Cuban Tree Frog

[Winnowyl Daemera]

I don't have a camera, nor even a cell phone to take pictures with. =( They're wild caught Cuban Treefrogs. The area in which I live, if they're caught, I have a choice of keeping or killing them. These 4 managed to be cute enough to avoid euthanasia. They're currently in medium sized plastic tubs, with air holes and such. Water inside, along with some River rocks and some plants trimmed from the hedge outside. (No pesticides, and it's the environment from which they were caught.) The three smallest are fed daily. The largest is fed 3 times a week roughly. They eat crickets. Punkin is the one I'm concerned with. He/she has been with me a little over a year now. He/she is housed with two smaller cubans: Skitter and Baby. Baby is a new one (about 2 months, was in quarantine for the first month); Skitter and Punkin have been sharing for about 10 months. Felix is in his own container, "decorated" the same way. He's a large enough male to have the nuptial pads, and looks at the others like they're snacks. The three small ones seem to be getting along fine. I haven't taken him to a herp vet, in part because I can't afford it, and in part because I'm not even sure if he's actually sick. As I said, I thought I remembered reading something about splayed legs, but now can't find anything on it. Beyond that, he's acting just like he always has. He's a "pet" frog, and he knows it. He likes to watch us when we move around. He watches TV. He watches us play computer games. When we talk to him, he'll climb to the top of his home and tilt his head at us. The splayed legs is the only indication that anything at all may be wrong with him, and I'm not even sure about that. All of the frogs are bowl fed.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Plastic bins are not good homes for tree frogs. Need answers to questions Eli posted in order to determine what is issue. Appears to me the frog could be suffering Metabolic Bone Disease; but until you answer those questions it's impossible to tell. We really need to know about the water, substrate, and food supplements. Thank you !

[Winnowyl Daemera]

The water is well water. No substrate. Right now, they've got lots of rocks of various sizes, as well as the plants in there, and the bottom of the tub is all water. I change the water every day. The crickets are fed potato and Fluker's Cricket Quencher with Calcium. The Temp is around 79 degrees to 85 degrees. With all the water plus the plants, the humidity stays relatively high - there's almost always condensation on the top. When the plants get older, they get replaced. So far, they all seem to enjoy their little home.

I don't use dechlorinator, and never have. I've had Punkin (the one in question) for about 15 months. Skitter for about 10 months. Baby for about 2 months. Felix for about 1. Felix is in a separate container. The other three share. Punkin is about 2 inches long, maybe a bit longer. They only get handled when they're fed. The water is dumped and changed without needing to take them out. The plants are changed and the whole thing washed (no soap) when they're eating. Fecal matter is removed when it's spotted, and the water changed if need be. This happens daily. My frogs are full of it, it seems. Punkin last ate yesterday, and I cleaned fecal matter up earlier today. That doesn't seem to be a problem.

As for high traffic areas and such, they're kept in the office. One of us is usually in here all day. When it's me, regardless of the time, there's light from 1 computer monitor on the other side of the room, and light from the window. I never turn on the overhead light. When my boyfriend is in here, the TV light is usually on, as well as a second monitor, and the overhead light. It's a 40 watt compact bulb. They sleep during the day, and get more active at night. All 4 of them. The three smaller ones tend to wake up before Felix, and start moving around, climbing up the walls, and peering out at us. I think between these two posts, I answered all the questions.

[wen]

Hi, How is your frog today? I also have 4 Cuban tree frogs as pets. When you say splayed legs, is it like a light paralyzed leg, not able to move them? If so, Do you dust your crickets with calcium with d3 powder?

[Winnowyl Daemera]

Actually, he's back to his normal self now. It was just a few days with the splayed legs. And no, not paralyzed or anything that dramatic. When my frogs sit, they usually sit with their back legs tucked to their sides, and their "hands" folded in front of them. He was sitting with his knees sticking out at about a 60 degree angle. So rather like \/ instead of the || that they normally sit like. The crickets have the Fluker's with Calcium, so I don't dust them.