New Green Tree Frog Owner! I have questions!

[ashleyacuna]

Hello! I am new to this forum and new to being a green tree frog owner ! I have had Felix for about two weeks and am pretty confused because what the guy at Petco told me & what the internet says is vary different!



First of all,

The guy at the store told me that the frog will eat 5 cricket/day and online everyone basically says that they feed their frog 2-3 times a week. My question is, how often should he be eating? He only really eats about 2 crickets or 3 tops per day. I also bought meal worms but he won't eat them. How should I try feeding them to him? I don't want to put them on the soil in his tank because they will burrow and I won't be able to find them easily again.

addition: He also never eats crickets unless I "force" him. By force I mean, place him in front of a cricket and make sure he see's it walk buy him, then he will eat it. He never goes and tries to find food on his own. I will put 4 crickets in his tank, and a day later there will still be 4 in there, so I put him in front of one and he'll eat it. Is this normal? Is it just because i'm feeding him too often and he's not hungry?

Secondly,

The store said to clean out his tank entirely and refresh all the soil once a week, but many websites are saying to only do this once a month and just spot clean throughout the month as needed. How often should I be completely replacing his soil?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[mshine1217]

Hi Ashley,

Welcome to the Frog Forum. This is a great place for information and advice. I would recommend that you check out the care sheet section for the White's Dumpy Tree Frog section (aka Australian Green Tree Frog). Unfortunately many employees at the chain pet stores are not correctly informed about the care of the animals under their supervision.

If you could post pictures of his enclosure that would be great, plus how big is he? The size of the crickets you feed him depends on his size, the crickets shouldn't be bigger than the width of his mouth. You only need to feed him 2-3 times a week. If yiou've only had him for a short while, he may not be comfortable with your hand feeding him. Since you don't want to let the crickets run loose, you can use a glass bowl to put the crickets in and what he doesn't eat you can put back in your container.

I hope that this helps, if you have any other questions, just ask.

[Gibson]

Yeah, Thats a White's tree frog, not a green tree frog. Here is what you have:



vs. a Green tree frog



There care is quite different, posting pictures of the frogs setup/temps/humidity would be a great help. The guy at Petco gave you some very wrong information, which is why most people in the hobby tend to stay away from stores like Petco and Petsmart.


The people on this forum can defiantly get you headed in the right direction, though!

[ashleyacuna]

Yeah the guy at the pet store said it was a green tree frog so that's what I assumed it was, not knowing any better. I was so confused when I started looking up frog care because it was all different.

I usually give him medium sized crickets. I attached a photo of him on a half cup to show how big he is. He changes color depending on weather he is under his light or not. I've never tried giving him crickets by hand but I tried a mealworm and he didn't want it. He is in a 10-15 gallon tank with two small water dishes and one flat one I use for feeding. He has fake plans and I use coconut fiber substrate. I change his water everyday but am still unsure about how often to completely replace the dirt, I have been doing it once a week. His temp directly under the light is 80 degrees and on the other side of the tank it's around 70, at night it's in between 60-70. I have a infrared heat lamp for night time and a basking light for part of the day. The humidity is around 50% but I most it up to 70-80 multiple times a day!




Ashley Acuna

[Gibson]

White's tree frogs require a 20 gallon minimum, and your frog is large enough to need that big of a tank. I would go back to petco and demand a refund, what they did is absolutely ridiculous. Your frog could also use a deeper water dish than the one he's in in the picture. The dirt doesn't need to be changed once a week, once a month is fine although i am guilty of changing mine every 1.5-2 months. water should be changed daily, and get rid of any feces you see right away. you only need one water dish. The frog is most likely not eating because his setup is all wrong. Being a tree frog, a taller tank is needed. I like the zoomed/exo terra ones. I use a tank like this for my green tree frogs, which I have used for a single whites as well.



Your setup also needs branches and possibly more foliage. What I do is find branches outside and bake them, then proceed to hot glue them to the sides of the tank so the frog has a place to perch. Craft stores such as Joan's or other fabric stores often have a few feet of fake foliage for real cheap, and are great for frogs.





Though the picture makes the enclosure looks somewhat small, it is rather large. Here is a video I made of my frogs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_QEB63FEzM you can see the enclosure better there.

[ashleyacuna]

They said a minimum of a 10 gallon tank and I checked and mine is 15 so I thought that was fine , but I will find a taller tank ASAP. The only thing petco could refund me for would be the soil, lamps, or the frog itself. I will try to find more branches and stuff, he has one more plant that is just out of his tank currently because I was trying to spot clean. I'm surprised I was given so much wrong information. How many crickets should he be eating 2-3 times a week? cause he is eating 2-3 a day so that makes between 15-20 per week so i'm not sure he's "not eating" I just think I am feeding him everyday so he's less hungry maybe? I'm not sure.

