How soon to stop daily feedings...?

[irThumper]

Wondered when it will be safe to go to every other day or every third day feedings for our juvenile WTFs? We've had them for appx 18 and 10 days days now & still don't really have a clue how old they are... Jelly Bean is the smallest at appx 1 1/2" inches, Honey next at appx 1 3/4", Sheila appx 2", and Shirley the biggest and plumpest at appx 2 1/4" give or take. Shirls grown the most (and very obviously) while Honey, who was smaller than her but almost her size, and much bigger than Jelly Bean, doesn't seem to have grown much (I'll be glad when the fecal sample results get back. Will be mailing that overnight on Monday); I think Jelly Bean has grown, but it's hard to say how much, and I think Sheil has too.

Oh, and if I haven't already posted this here at the forum before (I get mixed up between here and a WTF group at FB sometimes, lol) Sheila MIGHT be a HEila...! Here's a video I made of her/him(??) trying to croak the other day... I know I almost "croaked" trying to get something out of that frog, heh :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_lxm5340-g

[elly]

Can't help you, I've been wondering about my own frog who's either juvanile or sub adult.

The video made me laugh, though.

[Mentat]

Myself don't keep them; but I would just monitor the fatness by observing their supratympanic ridge. Our care article has pics of healthy frogs and how it should look like: Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea. If it starts getting thicker than frogs in those pics; time to cut back their food input .

[irThumper]

Myself don't keep them; but I would just monitor the fatness by observing their supratympanic ridge. Our care article has pics of healthy frogs and how it should look like: Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea. If it starts getting thicker than frogs in those pics; time to cut back their food input .

Thanks It's just kind of confusing how there is so little info (and lots of conflicting info) available on what is a very popular pet frog species. I know babies need daily feeding, I just don't know when to safely stop feeding them every day for their age and when they stop growing/are mature.

[elly]

Yeah, I knew about the ridges, I just guess feeding must not be an exact science.

[UncleChester]

It's definitely not an exact science, hence the apparently contradictory info you'll see from different care sheets where authors are just stating their preferred method.

You don't have to jump to every other day feeding if you're concerned you're doing it too early. Start by skipping every fourth meal, then every third meal, and so on. A calendar to keep track is a good idea, especially if you're sharing care taking duties with someone else.

Monitoring your frogs weight with a digital scale can also be a good idea to keep track of growth or weight loss. How often you weigh in depends on how well the frog tolerates handling and how paranoid you are about this. Keep in mind their weight will be highly variable depending on the amount of water they're currently holding, so it's really long term trends you'd be looking for.

[Heatheranne]

You'll be able to tell when he's starting to eat too much. They tend to grow fast. If he looks good and solid, go ahead and start weaning back to every other day. I'll estimate about a month but there is no set time.

He's a cutie .

P.s. Try playing a video of another whites tree frog calling. Works a smidge better .

[elly]

I've been feeding mine a medium size cricket (sometimes two) every two days. He seems solid and has a normal White's potbelly so I'm assuming things are okay. He has been more sluggish lately, but it's probably because he's been treated with metronidazole.

[irThumper]

I've been feeding mine a medium size cricket (sometimes two) every two days. He seems solid and has a normal White's potbelly so I'm assuming things are okay. He has been more sluggish lately, but it's probably because he's been treated with metronidazole.

What did his fecal come back with? How exactly do you get the metro into him? We used that stuff to treat a horse years ago that had giardiasis; the metronidazole came in pill form and I had to crush it up and mix it into her feed.

[elly]

He had a lot of protozoa. The doctor gave me a syringe and I just dropped a certain amount onto him every day for four days. I probably should have removed the water bowl for an hour to make sure he didn't soak it off, but I didn't think of that at the time

[irThumper]

He had a lot of protozoa. The doctor gave me a syringe and I just dropped a certain amount onto him every day for four days. I probably should have removed the water bowl for an hour to make sure he didn't soak it off, but I didn't think of that at the time

Hmm... so far I've been told to medicate orally, which worries me because of the stress, short of being able to inject the stuff into a bug and get them to eat it... So did you go to a herp vet or a regular vet? Have you had a clean fecal test on him since the medicating?

[elly]

Orally? That seems a bit weird but I know nothing about animal medicine.

I saw a vet who was familiar with reptiles, not frogs so much, but it sounds like he did research. I'll need to get a fecal test done next week.

[irThumper]

Orally? That seems a bit weird but I know nothing about animal medicine.

I saw a vet who was familiar with reptiles, not frogs so much, but it sounds like he did research. I'll need to get a fecal test done next week.

Yup, meaning I either have to inject the med into a Waxworm (or similar) and get them to eat it (which would be less stressful) or I have to hold each one, pry open their mouths and squirt the liquid down their gullets... which would be my last recourse of action :/ looking forward to seeing what your frog's next fecal exam says, I hope the meds worked and he will be ok!