Hi,

I have a pet tomato frog (D. guineti, his name is Franz), and lately I've been a little concerned about how he's doing. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with my questions.

To start, Franz lives in a 29 gallon tank with coco fiber substrate and a bunch of plants, which have taken over the tank and provide good cover for him. I keep him under a uvb during the day, and a red cfl at night so I can see him, although I'm not sure if it's a myth that frogs cannot see red light. Temperatures in the tank are high seventies to low eighties during the day, and the humidity is usually >=80%. I have a tupperware dish sunk into the coco fiber for his water dish. He's usually sitting out under the plants with a blank look on his face, croaking when the mister goes on, and changing spots every few days. I see him explore his tank at night, but I'm not sure it's a daily thing.

My first question/concern is that from what I can tell, he is not soaking in his water dish. Lately, all he's been doing is camping out under a fittonia plant on the opposite side of the tank as the water dish, and haven't seen him in the dish since I lasted reconfigured the tank (in fact, the only thing I have seen in the dish are the dumb crickets that have drowned). I checked it out and I believe he can get to the dish, but it's not a completely clear path with a few vines and plant leaves in the path. Should I be concerned about him being unable to reach his dish? Or if he needed water, would he have the instinct to explore his tank and eventually happen upon his dish? I mean, the tank is very humid and the substrate is very moist, so maybe he doesn't feel the need to soak? Maybe I'm worrying to much? I can post pics if needed.

Secondly, and this is kind of a general question, but are there any rules of thumb for judging how comfortable my frog is in his tank? I heard that if a tomato frog is uncomfortable, he will turn a brown color. This leaves me a little worried because he is slightly brown, but I'm not sure if that's just his normal coloration. Also, he does sit out during the day, and somewhere I heard that if you're at a pond and you find frogs sitting out in the day, that they are sick and/or stressed out. He sits out, and since tomato frogs are burrowers, I'm not sure if he's stressed out, or just feels safe.

Lastly, with tomato frogs, should I be worried about his lighting being too bright? I can't help but wonder if his fluorescent UVB light is too much. If maybe I should be worried about this, I can get specs on the light later.

Any thoughts?