Firs frog - How often should I feed a young American Gray Tree Frog?

[MantidBro]

Are you talking about phoenix worms? If so, I would not use them. A lot of frogs cannot digest them properly. If you're talking about wax worms, that isn't a healthy diet. I would get small crickets. As Eli said, they should be no bigger than the space between his eyes. As a tree frog, he'll appreciate the quick moving crickets more. Carlos has you covered on the supplements and the daily feedings. You could even try earthworm pieces and see if you have any luck there (I never have.) Good luck with your little baby and ask as many questions as you want!

No, no worms. I mean maggots, fly larvae. Do you mean the length or width should be no bigger than the space between the eyes? Or both? These maggots, width-wise, are smaller than that space. But length-wise, a bit bigger. Would that be a no-no then? The first day (yesterday) he gobbled it up quickly and eagerly, but today he didn't pay any attention. I personally feel that he's not hungry. I mean the maggot he ate was half his size, I imagine his stomach must be quite full. I will be getting pinheads either way since everyone says they're better. Also going to get some calcium. I already have the vitamin D3 supplement. I have a Bearded Dragon and he needs the same things. I may try offering some Earthworm pieces down the road, just to mix things up in his diet. I definitely will be asking a bunch of questions. Like, how do you tell the sex? Will I have to wait til he's bigger? And I read that they aren't temperature sensitive - but are they attracted to lights? I put a UVB light on and he climbed up to the top of the cage, hung upside down from the lid and went in circles around the light. I since moved him to a smaller container because that one is quite big and I want to be able to easily manage his cage and be able to keep a good eye on him. Thanks for the help!

[ColleenT]

i would think maggot would also be very fatty, and not the best choice. crix should be no longer than the space between the frog's eyes. pinheads are probably good for this guy. he's only half grown, will get to be about 1.5-2 inches from snout to vent as an adult. not sexable until adult. needs a tall terrarium/vivarium bc he/she is a tree frog and like to climb high. room temperature is good for these guys, but mist daily with dechlorinated water. not a lot, just a drop of dechlorinator per gallon.

[Mentat]

...but mist daily with dechlorinated water. not a lot, just a drop of dechlorinator per gallon.

That will depend on the dechlorinator brand. Always follow the bottle label directions and do not overdose it .

[MantidBro]

That will depend on the dechlorinator brand. Always follow the bottle label directions and do not overdose it .

Okay thanks :-)

[LilyPad]

Phoenix worms are fly larvae (aka maggots) A lot of frogs cannot digest them and they will go through their system whole and sometimes still alive. They are a healthy option for reptiles who will bite and chew them, breaking the skin. You shouldn't need a cricket as tiny as a pinhead right now, you should get 1-2 weekers. You will have to wait until he/she is mature to figure out the sex. I had one of my greys for 3 years before figuring out that she was actually a he. He never called, was a pretty good size, so I assumed female...one day I found "her" in amplexus with my big female.

UV light is not necessary. There is no research that suggests they benefit from it. My greys typically like to claim the highest perch, I don't know if it's necessarily for the light or because it's the highest perch. In the wild, they like the lights because lights=bugs at night. Easy pickings.

Right now you want to have him in quarantine conditions. Keep him in a tank with damp, unprinted, paper towel on the bottom that you change every 1-2 days. A water bowl that gets cleaned daily and is refreshed with dechlorinated water (most here use seachem prime to dechlorinate.)

It would be helpful to start teaching your frog to bowl feed now. Greys can get fairly aggressive while eating and take in a mouthful of substrate, which isn't good. When you get your crickets, place them in a glass bowl. This is helpful as you can see exactly how much your frog is eating to better assess his health.

You could also add a branch or two in there if you wanted to help keep him happy, but you want to make it all very easy to clean and observe. I would recommend to get a fecal test done considering he is wild caught. That will prevent you from having issues down the road from parasites and etc.

[MantidBro]

Phoenix worms are fly larvae (aka maggots) A lot of frogs cannot digest them and they will go through their system whole and sometimes still alive. They are a healthy option for reptiles who will bite and chew them, breaking the skin. You shouldn't need a cricket as tiny as a pinhead right now, you should get 1-2 weekers. You will have to wait until he/she is mature to figure out the sex. I had one of my greys for 3 years before figuring out that she was actually a he. He never called, was a pretty good size, so I assumed female...one day I found "her" in amplexus with my big female.

UV light is not necessary. There is no research that suggests they benefit from it. My greys typically like to claim the highest perch, I don't know if it's necessarily for the light or because it's the highest perch. In the wild, they like the lights because lights=bugs at night. Easy pickings.

