Help(!) with Grey Tree Frogs

[Rebel]

Oh and i used tap water, often aged for a day, but not always. Also, i use straight tap for a variety of other frogs and salamanders

[irThumper]

Oh and i used tap water, often aged for a day, but not always. Also, i use straight tap for a variety of other frogs and salamanders

That could very well be the problem right there. Strongly recommend you begin using a water conditioner asap!

[Rebel]

That could very well be the problem right there. Strongly recommend you begin using a water conditioner asap!

When you say water conditioner are you referring to a chlorine remover or to an r.o. unit?

[ColleenT]

if you are keeping different sized frogs together- that is too stressful. they WILL eat each other. Substrate can cause impactions. I personally have no substrate in with my Grey Tree Frog's. I have 3 potted plants in the enclosure but no substrate. Water if it is town or city water has Chloramines and you have to use a dechlorinator every time.

[irThumper]

When you say water conditioner are you referring to a chlorine remover or to an r.o. unit?

A liquid water prep like SeaChem Prime, or similar, to remove Chlorine & Chloramines, etc. I personally use natural spring water in BPA free bottles & have a Britta water filter pitcher and Zoo Med Reptisafe terrarium water conditioner to be on the safe side. Definitely want to use the conditioner, especially after a major tank clean/sanitization using 10% bleach solution.

I personally I wouldn't want to risk more frogs by proving it, but you could try keeping some with treated water and some the way you've been doing and see what the results are. Me, I'd just treat the water anyway and see if you stop losing frogs all together. Hope this helps!

[LilyPad]

Can you post some pictures of the enclosures? You do not need water in the base of the tank, just a water dish would be sufficient. Was the water filtered? Were you changing it at all? How were you feeding them when the tank bottom was filled with water? Whatever water you use with your animals needs to be treated. Chloramines will not gas off. Do you have some pictures of your set ups? Were you using any supplements? Was the topsoil free of fertilizers and pesticides? Sphagnum can cause impaction with frogs that eat as aggressively as grays. Mixing subadults and adults can be okay (more likely they were males and females, can be quite a size difference) so long as none are less than half the size of the biggest. They like ventilation but not necessarily "dry" air. Were they burying themselves at any point? Food should be no longer than the space between their eyes. Can you be certain the worms and insects that you dug up were pesticide and fertilizer free?

Did you disinfect the tank and decorations at all after the first ones died? If you did, how did you do it? Gray tree frogs sold in the US are pretty much always wild caught and could have introduced some pathogen into the tanks.

Obviously, there are some big issues going on somewhere for them to die so quickly, I wouldn't get anymore until we can figure it out.

[Rebel]

Can you post some pictures of the enclosures? You do not need water in the base of the tank, just a water dish would be sufficient. Was the water filtered? Were you changing it at all? How were you feeding them when the tank bottom was filled with water? Whatever water you use with your animals needs to be treated. Chloramines will not gas off. Do you have some pictures of your set ups? Were you using any supplements? Was the topsoil free of fertilizers and pesticides? Sphagnum can cause impaction with frogs that eat as aggressively as grays. Mixing subadults and adults can be okay (more likely they were males and females, can be quite a size difference) so long as none are less than half the size of the biggest. They like ventilation but not necessarily "dry" air. Were they burying themselves at any point? Food should be no longer than the space between their eyes. Can you be certain the worms and insects that you dug up were pesticide and fertilizer free?

Did you disinfect the tank and decorations at all after the first ones died? If you did, how did you do it? Gray tree frogs sold in the US are pretty much always wild caught and could have introduced some pathogen into the tanks.

Obviously, there are some big issues going on somewhere for them to die so quickly, I wouldn't get anymore until we can figure it out.

Im a little new here and can't seem to get the mobile app to upload my pics. The setup is what you would call a naturalistic vivarium. Live plants are rooted in the substrate and are climbing through the tank. It had been set up and growing for some time before i added the frogs. I added about 2 inches of water the same day i added the frogs. It is not filtered, per se, but is used as a medium for plant roots which do draw out nitrates and phosphates. There is a cork bark island on which i place the crickets and other insect are added in a tupperware dish, so I'm not sure if or how frogs would be ingesting the peat from below the water level. As far as pesticides go, all i can say is that i dig from my own backyard compost, made of rabbit droppings, kitchen scraps, leaves of my own trees, and home depot "locally composted" topsoil. Crickets are the primary food and they are pet store bought. Insects are dusted with Exo terra multivitamin, about once per week.

No, the frogs never bury themselves. They remain at the upper corners of the tank or at the highest branches and move around only at night. When i see them sitting on the island during the day i know they are about to die.

Heres where i probably went wrong: i keep a sprayer with aged tap handy, but when it runs low i have a garden hose which i use to spray all the tanks in my basement. I spray for a couple of seconds to make up for evaporation. I typically spray in the daytime while the lights (3w led) are on. By dark all the water on the leaves and glass will have evaporated. Since i have been getting these responses i have only used water (for my final two frogs) which has sat aerated for 24 hours, but now i see i still need to add a chemical conditioner.
.
The nature of the setup does not allow for sterlization after an animal dies ...would you suggest a bare quarantine tank setup on the future

[Rebel]

Im a little new here and can't seem to get the mobile app to upload my pics. The setup is what you would call a naturalistic vivarium. Live plants are rooted in the substrate and are climbing through the tank. It had been set up and growing for some time before i added the frogs. I added about 2 inches of water the same day i added the frogs. It is not filtered, per se, but is used as a medium for plant roots which do draw out nitrates and phosphates. There is a cork bark island on which i place the crickets and other insect are added in a tupperware dish, so I'm not sure if or how frogs would be ingesting the peat from below the water level. As far as pesticides go, all i can say is that i dig from my own backyard compost, made of rabbit droppings, kitchen scraps, leaves of my own trees, and home depot "locally composted" topsoil. Crickets are the primary food and they are pet store bought. Insects are dusted with Exo terra multivitamin, about once per week.

No, the frogs never bury themselves. They remain at the upper corners of the tank or at the highest branches and move around only at night. When i see them sitting on the island during the day i know they are about to die.

Heres where i probably went wrong: i keep a sprayer with aged tap handy, but when it runs low i have a garden hose which i use to spray all the tanks in my basement. I spray for a couple of seconds to make up for evaporation. I typically spray in the daytime while the lights (3w led) are on. By dark all the water on the leaves and glass will have evaporated. Since i have been getting these responses i have only used water (for my final two frogs) which has sat aerated for 24 hours, but now i see i still need to add a chemical conditioner.
.
The nature of the setup does not allow for sterlization after an animal dies ...would you suggest a bare quarantine tank setup on the future