my wild frog hasnt made a sound.

[LuvMyTK]

I caught a wild tree frog last week by following his croak. We set him up in a really nice enclosure and he's doing great but hasn't made a sound since we caught him. He's pooping and eating about 3 crickets a day. He looks healthy and hides out mostly in his leaves we bought for him. I'm worried though that I'm doing something wrong since he's not croaking. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Kylie.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF Kylie ! Can you identify or describe your frog and it's set-up? There are many reasons why a frog won't croak, one of them is captivity stress.

[Frogman1031]

Your frog is most likely extremely afraid and is getting used to his new habitat. He will croak when he is comfortable. It is not recommended to take frogs out of their natural habitat.

[kueluck]

I would let the frog go and go look for some tads and raise them up that way. When removing just one adult from the wild means you're removing thousands upon thousand future frogs. Making it to adulthood and old enough to breed is a huge challenge for our amphibian friends, no reason to add to the demise by removing breeding stock.

[Ted]

Gail,you've never kept a wild caught animal? I'm not for wc but I'm not against it.it depends what were talking about.ive seen areas that have so many tree frogs that taking one frog isn't going to hurt anything.one place I know has literally thousands and thousands of treefrogs in one pond area.theyre pretty much stunted from overpopulation.i can probably take out a couple of hundred frogs from this area and have no effect at all on the population,the area might even benefit from a thinning out.now for another side,,,a wc tropical frog.these people in the amazon collect animals to make a living.for the most part they're not poaching but selling to brokers.how is someone going to explain to these people,why your at home,sitting on a couch watching tv that you don't care if they feed their families because you care about the frog more...

[kueluck]

All my frogs, toads and snakes are either CB, rescues from documented organization or I’ve raised them from tads or newly morphed froglets. If you’re lucky enough to have a ton of adult breeding amphibians in your area, well good for you, but most of us don’t. As for people removing tropical frogs in other countries for the pet trade.Nothing like getting a parasite infected, fungal carry, who knows what else it has, pet doomed to die or yet spread disease into another country.But then this is just my opinion, well all have them, kind of like we all have a butt-hole.

[Ted]

I have some wild caught animals and they are not doomed to die.they also were parasite free,one is 16 years old and going and the other is 15 years and going.

[Heatheranne]

Hi Kylie,

Frogs often stress when moving them from one environment to another. It's likely he is being cautious.

Males will call or croak to communicate with others and to call for a female mate. It is likely he was looking for a girlfriend, shall we say.

Wild caught frogs may not adjust as easily as captive bred frogs since captive bred frogs grow-up in a captive environment.

Ideas for you... Find him a girlfriend of the same species ? Or, perhaps set him free and get two of the same species? Just suggestions .

Many of us have had wild caught species throughout our frog hobbying days. I think once you're in the hobby awhile you tend to want to save and protect local species. You'll see members against wild caught species for this reason. Their thoughts are to preserve and proliferate the numbers of wild caught frogs, thereby not decreasing their numbers by taking them out of the wild.

I too once had wild caught species of frogs and toads in the past. Now I only take in wild caught if they need rescued or medical care.

We are here to help you though and to teach the best possible care of these great species . Our goal is to keep all frogs happy and healthy .

Do you have a photo of your new frog? Do you know which species he is?

~Heather

[Heatheranne]

Also, most frogs, both wild caught and captive, can take a couple weeks to settle into their new homes. He may need some adjusting time.

Be sure to dechlorinate his water. You'll also need to get some calcium with vitamin D3 supplements and a good amphibian multivitamin such as Repashy plus with calcium. Calcium should be lightly dusted on his crickets every other day and the vitamin should be lightly dusted one day a week but not in the same day as the calcium. The shake-and-bake methods works nicely... Put your crickets in a baggie with a pinch of supplement and lightly shake the baggie.

Your frog will have certain temp and humidity needs to keep him healthy.

I'll wait to hear back as to the species to provide the right care sheet.

For now, get a new spray bottle and spray the sides of the tank and his plants 2x a day with either dechlorinated water or distilled water (distilled will not create water spots on your glass). Be sure to rinse out your spray bottle well with hot water before using, even if its new. The spray water should be lukewarm to the touch. Use the anterior side of your forearm under the water spout to test the water temp before filling. It should feel lightly warm to slightly cool, not too warm and not cold.

