Normal behaviour?

[Jace]

My newly acquired male Pacific Treefrog constantly has his vocal sac extended, though he is not calling constantly. Just wondering if it's normal for this to occur. He even eats with it partially extended, and is currently resting with it ballooned out. Could this be a sign of stress?

[Wambli]

I do not know if it is normal, but my whites tree frog does the same thing. His extends when singing.... but for hours afterwords it slowly shrinks. He seems fine, eats, swims, and jumps around... so I would think everything is fine.

[Jace]

Okay, thanks! When I got home tonight, he was back to normal, wondering what all the fuss was about. As long as he is eating and is active, I should just let him do his thing!

[John]

If he does it again, take a photo. I've seen some of my tree frogs with baggy throats on occasion.

[Jace]

I took a picture of it a couple of days ago. My other one never has the throat extended, and I am pretty sure both are males. The one pictured calls day and night, though. Very vocal for such a little frog!

[John]

Very nice photo .

[Paul Rust]

This is perfectly normal, I have bred hundreds of these guys. Yes they are very vocal and loud and we are in the middle of mating season right now. Not to be finnicky but it's correct name is Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris.regilla). Very nice specimen you have. You need 4" to 20" of water to get them to lay eggs.

[Jace]

This is perfectly normal, I have bred hundreds of these guys. Yes they are very vocal and loud and we are in the middle of mating season right now. Not to be finnicky but it's correct name is Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris.regilla). Very nice specimen you have. You need 4" to 20" of water to get them to lay eggs.

Thank you! Pacific Chorus Frog...I like that. I am not good with Latin names, but I appreciate you letting me know their correct name. I am quite taken with these little guys. Do you know how to properly sex them? I am pretty sure both have dark throats, which I was told indicates they are male. The one pictured with the extended vocal sack is the larger of the two, the most active, and very vocal. I am not too concerned about breeding them, even if I have a female. I just want them to be happy and well fed.

Thanks John! It took three or four shots to get that one. Definitely one of my favourites. But I credit the frog-Yoki is very photogenic!

[Paul Rust]

You are correct, the males have dark throats. Females are very obvious as the throat is pure white. Call me crazy but I think the females look much more delicate and feminine also. I love these frogs too. I have some good pics of them in my albums if you want to check them out.

[Jace]

You have amazing pictures, and such a variety! I have really enjoyed looking at them.

Neither Pip or Yoki have pure white throats, so boys they are! Pip has yet to vocalize all that much, but I am hoping that will change. Is it okay to have both of them in the enclosure? They are in a smale Exo-Terra right now, but I plan on upgrading them to a 10 gallon soon. They appear to be leaving each other alone, and have staked out different areas to ponder life. Thanks for all your help and I look forward to more pictures!

[Paul Rust]

They will be fine together. Even when calling females they group together and call. I have never seen aggressive or territorial behavior with this species. You will enjoy them for a long time. They are great pets. Please put up pics periodically, their color changes quite drastically as you will find out.

[Jace]

I will definitely be adding more pictures of them-both are very photogenic. They seem to be very active both day and night, especially after a misting and after a feeding. I've read that they can change colour, but I'm not sure how to encourage that. Right now, they are being kept at room temperature and being fed every other day a mix of crickets, mealworms and cut up worms. They seem to be enjoying the varied diet though I am concerned about under/over feeding them.

Again, thanks for all your advice. Most of the info I have found on the web has a wide range of acceptable care, so it's great to be able to seek help from someone who has actual experience with them. Great little frogs!

[Paul Rust]

I've read that they can change colour, but I'm not sure how to encourage that.

Color change is not voluntary for these guys. It appears that the brightness or darkness of their surroundings causes it. I have had bright green ones turn dark brown and vice versa under the same conditions in the same viv. Your guess is as good as mine on this.

[Jace]

Okay. Well, I'll just let them do their own thing. Yoki was very dull when I got him, but in the week since, his colour has become more defined and his pattern is more evident. Pip looks the same to me. Another quick question: I saw a video on Youtube that stated if you overfeed these little frogs, they will throw up. How much is too much food? I'm following advice to feed them every other day and I usually give them two-three 3 week crickets and two small mealworms. I have not seen anyone throw up, but then the question is am I underfeeding them by only feeding them every other day? Thanks in advance!

[Paul Rust]

They will only eat when they are hungry. That sounds like a good feeding schedule. I feed them flightless fruit flies also because I can dump a bunch in the viv and they can hunt them down if they get hungry between feedings. My guess is that the "throwing up" was probably one molting because they look like they are gagging when in fact they are eating the old skin and it could be mistaken for that I suppose. They are about as close to maintenance free as a pet can get.

[Jace]

Thanks! They have yet to turn down a complete meal on meal night, but Pip let me know when he had enough last night by turning away. I guess I am making it more difficult than it is. Too much worrying and not enough enjoying. It's been a while since I have tried flightless fruit flies...I might have to give them another try!