White's Tree Frog Set Up

[irThumper]

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:46 am
Post subject:White's Tree Frog Set Up
Hi All! I first time poster, with a few questions about setting up a tank for Whites Tree Frogs. I am getting conflicting information from the reptile stores here in OZ, so I though I would ask those who know them best: White's Tree Frog Enthusiasts I have the Exo Terra Crested Gecko Terrarium which is 18x18x24” / 45x45x60 cm which will house 4 White's (is that enough space for 4?) I was thinking of using large pebbles/ ‘frog rocks’ as my substrate with water dishes and a water fountain with a mister and lots of artificial plants, rocks and driftwood. Will I need to put anything under the pebbles or can they be placed directly on the bottom of the tank? I have read that reptile bark can stick to the frog, the sides of the tank, etc etc... I’m thinking of using a heating pad under the tank with a thermostat. My husband will elevate the tank off the cabinet to ensure proper ventilation. My question is do I get a heating pad to cover the entire bottom of the tank or do I just want to heat a smaller section? Will this be enough heat for the frogs or will I need to supplement it with a heating lamp? *For reference my average temperature where I live on the East Cost of Australia: The summer high is approx 26 Celsius with the low being 17 Celsius (not this year, its been a hot one!) and the winter high is approx 18 Celsius with the low being 8 Celsius* For lighting, I was looking at the Reptile One UVB 2.0 Fluorescent light tube and the Moonlight Fluorescent light tube. Will this lighting be sufficient for day and night? It is my understanding the GTFs will need 8-10 hours of the UVB light per day? Thank you in advance for any advice/suggestions you can offer. Macsmum

Howdy & G'Day from The States!

Well number 1, that tank is going to be way too small before long for growing White's tree frogs... babies would do fine in it, but by the time they are sub-adults things are going to be cramped. The general rule of thumb is 20 gallons for the first adult Whites Tree Frog, with 10 gallons extra per each additional frog, so you are looking at 50 gallons. I think the equivalent to that is the Exo-Terra large-tall tank, 36" x 18" x 36" high (someone correct me if that's not right).

Whatever you use for substrate on the bottom of the tank must absolutely not be small enough to fit into the frogs mouths... bark, gravel, small stones, and clay balls that are not covered by screen mesh and then topped with a safe substrate is a definite choking and impaction risk. Moss is also seen as a big impaction risk to White's tree frogs. Plain white paper towels, repti-carpet, & "frog safe soils" or coco substrates are good options.

White's tree frogs don't need as much humidity as other frog species, so keeping it to 50% (or between 40%-60%) is a good safe average. Misting 2-3 times a day and making sure they have a nice full dish of clean water daily will usually suffice. Heat is also very variable with these guys; here in the Northwest part of the U.S. we generally have mild winters and summers both, so the temps are similar to yours, if not somewhat hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. My WTFs have been doing well with either a 40 or 60 watt heat bulb in blue during the day and a 40 or 60 watt red heat bulb at night (our apartment is kept on the warm side too though). Frogs' nighttime temps are between 73F-75F and daytime between 77F-80F. Alternate lighting is 6500K T8 or T5 grow lights for my plants and just regular incandescent room lighting; lighting is 12 hours on for daylight and 12 hours off (except for the red bulbs which are on all night). There's been some controversy about whether White's tree frogs even need UVB, since they are nocturnal and not diurnal, but they seem to do fine without UVB as long as their foodstuffs are dusted on a regular schedule with Calcium/D3 and other vitamins. This should be done even if you do opt to use UVB lighting.

Here is the link to the care sheet here on White's tree frogs if you haven't seen it yet: Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea If you've already looked around on the internet you will find that care recommendations for these guys are highly divergent, but then they are quite adaptable and hardy froggles

If you have Facebook I would also recommend the White's Tree Frog Lovers Group. We have Whites Tree Frog enthusiasts on there from all over and it's a great place to share and get info about our fav froggles! https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhitesTreeFrogs/