New guy with cricket question

[Phelot]

Hey, happy people!
I'm a long time lurker, but recently have become the happy owner of two new Oriental Fire-Bellies.
I've been reading up on how to take care of the little guys for weeks before actually getting them, and always found myself drawn back to this site for information when other sites have presented contradictory information.
In any case, I'm pretty sure I've got a good paludarium setup, and that their environment is conducive to good health, but I have a few questions that no site has been able to answer for me:
1. How do I know how old my frogs are? If the amount of feeding and vitamin supplement varies based on their age, how can I be sure how old they actually are so that I feed them correctly?
2. How can I interpret their mood to tell me if their environment is adequate? I have a thermometer in there, and according to it, things are in great shape, but how can I tell by my frogs if maybe it's too hot, too cold, or too humid?
3. I got mine from Petsmart and was told that Petsmart isn't so great for keeping them happy and healthy. I'm not trying to be critical, because I get it; they've only got to keep them temporarily and resell them asap. My question is what can I do to sort of undo any mistreatment that may have occurred there? Do I just keep feeding and using vitamins them until they stop eating so that they regain whatever nutrition they were missing?
4. My most important question: How can I be certain that my frogs get to eat all their crickets? I'm feeding them regularly and they seem happy to eat, but at every feeding, I feel that at least one cricket digs down into the substrate and they never find it. They seem like capable hunters, to a point, but I'm afraid they're missing out on nutrition by letting the crickets dig down and escape. I usually take some time to assist them in their feeding, by using tongs to find as many as I can and place them out in the open where they can be eaten with ease, but I don't want to feed them every single cricket individually with tongs, and more importantly, I really really don't want to move them into a separate enclosure just for feeding purposes. If the only solution is one or the other of those, I guess I can deal with it, but I'd prefer otherwise. So, any advice?
5. Just a fun question: How can I get my little guys to turn green? They're sort of a tan color now, but their bellies are nice and bright. I won't be heartbroken if they don't turn nice and bright, but I would prefer it, and I've been told that it's a display of good health.

I've only actually had the little guys for three days now, so I'm sure a lot of travel stress needs to be worked out, and they need to be nourished regularly until they're nice and happy, but I'm just trying to be certain that I'm doing the right stuff.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

[rjm2653]

When im on my desktop I can reply in full. But one thing you should no is not all fire bellies are green. I had a friend give me too and they have been brown and never changed color. My first two however changes occasionally between bright green and black

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[Phelot]

But one thing you should no is not all fire bellies are green. I had a friend give me too and they have been brown and never changed color. My first two however changes occasionally between bright green and black

Yeah, I've actually heard that before plenty of times on this site, but nowhere else seems to mention it.
I guess what I'm wondering is how do you know if yours aren't really green deep down, but always just choosing to be brown? How can you tell what your frog's real natural color is so that you can determine whether or not they're healthy? So many sites say that if they display a bright green, that they're in great shape, but if yours are naturally brown, how can you use that advice to your advantage?

[rjm2653]

You see their real color in the middle of the night like tree frogs. And they dont choose to change color its just a reaction to situations.

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[Phelot]

And they dont choose to change color its just a reaction to situations.

That's kinda what I mean. How do I know they're not SUPPOSED to be green, but are brown because their environment isn't good enough?

Truth be told, that's kinda the least important of my questions, anyway. :P

[rjm2653]

They would turn black

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[Phelot]

Okay, yeah, I've heard that before.
They're definitely not black, and they're eating well, and relatively active, so I don't really feel like there's a significant problem.
I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that things are okay, because I don't know anyone who has owned these so I can't ask anyone's advice. Maybe I'm being paranoid.

[rjm2653]

You are but it's okay. I was the same way when i started. Better safe than sorry. They never show the brown ones in the books

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[flybyferns]

We are glad to learn you have converted from 'lurker' to member Welcome !

They are beautiful frogs; entertaining and always looking for their next meal...and a date. Ha !
I am sure you are aware these toads appear to have the ability to change their colors a little, based on their environment.

It certainly sounds like you have done your homework!
Can you post a photo of their enclosure We would love to see it. If you start your own FF album your photos will appear on the "Home" page.
Try to watermark your photos, if possible----as we like to post nice photos on fb as well

I’m sure you also know a 50/50 ratio.. is the usual ......... or at least a 25% water coverage is necessary for them to be happy
The water does not have to be deep. They prefer to sit rather than dive or completely submerse themselves. Water quality is really important as these toads seem particularly sensitive to poor water quality. Regular water changes are imperative ( it’s best to have a strict schedule like one would if keeping tropical fish) . Removal of chlorine and chloramines is a must.

They will appreciate some real plants in the water.....
Pothos works well; the plants will help the water and will provide an egg-laying location for females.

There are lots of FF members that care for fire bellies….hopefully more people will chime.
I don’t keep fb , so I have not observed them long enough to comment on their ‘happiness’.
Consistent care, maintenance of their environment, and on-going observation will lead to your developing a keen eye on evaluating this.
It is definitely a learning curve.

As for a cricket tricks..... I'm hoping members can share some tips with you
You don't want them -dead- in the substrate.

[Phelot]

I'll definitely work on getting some pictures of it up and out once I've got a camera for it a bit later today or tomorrow.

I do have it at about 50/50, maybe more like 60% water, and there's only a small region in which they would be able to dive or completely submerge, and even there, they're above water if they stand on their tiptoes. About 75% of the water section is short enough that they can sit on whatever rock or plant and be content.
I've been using Spring Water, with an internal filter, and I change out 1/3 of the tank's water every 7 days, and replace all of it each month during the serious cleaning.

I raised a Pothos with my Anoles a while back, and I really loved it. I think it'd be a great addition here, too. I'll try to get on that asap, but I'm a little hesitant. Should it be safe for the animals as long as I wash every speck of dirt from the pothos with hot water or will I need to do a bit more than that? Barring that, I have...uh...8 artificial plants in there, that they seem to enjoy climbing around on. So I may need to take a few of those out to replace them with a live one.

Thanks for the advice, in any case!

[deranged chipmunk]

Do not rinse the plants with hot water. You will do more harm to the plant than good. A simple rinse under cold water will suffice.
As far as the crickets go, you can try the glass bowl trick. Dust the crickets, place them in a glass bowl about 2" high or so and place the bowl in the tank or place the bowl in and then add the crickets. The order is not important, the important thing is that the crickets cannot climb glass and stay in the bowl instead of roaming the tank.

[Phelot]

Okay, definitely with cold water then.

I tried using a little glass dish before, actually, and the crickets have issue climbing out, to be sure, but once the frogs pounce on them, the crickets panic and jump and scatter, often landing in the water, but otherwise getting out of the bowl. I had to go around with chopsticks and corral all the little buggers back into my frogs' hungry mouths, which isn't so great.

I've just started removing them from the enclosure with a net and placing them in a secondary bowl without any substrate so that they can just go ham and eat all the crickets I've placed inside. I didn't really want to do it this way, and it's clear it's stressing them, because they turn dark almost immediately and spend a bit more time trying to climb out of the bowl than actually eating, but they're still unused to it, and I'm sure in time, they'll become more familiar with the routine. Whenever I place them back in their enclosure though, they return to their normal shades, so I'm guessing it's not the worst thing in the world.

[Phelot]

I've got the camera, and posted up a bunch of pictures!

Please take a look and let me know of any issues you notice! I'm happy to have the advice.
Phelot's Album: Fire-Bellies!