Help with sexing my grey tree frogs

[jasonandsusan]

my 2 grey tree frogs-Daisy and Scooby are hopefully a girl & boy. the issue is that we can't seem to sex them! we don't think we've heard croaking and they should be old enough to (3 yrs and 1 yr at least-unsure as they were wild). their throats are both white (definitely not dark colored) but it looks like they have extra skin there for croaking? can anyone help?

[LilyPad]

What is the snout to vent length? Sounds like two females to me, but I have one male that has never chirped. I figured out he was male when I found him in amplexus with my big female.

[Heatheranne]

Hello jasonandsusan,

You're on the right track... Males sing/croak and have a saggy gular. During mating season you may also notice a larger dark thumb pad called a nuptial pad on the males. Females are larger than males.

It could be that they are still young, you have two females, or they need more foliage in their home to feel safe.

At three years, they should be croaking. They general start croaking around 4 months out-of-the-water, up to a year for late bloomers.

Do you have any photos?

[jasonandsusan]

thank you both for the quick replies. will measure them and get back to you. in the meantime, the younger (Scooby) is much larger (probably 1/2 inch) than the oldest (Daisy) and has a much more voracious appetite. if it matters, Scooby has turned a bright light green a few times. how saggy does the skin have to be? does anyone have a side by side photo of male/female throats for me to compare?

[LilyPad]

My biggest and most obviously female does have a saggy throat at times also, so that is not always an accurate way to tell with the greys. - Edit- Those 3 are all my female, will try to find a pic of my male for you.

My male was about a half inch when I got him 1 year ago, and started calling around Jan-Feb of this year.

[LilyPad]

My old male, Leggy, was fully grown and called regularly at the time I took this picture


Silvermist, male who doesn't call


For size comparison - Atlas, my calling male with Paddy, my female (who is in the previous post)

[jasonandsusan]

so it sounds like size is one of the best ways to sex grey tree frogs. I will measure them and take photos tonight. at what age are they fully grown? also, will they mate without me doing the cold to warm temperature thing because if I have a male and female, I really don't want a bunch of little froglets to care for. is it hard on them to not mate?

[LilyPad]

By 1 and 3 years old they should be fully grown. They should not mate without a cooling cycle, though I do not do a cooling cycle and there have been attempts as you can see. I haven't had any eggs though. A nuptial pad would also be a good indicator, I will see if I can get a pic tonight to show you.

One way you could try to convince your possible male to start calling is to mist several times a day and play recordings. I'm not sure whether Nebraska has copes or eastern or both grey tree frogs, so you'd either have to do some research there or try both types of recordings.

[ColleenT]

sometimes the males have a dark throat. it does sound like you have females. especially if they are not calling at all at this age.

[Heatheranne]

Amy's got you covered .

(Btw, Amy will you sign your pics for me ).

[LilyPad]

Amy's got you covered .

(Btw, Amy will you sign your pics for me ).

I dug old ones out of my online album from before I started watermarking them (a couple are over 3 years old.) I will try to DL them later on my home computer to sign them for you!

[Heatheranne]

Ty

[LilyPad]

Here is a typical male. This is my 1 year old, Atlas.

[Heatheranne]

Adorable!

[Frogman1031]

I love these frogs and these pics! I want greys now lol! I swear i feel like a kid in a candy store sometimes "i want that one, and that one, and that one!" I really need to get it together lol.

[ColleenT]

i love the grays. mine are only half inch long but eating and thriving.