Be sure to only use dechlorinated water in his soak bowl, change the water daily. The water should be no deeper than his belly when sitting.

Just some starter points.

[LuvMyTK]

Heather, thank you so much for your advice. lets start from the beginning. We caught him in our backyard about a week ago. we had an old beta aquarium that I put him in to take to our local petsmart to see how to care for him and what he eats. The girl seemed pretty knowledgeable and was not very nice but whatever. She pointed me to a plastic tank and said the bigger one would be best for him. I wasn't able to afford the biggest one at the time, especially since I didn't know if there was anything wrong with the frog and if he was going to make it through the night. My 4 year old daughter was so excited to have caught him and I was actually a little excited too since I had caught tadpoles as a kid around this neighborhood but my mom would never let me keep them long enough to turn into frogs lol. so we got him a tank, Im not sure how many gallons it is I didn't pay attention but its the second biggest one in the plastic type. I also got him some fake leaves, and a wooden log thing to perch on. once we switched him over he stopped hopping all over and climbing the walls of the tank by the next day. He started eating the crickets the day after that and has been ever since. The girl at petsmart would not be specific as to how often to change his tank and she wasn't specific on what kind of tree frog he was. The dirt I bought for him was the kind you put water on and it grows, im not sure what its called. Ive been using tap water, once again the petsmart girl told me to use tap water, and I didn't know to dust the crickets so I will go pick that up today. as for misting I wasnt aware of that either. im so glad I decided to join because theres a lot I don't know obviously and of course I want the best care for our new edition. I haven't handled him at all, I didn't want him to be more scared than needed so we have pretty much left him alone besides switching the tanks. He is pooping, and loves the small store bought crickets. besides that the most action we have seen is his burrowing into the dirt. let me get those pictures up, give me just a minute.

[LuvMyTK]

Here's "Macho"

[LilyPad]

If you're having trouble getting pictures up, this site might help with identification -

Identifying California Frogs and Toads

Stop using the tap water unless you have something to dechlorinate it, no matter what the girl at petsmart says. Until we know the species, it's hard to offer any more advice than you've been given.

[LuvMyTK]

If you're having trouble getting pictures up, this site might help with identification -

Identifying California Frogs and Toads

Stop using the tap water unless you have something to dechlorinate it, no matter what the girl at petsmart says. Until we know the species, it's hard to offer any more advice than you've been given.

I wasn't too keen on going to petsmart in the first place. I would have rather gone to an amphibian store or something close to that but we don't have one in my area especially not at 8 at night. I'm going to look into one though if its not too far we may take a trip that way.

[LilyPad]

We posted at the same time earlier. I will start by saying that keeper is way way too small. My crickets are in a bigger keeper than that. I would get at least a 10 gallon tank. If you can't afford that, I'm sorry to say you'd be better off letting this guy go. If you really want a pet frog, I would do some research and figure out the best type of frog for you and its needs. With my first tree frog, in a very basic 10 gallon tank, branch, water bowl, with lighting, that wasn't even close to an ideal set up, I spent probably $100. Making a guess, I would think that's a Northern Pacific tree frog, but I have no experience with that species. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

[LuvMyTK]

Do you know what the burrowing himself into the dirt is about? he started that last night and is continuing to do it after he ate this morning. I am going to try to find him a bigger tank. we found him in a puddle underneath a leaky hose in our backyard so hes been in the tap water from our area. because he is wild caught are you sure its necessary to dechlorinate it since he is used to that already?

[Frogman1031]

Unfortunately, tree frogs are a little more expensive to keep than other frogs because they prefer a high tank. 12x12x18 would be your best option. Fortunately since whatever species you have is obviously temperate, there are no humidity requirements. Just spray the cage with declorinated water once a day

[LilyPad]

Read this -- Frog Forum - Pacific Chorus Frog

And yes, it's necessary to dechlorinate regardless of where you found him.

