Grey tree frog and food variety, few questions

[jlara75]

So I'm new to the forum but LOVE you guys! I've read the care sheets, some threads, etc. Our grey tree frog "Jelly" is fed exclusively gut loaded crickets. I'd like to change up her diet, but want some ideas for how to collect moths, or if anyone has ideas how to get/capture/raise fruit flies for her? I've occasionally put banana peels in the tank and fruit flies appeared and were quickly eaten. Anyone else have good ideas? I'd like to have several, but don't want them all over my house! I've also seen some members refer to meal worms for feeding. Can I assume that you are referring to live meal worms as opposed to the canned/jarred dead ones? Do you tweezer feed these as well, or just put them in the tank?

Jelly absolutely loves her crickets and we get such delight in feeding her with feeding tweezers. She ATTACKS them and it's fun to watch her eat! I just would like to switch it up. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Second question: I use the coconut fiber substrate and some light moss on top. She also has a rocky area leading to her corner water dish, as well as branches and a fake plant. I mist her tank 1-2 times a day, and we run humidifiers in our home. She loathes getting the coconut fibers on her skin. She wriggles and writhes, trying to clean them off. Eventually she jumps in the water and comes out clean. Is this normal or is she OCD? haha Do you guys use coconut fiber, or just chemical free top soil?

Third question: Do you ever handle your tree frog? Ours seems pretty tame and will actually jump onto my arm when I feed her sometimes. I've read though that I shouldn't handle her as it's bad for her skin. Your thoughts?

Last question: Any suggestions for real plants that she would enjoy? I'd like to upgrade her fake plant as a Christmas gift.

Thank you in advance!!

[Frogman1031]

Hello! Welcome to the frog forum !!

Waxworms can be found at your local pet store. The worms themselves are quite fattening, but if allowed to metamorphose, turn into nutritious moths! Flightless fruit flies can also be found at pet stores. D. Melanogaster and D. Hydei are usually readily available with the difference being that the latter is bigger. Just dont let the different species breed with each other or they will take to the skies. I don't suggest mealworms as they are hard to digest and have little nutritional value. Frogs almost always require live food. If your frog does decide to take dead food you should tweezer feed.

Moss is always an impaction risk. I recommend you get rid of it ASAP. One of my frogs hates dirt but the other wallows in it all the time! All frogs are different so i wouldnt worry. Just remember to change to coco fibre every few months.

I recommend to handle your frog as little as possible. If you must though, use latex gloves (non powdered).

If you mean a real plant then the soil should be changed to ABG mix or something similar. Pothos and dracaena are ones i use in my whites tank.

[teslas intern]

I'd look into lateralis or dubia roaches, they are excellent feeders and my whites tree frogs can't get enough of them... Gut load them just like crickets. Also once in a while switch up what you use for gut load just for varieties sake.

[Crunchy Frog]

Hi, and welcome. I currently have 6 juvenile Greys from a group of tadpoles that I rescued over the summer. They had been exclusively on crickets for the past several months, both gut loaded, and dusted alternately with Calcium/D3 powder, and vitamin powder. I too, recently decided to try diversifying their diet. There's lots of different kinds of bugs you can order from online suppliers. A few weeks ago I got some of the calcium rich Phoenix Worms to try with them. That turned out to be a big mistake, as they passed through the frogs undigested, and in one case, still alive. Other people have also tried them with other types of frogs and toads and had similar experiences.

I recently got a culture of Hydei fruit flies, and my little guys just love them. They're considerably bigger than the Melanogaster fruit flies, so if you already know that your frog likes them, then I would go ahead and purchase a culture. As far as mealworms go, it's my understanding that they are okay as an occasional treat, just not as a staple diet. If you do give them, it's a good idea to only use the ones that have just shed, and still have soft bodies, as the chitin is very hard for them to digest. If you tweezer feed crickets, then you can do the same with mealworms.

As far as substrate and plants go, I think that I do things kind of differently than most other people on here. I don't like using soil like substrates for the exact reason you describe. I use a substrate of large grain gravel and pebbles, or in their new vivarium, a porous drainage type layer with a light covering of gravel and pebbles. I cover much of the gravel substrate with sheets of live moss. I don't use a water dish, but instead just fill the entire bottom of the tank with water. with most of the gravel layer above the water line, and a small area below the water line as a pond. I also have a small waterfall, which keeps the water circulating.

There are a number of plants that will grow hydroponically in a wet gravel substrate like this. Pothos does extremely well grown this way, and I have a good sized plant in my tank that grew from a tiny cutting. They are good frog plants, as the leaves get to be pretty big, with fairly strong stems. Another plant that I know grows really well in this environment is the Peace Lily, or Spathiphyllum. Another really good tree frog plant is the Snake Plant, or Sansevieria trifasciata. They have tall, vertical, stiff leaves that are good for climbing and perching, and are tough enough to handle a robust frog. I have a couple of those growing in a planter that I made from a cork bark round, though I'm not sure yet if it's going to be big enough for their root systems. The planter is the only part of my vivarium where I have a planting mix. I use the ABG mix, that you can buy online from several different places.

I do handle my frogs a little bit, as it's my understanding that Greys are one of the few types of frogs that will become real pets. I personally don't think there is a problem with you handling her as described, especially if she is the one initiating the contact. I would just make sure your hands and arms are really clean and free of chemicals. I would not handle most other frogs like that.

Here are a few pictures of my recently constructed vivarium, just to give you some idea of what I'm talking about.



I hope my post wasn't too long winded. I probably shouldn't post so late at night.

Edit: I don't know why my pics won't post as thumbnails. Sorry.

[elly]

I was going to suggest dubias. They're easy to take care of but they do eventually get too big for small frogs.

[jlara75]

Crunchy Frog, I love your waterfall. That's a great idea. I appreciate all the responses. I found online the flightless fruit flies, and I think I'll try those. I know she is satisfied with the crickets, I just would like to simulate more of her natural environment and food. The dubias seem to be a good idea as well. If I am unable to locate them locally, I will try online. I appreciate everyone's expertise!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF ! If going with live plants ABG soil covered by a layer of dry leaves is the way to go. For ideas go to the vivarium section and look at builds in there, specially those by Bill (Deranged Chipmunk).

[LilyPad]

The dubias would be good to try. I haven't had any luck getting my greys to take a variety of feeders, I have tried both nightcrawlers and dubias, but they turn their noses up to them. I think it will help that you tong feed, you can wiggle the dubias around a little then and get them to snap them up. Mine do not tong feed and I think there just wasn't enough movement coming from the dubias. I just make sure my crickets are gutloaded with a wide variety of foods and use supplements with every feeding.

[irThumper]

Welcome to FF! As far as live plants go I've found that tree frogs like Dracaena compacta "Janet Craig" really well

Pacific chorus frog in a Dracaena
White's tree frog in a Dracaena