[Gibson]

Yeah, we all learn the hard way never to trust big chain pet stores. My mistake, i thought i read you said your frog was not eating, but he seems to be a hungry little guy! I usually just throw in a little bit over a dozen crickets into my white's tank 2-3 times a week, dusting with calcium once a week. They don't need to eat daily. I don't think you need to refund the lamp, the temps seem right, but its up to you if you want to return the frog and get a green tree frog (or 2, i like to get them in groups) instead. Whites tree frogs are usually a lot cheaper at petco. A pair of green tree frogs can live fine in a 10 gallon and the frogs themselves are usually very cheap. And since green tree frogs are so small, you might be able to get away with keeping the tank you already have horizontal.

Just to warn you though, if you do decide to get green tree frogs, they are no where near as calm as whites and will jump all over the place. Think of them more like fish, just animals to look at. I personally keep green tree frogs just in addition to grow at the plants

[ashleyacuna]

Oh yeah - What I meant was, he doesn't "hunt" for the crickets on his own. He'll just hang out in his leafs or up in the corner of the tank for most of the day unless I put him down on the ground and make him see the cricket, then he will eat it. So he is still eating 2-3 a day, just not on his own really I'm not sure if I should leave a mealworm on the flat dish for him to eat or not, I feel bad for the mealworm lol, I just know that if I put him in the soil he will burrow. Yeah it makes me mad that petco didn't tell me anything I needed to know, but i'm glad I went online instead of just continuing to not take care of him properly!

[ashleyacuna]

Thanks!


Ashley Acuna

[kueluck]

I've kind of scanned through this thread so I'm just going to point out a few “must” on WTF


Use of declorinated water is a must. NO tap water.


Must dust crickets with Calcium & a Multi vitamin supplement. I alternate every other day.


Since it's a young frog you want to offer food every day. If he starts to get large fat bags over his eyes just cut back on the amount you feed.


Water dish should be deep enough to cover the frogs back.


Also here's a link to my WTF album to show you how I care for my 3.kueluck's Album: Whites Tree Frog

[Heatheranne]

Hi Ashleyacuna,

How are you? Welcome to the forum .

Lets get you headed in the right direction for your new Whites Tree Frog.

Here is a care sheet:
http://www.frogforum.net/content/whi...-caerulea-121/

You'll need to get your temps up a bit. Keep his tank's ambient daytime heat at 78 to 80'F with a corner basking area of 85'F. It can drop to 75-76'F at night.

The warmer temps help to increase their metabolism, helping to digest better, which will also increase their appetite.

Humidity should be 60-80%. Too low can cause dehydration. Too high can cause respiratory infections. Mist the tank 2x/day minimal to keep proper humidify range. You can mist with distilled water to avoid calcium deposits on your glass if you'd like.

Soaking water and moistening of substrate... Use only dechlorinated water. Change his soaking water daily.

Substrate... Avoid loose moss or gravel. They can be aggressive eaters and may dart at their food quickly, and may accidentally ingest the rocks or moss, which both cause severe impaction of the intestines. It's best to avoid them.

Habitat... They need a tank of at least 18" tall to be happy. They live in the trees in the wild. He would love some nice safe, tall climbing branches and smooth, sturdy leaves for perching and sleeping on or under. Be sure to prepare any live wood or plants properly before adding them to the tank.

Stress... Minimize his stress. Keep him in a quiet, low-traffic area, minimize handling, and cover the back and 2 sides of his enclosure to help him feel safe/secure.

Food... His food should be no larger than the distance between his eyes for ease of swallowing and to avoid impaction. The glass bowl trick works great. He'll learn to eat from the bowl and will likely wait at the bowl for dinner . Feed at night just before bed time. Clean out the cricket bowl daily when he's asleep with very hot water and remove and feed (gut-load with healthy foods) the crickets. I am not a fan of mealworms or any insects that have chitin in their shells. They too can cause impaction. It would be like eating too much popcorn...trouble.

Yes, you definitely need supplements. A reptile/amphibian multivitamin and a calcium with vitamin D3 supplement. Use calcium/D3 every other feeding (lightly dusted) and the MVI as directed per the type you buy, at minimal once a week, but not on the same day as the calcium. Vitamin D3 is needed in the calcium for proper absorption.

These are a few pointers for you .

Congrats on your new frog!