. I would underfeed rather than overfeed - 1-2 roaches per frog until you are sure they are either eating them or not, then raise or lower the number accordingly.

If we are talking about Megophrys, then they don't make much use of a tall terrarium, but they do like humidity. When keeping frogs there is almost no such thing as a tank that's too big.

I use leaf litter in frog and salamander tanks, often with a coconut fibre substrate, so that should be fine. Make sure the leaf litter is from a pesticide-free and herbicide-free area. I usually dry leaf litter completely for a few weeks before using it, provided it's pretty dry to begin with. For leaf litter I receive from others (I get "Live Oak" leaves from Florida, I boil water on a stove, throw a bag of leaves in and then stir it around for about 30 seconds, then I pour off the water and put them on a baking tray which I then place in pre-heated oven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit (about 150 Celsius) in order to dry the out again (if there are many leaves on the tray I often have to shuffle the leaves around several times in order to dry them all).

I've heard of people using the microwave to treat leaves and I've not heard of anyone having problems doing so. I've never done it because microwaves aren't great for sterilisation.

[Kurt]

John,
Why do you bother drying out the leaves after boiling them if they are going in an amphibian enclosure? They are only going to get wet again.

[John]

Because I don't generally use a gallon of leaves at a time and wet leaves rot when you store them.

[ElliotH]

That is exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks a bunch for the information. Originally she told me she was getting me a pacman... imagine my surprise when I opened a bag that she told me was chinese food haha. I'll put up a picture soon just for size reference and to see if it looks healthy.

[Kurt]

I would rather have a Megophrys over a Ceratophrys any day of the week.

[Kurt]

Because I don't generally use a gallon of leaves at a time and wet leaves rot when you store them.

Oh, that makes sense. My mind-set is that I only boil what I intend to use immediately. So you can see my confussion.

[John]

I would rather have a Megophrys over a Ceratophrys any day of the week.

From a pet point of view, no contest.

[ElliotH]

He's definitely a cool little dude. Unfortunately he's still not eating. I've tried both b. lats and b. dubs. I'm thinking I may buy a few crickets and try that out. Could it be he's too hot? I keep my room around 75-78 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Kurt]

I doubt it. The temperature seems fine to me.

[StephenLS]

I only rarely see mine eat - best bet is to try a singular larger item after misting and when the lights are off and to see if there is a response - I find them to be very shy, but heavily planting the tank and providing a cave like structure for hiding will help him feel more secure.

[ElliotH]

I'll change the set up a bit today. I totally forgot about the cave idea and I've read it multiple times. I'm not used to shy eaters at all or frogs for that matter. My spiders,snakes and gecko all eat regardless of whose watching haha.

[1beataway]

I love my Malaysian Leaf Frog. I think he's the only not-shy one. I see him eat all the time, he moves around while I'm watching.

Is your frog eating now?

[ElliotH]

Not that I have noticed unfortunately. He does look a bit skinny, but luckily I know the guy she bought it from and he told us if it died he would refund it.

[1beataway]

Are you noticing uneaten roaches? Do you find frog poop in the tank?

Is your tank heavily planted?

I feed mine crickets, and occasionally mealworms and waxworms, but I am lucky and get to watch mine eat every one of them. I sometimes let friends watch him eat, and he's not shy at all.

[StephenLS]

Try popping some wax worms in a shallow dish in his tank overnight - they are high in fat so can be useful for plumping up specimens (don't feed too often) but also you'll be able to monitor how many have disappeared!

[ElliotH]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will try and get some waxworms for it and use your advice. I have only thrown in a few roaches which have the tendency to burrow and if he isn't eating I don't want to stress him out even more by digging through the substrate to check. There's a lot of leaf litter in there, but it is not planted.