evening all

[spendday]

hey just thought id come take a look even though i currently dont have any frogs

nice to se some friendly screen names here already

.... OH and Woohoo first post by and english man

[John]

Heh welcome. Are you thinking of getting any frogs?

[spendday]

yeah on my wish list is

american green tree
oriental fire belly toads
tomato frogs

(not in the same vivarium mind you)

also i kinda like horned frogs but havent decided if i want one

im popping down to the reptile shop on my lunch to see if they have any american green tree frogs i can reserve

[John]

What do you like about American Green Treefrogs? I have seen them quite a bit in the wild and those ones always seem far happier and prettier than the ones I see for sale in captivity.

[spendday]

What do you like about American Green Treefrogs? I have seen them quite a bit in the wild and those ones always seem far happier and prettier than the ones I see for sale in captivity.

green tree frogs are high up on the list because

they are a hardy species of treefrog
nice colour
my house mate wants me to get some
nocturnal (i work all day)
i have been chatting to quite a few breeders and keepers here in the UK and as far as i understand it current thinking marks out 4 main reasons for darker coloured frogs: stress, temps too low, camouflage, poor lighting.

In my attempt to get the best out of my treefrogs and give them a good life i shall be:
Buying CB (im not really a fan of wild caught)
Giving them lots of room (probably an exo terra 45x45x60 or bigger)
using a matt on the side of the tank hooked up to a stat (current thinking suggests heat bulbs or ceramics dry out frogs and may cause stress)
Lots of hiding and climbing (the breeders and keeper i have spoken to have suggested a frog with lots foliage and braches/vines for climbing and hiding makes for more active frogs as the feel safer and more secure and spend less time hiding meaning you see more of them even though there are more thing that could obscure your view)
have a low wattage fluorescent 1.0/2.0 UV light. (it is currently unclear whether brighter lighting with a good day night cycle or the addition of UV lighting help with frog colouration but in my opinion low levels of UV can hurt.

The ones you see in the shops
Are probably wild caught
Stressed
Cramped
Possibly ill
And may not have the correct temps or good lighting

Disclaimer
Naturally most of this is from conjecture and other people experience rather than hard fact. And as with all amphibian keeping it is not an exact science

[tylototriton]

All the reasons you've listed are, I suspect, quite true. It all really come down to stress in captivity. Species like Green Tree Frogs suffer from it quite often. I often find that species like the ones this forum is more geared towards, are often far more content captives and very rarely get stressed. That being said, it sounds like you've done your research and have a pretty good plan as to how you're going to accommodate your new pets. I hope you'll have better luck with them then I ever had. Keep us updated.

Best of Luck,
Alex