They are not very arboreal but will climb, so a tall tank isn't totally necessary with them, you do still need something bigger than what you have. Around here, I can find a new 10gal tank for around $12. I would get a screen top for it. They do like to burrow, that's normal.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF ! First of all; forget everything the Petsmart employee said. You already got an ID and care article linked in previous posts. These are very important to maintain the frog's health. Bypassing any is a serious health risk to the frog. So let's begin; but do read that care article and tell your kid about it.

Water needs to be dechlorinated tap. Get yourself a bottle of Seachem Prime or ExoTerra Aquatize in a local pet shop and start using it for all water needs and also to mix with the shredded coco substrate. Do not use distilled water, R/O water, or any water processed or filtered for human use in the frog's water dish. Water dish should be rinsed and refilled daily even if it looks clean. You can mix and store your dechlorinated tap in an empty water jug or similar container as long as it has not been cleaned with soap or other detergents.

Substrate should be slightly damp. If you used tap water on it; recommend prepare a new batch with dechlorinated tap. Chloramines in drinking water will hurt a frog and they do not off gas with time. You just make your dechlorinated tap and add to substrate until it starts to clump in fist without dripping water out. Then you spray couple times a day to help maintain humidity.

Cover 3 sides of enclosure with dark paper (any you like, even taped brown paper bag material with daughters crayon drawings on it) to reduce frog's stress level. Frog is burying because it's scared, a good sign is that it is coming out to eat. Just leave the front open for observation. Avoid handling frog unless changing it's substrate. Frogs are see and no touch pets.

Crickets need to be sized same as distance between frogs eyes or smaller. Gut load crickets 24-48 hours before feeding frog with carrots, lettuce, and cherios. Can keep the crickets in a small plastic container with a piece of egg carton and small holes on lid or use a small critter keeper type plastic container.

Supplement crickets with CA/D3 to prevent nutritional deficiencies per this thread: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html.

The above will help keep frog in good health until you can get a larger tank for it. Petco has regular $1 a gallon tank sales every 3-4 month's (sadly one just ended). Another option is to check Craiglist for a nice used tank or similar enclosure set-up. Good luck !

[LuvMyTK]

Hello and welcome to FF ! First of all; forget everything the Petsmart employee said. You already got an ID and care article linked in previous posts. These are very important to maintain the frog's health. Bypassing any is a serious health risk to the frog. So let's begin; but do read that care article and tell your kid about it.

Water needs to be dechlorinated tap. Get yourself a bottle of Seachem Prime or ExoTerra Aquatize in a local pet shop and start using it for all water needs and also to mix with the shredded coco substrate. Do not use distilled water, R/O water, or any water processed or filtered for human use in the frog's water dish. Water dish should be rinsed and refilled daily even if it looks clean. You can mix and store your dechlorinated tap in an empty water jug or similar container as long as it has not been cleaned with soap or other detergents.

Substrate should be slightly damp. If you used tap water on it; recommend prepare a new batch with dechlorinated tap. Chloramines in drinking water will hurt a frog and they do not off gas with time. You just make your dechlorinated tap and add to substrate until it starts to clump in fist without dripping water out. Then you spray couple times a day to help maintain humidity.

Cover 3 sides of enclosure with dark paper (any you like, even taped brown paper bag material with daughters crayon drawings on it) to reduce frog's stress level. Frog is burying because it's scared, a good sign is that it is coming out to eat. Just leave the front open for observation. Avoid handling frog unless changing it's substrate. Frogs are see and no touch pets.

Crickets need to be sized same as distance between frogs eyes or smaller. Gut load crickets 24-48 hours before feeding frog with carrots, lettuce, and cherios. Can keep the crickets in a small plastic container with a piece of egg carton and small holes on lid or use a small critter keeper type plastic container.

Supplement crickets with CA/D3 to prevent nutritional deficiencies per this thread: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...schedules.html.

The above will help keep frog in good health until you can get a larger tank for it. Petco has regular $1 a gallon tank sales every 3-4 month's (sadly one just ended). Another option is to check Craiglist for a nice used tank or similar enclosure set-up. Good luck !

Thank you So much Carlos. This has been a major help and the article posted earlier was great! Thanks Everyonefor all your help!