whites tree frog questions

[kueluck]

If you would answer the questions below it will help out a lot. There are several people here that care for the WTF that will be able to help out with your problems. Also pictures are worth a thousand words, so if you can post some of the habitat and of the frog it would be great.


1. Size of enclosure
2. # of inhabitants - specifically other frogs and size differences
3. Humidity
4. Temperature
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish
6. Materials used for substrate
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
- How were things prepared prior to being put into the viv.
8. Main food source
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)
10. Lighting
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure
12. When is the last time he/she ate
13. Have you found poop lately
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)
15. How old is the frog
16. How long have you owned him/her
17. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred
18. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats
19. How often the frog is handled
20. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area
21. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)

[ReptileMom]

wow i really thought i had answered this...ok size of enclosure is as of this moment a large plastic critter keeper...not sure of measurements. hope to have some help this weekend so i can get my tank out of storage..was supposed to have help but with my back problems its slow going...will prob be a 10 gal tank. 2 inhabitants both about the same size. not sure of age but i think the vendor said they were almost at the age that if they were male they would croak...so far havent heard anything. unsure of exact humidity level...but it gets misted at least once a day...i try to do it in the morning when i get up and at night before i go to bed. water is tap water for both drinking and misting. temperature unknown but the room stays warm for my other reptiles. substrate is eco earth..they have a fake plant in there and they dont pay it any attention..they are like ok and...main food source is either lobster roaches or crickets. both are always dusted with calcium powder at least once or twice a week. lighting right now is whatever is in the ceeling fan..i think one is uvb cuz my iguana likes to sit up on my shelf closest to my fan but the rest are the energy saving bulbs. unsure of last time they ate, i put bugs in there and unless they are burrowing or getting out of the top i am not seeing anything. as i am not sure what frog poop looks like idk if i've found any...i spot clean once a day so if i see anything in thhere that isnt bugs, frog or eco earth it comes out. unsure of how old exactly the frogs are or whether they are wild or captive bred..i asked but she wasnt sure...she was the guys wife or something and he had stepped away from the booth...i pet the frogs but other then that i dont handle them too much. the enclosure is in my room and im usually the only one in it other then ivy my free roaming iggy..he stays off that shelf tho....i spot check every day and rinse and refil the water bowl. anything else you need to know? pics to come soon

[kueluck]

Tap water MUST be treated or this will kill your frog. You can also use bottled water, but NO distilled for soaking, this can be used to spray the glass in the enclosure to keep water spots from forming. You want spring water, just make sure there is nothing added. Some times they will add sodium.

IMO you'll need a 20 to 30 vertical gallon enclosure for two WTF. They are quiet active at night and will use and need every bit of space you give them. I have 3 in the exo terra 18x18x24 but getting the 36x18x36 so they are more comfortable, these guys can get big.

Humidity and temps are very important to keep these guys healthy & happy. Temp range 75(nighttime)-85(daytime) with humidity 50-60%

Food source is good, but if these are still babies you want to dust w/calcium every other day & use a good multi-vitamin the other days. I also use a probiotic once a week & one day a week non dusted feeders. Also bowl feeding works great, this way the bugs can't hide from the frog, the frog won't ingest substrate & it's easy to remove uneaten feeders. FYI turkish roaches don't climb like the lobster do.

Keep an eye out for poop. It should be dark brown and well formed, if not you should take a sample into your vet for testing.

You mentioned you got these at a show in SC. I went to the Columbia ReptiCon and saw several WTF there but the ones I saw did not look good, I hope you were able to purchase
some healthy ones.

I'm pretty new at WTF, but I've had other amphibians for 2 years so I hope some of the WTF experts chime in to help fill in the blanks.

This is a must read Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea

[ReptileMom]

i dont get the tap water thing, used it for years and never had a problem with it, even had a fully aquatic frog it in for years with no problem. `10 gal is what i have available atm. its either that or the 55 gal which i dont have space for...i do have a small exo terra, my large one is housing my rat snake.. they are not babies they are a good size...i havent gotten a chance to get pics yet but i will soon. lobsters are what i have and im not changing it..i got mine at the columbia repticon and they looked good to me.,

[kueluck]

Your tap water must not be treated by a city then. When people say "tap water" first thing that comes to mind is chlorine, chlorides, fluorides and all the other chemicals they put it. I also suggested the turish because I've done the lobsters & they freak me out.

i dont get the tap water thing, used it for years and never had a problem with it, even had a fully aquatic frog it in for years with no problem. `10 gal is what i have available atm. its either that or the 55 gal which i dont have space for...i do have a small exo terra, my large one is housing my rat snake.. they are not babies they are a good size...i havent gotten a chance to get pics yet but i will soon. lobsters are what i have and im not changing it..i got mine at the columbia repticon and they looked good to me.,

[ReptileMom]

idl if its treated or not. i live in the city...lobsters are easier to get for me and seem to last longer

[Bolisnide]

Oy!
Okay, ReptileMom.... I'm absolutely not trying to be rude, but you MUST treat your water with a de-chlorinator/water conditioner. I really don't care if you've had success in the past or not. It is so important and if you don't treat your water, you're only asking for problems down the road.
All water, unless it is bottled 100% spring water (and that's not even a guarantee), will most likely have either chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals, or any combination. Get a water de-chlorinator that also neutralizes heavy metals.
As far as your original post,
these frogs will not have ahibernation period if you keep yoiur temps and humidity right on, please follow what Gail said and get a hygrometer and thermometer - so important!
Have a consistant day/night cycle with, they need the routine.
the frogs are nocturnal, you will nto see them be active with the lights on.
dust your feeders as Gail advised, and the glass bowl feeding method is a great way to monitor food intake (just search the forum for advice).
I would also advise switching out your substrate to paper towels, un-bleached. this will allow you to see and monitor fecals. This is very important in the beginning to ensure the frogs are healthy. If the stool is runny, as gail said, get a sample to a vet.
You should also really try to get the little guys into a larger enclosure, the bigger the better. For two frogs, I would advise atleast a 18x18x24. For now, if you turn your 10 gallon on it's end, that will suffice. This will give the frogs more height.