March MOTM - Lisa (irThumper)

[irThumper]

Ok, back to this...


(In the interest of time I am going to repost my very first post, which was about the guys we built this micro-eco habitat for)

I first found FrogForum while researching for the above project... here is my very first post!

Pacific NW Frog Lover


Hello all!

My name's Lisa but my friends call me "Thumper" (first name given pre-birth, lol). My introduction to the world of amphibians began when my grandpa gave me two Pacific tree frogs to take to first grade show and tell a LONG time ago. I have been a frog lover ever since! From those first two little frogs we wound up being "'Phib Keepers" for a number of years as I grew up. Our last were a pair of Bombina Orientalis back in the mid 1990's, then we had a long hiatus... until recently. At the beginning of July 2014 we had a Pacific tree frog show up on the sidewalk near our wheelchair ramp, out in front of our apartment. We have green space behind us (closest known water source is a small pond at a retirement center a few blocks away) but everything here is all concrete and black top out front, no landscaping. We placed a small water dish by the ramp and would look for froggy at night as he climbed up the wood siding and snatched flying insects drawn by the porch light. From the first frog three others eventually showed up... what concerned us was we were heading into a heat wave, and all these little frogs had was a hot sidewalk, a short wheelchair ramp to hide under, and a little dish of water. One day it was so hot that one of the frogs was out in the dish in the middle of the day; he looked bad, and when I came closer he didn't even move. I wondered if he was comatose from the 100 degree heat... he didn't even move after I picked up the dish-- until I took it into our air conditioned apartment, then his eyes suddenly popped open! I put him inside a long tank containing two trailing semi-miniature African violets and he looked very happy to see the plants, crawling into one immediately. We made the decision to try and bring his other little friends in as well (all four were half grown). It wasn't too hard, as when I opened the door that night one was sitting on the metal ridge right in front of the doorway (it might have been cooler there due to the ac leaking through?) so I scooped him up and brought him in; the same scenario happened with #3 & #4. So now we have had these little green & brown "house guests" for about 4 weeks and have made them as comfortable as possible. I determined that when the weather/temps moderate (the frog temps indoors range between 73-75 F. vs the 90 degree temps currently outside) that we would return them to a more frog friendly environment, making sure to be in plenty of time for them to get ready for winter hibernation. In the meantime a 5th frog showed up outside! And that's when I came up with the idea to build a micro-eco frog habitat out on our sidewalk. I've enjoyed having these guys for a visit, and I have taken plenty of video to remember them when they leave our froggy hotel Someday I hope to be able to get a pair or trio of White's Tree Frogs and keep them in a really awesome live planted set up, something I've wanted to do for a long time, lol. Would love to talk to other folks who especially love tree frogs. Thanks! ~irThumper


http://www.frogforum.net/introductions-area/30712-pacific-nw-frog-lover.html

Here is the album I made of our visiting PCFs, inside and out

irThumper's Album: Pacific Tree Frogs by irThumper

On September 28, 2014 our little house guests returned to the wild; they were released in ecologically friendly PCF habitat (with shrubs/trees/meadows, a creek, and breeding pond) on private property. This album details that day...

irThumper's Album: Pacific Tree Frogs Return to Nature by irThumper

In the couple months I sheltered these PCFs I learned quite a bit more than what we knew about frog care growing up... there was NO information back then, and we basically were winging it, with recommendations from my ecologically experienced grandpa. We never had any problems with our PCFs as far as skin disease, MBD, intestinal issues (they always had nice firm little poops), constipation, etc. The only issue we ever ran across was one frog who prolapsed and another, older frog, who eventually went blind but otherwise led a perfectly normal life. We kept our first frogs for 6+ years and many of them lived to be at least that old, maybe older, as the majority of them were fully grown adults when we got them. This time around I discovered just how many advancements have been made in herp keeping and care... there are many species available in the herp trade, a good selection of supplements & feeder choices, numerous housing options, supplies galore, decor up the wazoo, and best of all there are internet resources like FrogForum! The one thing still lacking is knowledgeable herp vets, particularly where frogs are concerned-- frogs need to stop being viewed as "disposable" pets because veterinarians that deal with them are so few and far between, and when they are located that the expense is often so exorbitant that folks can't afford to pay. It's not that frogs are any less valuable (just look at various prices for some species!) or deserve treatment less than more typical pets, the problem is that when a problem with a frog arises that the deck is often severely stacked against them for survival, especially when it comes to issues requiring more than just simple medication. Frogs are fragile, sensitive beings... they are the barometers of the world, and are showing us what we ourselves are facing if we don't do something to clean up this planet and fix what human beings have done to destroy our home



Next: From PCFs to WTFs, learning curves galore!