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

[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.

[gdibs82]

You may want to "gut load" the crickets, unless you use the stuff you sprinkle on them. I usually feed the crickets fish flake food an hour before feeding them to my frogs.

[MantidBro]

You may want to "gut load" the crickets, unless you use the stuff you sprinkle on them. I usually feed the crickets fish flake food an hour before feeding them to my frogs.

Can i gut load them with lettuce, carrots, spinach, that sort of thing?

[ColleenT]

yes it is just a mess you need to clean up every day. fish flakes are easier, but whatever you have will work.

[gdibs82]

Exactly what was said above. If you plan on storing crickets for a longer period than an hour. Make sure to have a cricket house with food and water (water on a paper towel will suffice).

[gdibs82]

You can "gut load" them any way that's been mentioned. I know fish flake food is healthy for them, its what you'd feed them as tadpoles. Either way, crickets usually lay wastes every few hours anyways. As long as they have food to keep them gut loaded. Your frog(s) should stay healthy.

[MantidBro]

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

Oh damn, longer than i thought. Okay, thanks

[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!