Right now you want to have him in quarantine conditions. Keep him in a tank with damp, unprinted, paper towel on the bottom that you change every 1-2 days. A water bowl that gets cleaned daily and is refreshed with dechlorinated water (most here use seachem prime to dechlorinate.)

It would be helpful to start teaching your frog to bowl feed now. Greys can get fairly aggressive while eating and take in a mouthful of substrate, which isn't good. When you get your crickets, place them in a glass bowl. This is helpful as you can see exactly how much your frog is eating to better assess his health.

You could also add a branch or two in there if you wanted to help keep him happy, but you want to make it all very easy to clean and observe. I would recommend to get a fecal test done considering he is wild caught. That will prevent you from having issues down the road from parasites and etc.

Fly larvae are called pheonix worms huh? interesting.

Well hes only half the size of an adult now. How long does it take for them to reach adulthood?

The UV light was for a different cage that Id held him in momentarily. His new set up doesnt have lights. He didnt seem to be looking for insects, he seemed like he was very focused on the light. It was making him hyper. He was going around and around while staring at the light. Much like my mantids.

For feeding, i actually just moved him to a smaller container that doesnt have substrate or anything really. Im not sure pinheads would stay in a bowl. Lol.

In his set up ive got coconut fiber as substrate, a water bowl, a fake plant, some wide sticks and a piece of bark to climb on. As he gets bigger ill remove the sticks and find more bark. But first i will quarantine him.

Edit: Thanks for the help!

[LilyPad]

Pinheads will stay in glass bowl. Removing him for feeding could end up stressing him out. Here is a link to how to bowl feed - http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...eder-bowl.html

Make sure 3 sides of the QT tank are covered. The "hyper" may have been him panicking in a new enclosure trying to find a way out.

[MantidBro]

Pinheads will stay in glass bowl. Removing him for feeding could end up stressing him out. Here is a link to how to bowl feed - http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...eder-bowl.html

Make sure 3 sides of the QT tank are covered. The "hyper" may have been him panicking in a new enclosure trying to find a way out.

Thanks for the link, ill take your word for it and put them in a glass bowl, see how it goes.

Im sorry but i really truly think he was attracted to the light. He wasnt doing that on the other side of the cage. Only directly under the light. I will be sure to cover up three sides so as not to stress him out. Thanks!

[MantidBro]

Pinheads will stay in glass bowl. Removing him for feeding could end up stressing him out. Here is a link to how to bowl feed - http://www.frogforum.net/general-dis...eder-bowl.html

Make sure 3 sides of the QT tank are covered. The "hyper" may have been him panicking in a new enclosure trying to find a way out.

Quarantined



How long should i keep him in here?

[LilyPad]

30 days minimum. Make sure his water isn't more than chin deep.

[UncleChester]

Fly larvae are called pheonix worms huh? interesting.

Only the black soldier fly larva. "Phoenix Larva" presumably sounds more awesome than soldier-fly-squidgy-maggot-thing and you can sell more that way. Many of the feeder 'worms' in the pet industry aren't worms, but various larva.

If you can get your gray to eat bona fide earthworms, that would be great. They're a great food source but some frogs will be adamant about spitting them out.

It can take a couple years for a gray to reach adult size.

[MantidBro]

Only the black soldier fly larva. "Phoenix Larva" presumably sounds more awesome than soldier-fly-squidgy-maggot-thing and you can sell more that way. Many of the feeder 'worms' in the pet industry aren't worms, but various larva.

If you can get your gray to eat bona fide earthworms, that would be great. They're a great food source but some frogs will be adamant about spitting them out.

It can take a couple years for a gray to reach adult size.

Yeah thats true. Like, superworms arent worms, theyre darkling beetle larvae.

Im going to try pinheads then maybe try some earthworms, small ones or maybe try pieces, hes quite small. Hes the frog on my avatar. Hes on my fingers there.

Okay, thanks!

[MantidBro]

i would think maggot would also be very fatty, and not the best choice. crix should be no longer than the space between the frog's eyes. pinheads are probably good for this guy. he's only half grown, will get to be about 1.5-2 inches from snout to vent as an adult. not sexable until adult. needs a tall terrarium/vivarium bc he/she is a tree frog and like to climb high. room temperature is good for these guys, but mist daily with dechlorinated water. not a lot, just a drop of dechlorinator per gallon.

I think i gave him a pretty good set up, a big container for his size, lots of pieces of bark to climb up. A fake plant. Water bowl. Coconut fiber as substrate. Ill take photos later. Thanks!