Underweight Gray Tree Frog, Advice Wanted

[HazelCat]

Thanks for the help! It would make sense that the smaller flies are just the young ones, I have a tenancy to panic about nothing haha... But I got him some new flies yesterday, and he has seemed to already gain weight over night, and acts more energetic. I also plan on ordering him some phoenix worms when the weather gets a bit cooler... thanks again!

[LilyPad]

You may have just been at the end of your culture My greys did not digets phoenix worms well, they came out the other end, all whole, and some alive. My darts haven't had a problem with them, but I will not use them again for the greys. If you want to look into alternative feeders, try to convince him to eat chopped up nightcrawlers. Otherwise, dusted fruit flies are sufficient until he's big enough for crickets

I do not use uv lighting for my greys, but it is important to make sure that he gets proper supplements then. I use repcal+ vitamin D. http://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-Reptil.../dp/B00061UWJM It's important to replace your supplements every 6 months so they do not expire.

[HazelCat]

Huh, interesting about them not digesting the phoenix worms well, I will have to be on the watch for that... Can always try and feed them to other things if there's issues. I am finding it's somewhat difficult to give him a nice variety in his diet with him being so small, but I guess that's not too big of a deal, as long as he gets enough nutrients... Very new to this, so I tend to worry easily, always afraid I am doing something wrong...

[Crunchy Frog]

Thanks for the help! It would make sense that the smaller flies are just the young ones, I have a tenancy to panic about nothing haha... But I got him some new flies yesterday, and he has seemed to already gain weight over night, and acts more energetic. I also plan on ordering him some phoenix worms when the weather gets a bit cooler... thanks again!

My grays didn't handle Phoenix worms at all. All of them passed through undigested, and one of them passed through still alive.

Other people here seem to have had similar experiences.

[HazelCat]

Yeah, I will just have to see how they do... if they end up not working well I can always try and feed them to my toads or something.

[kueluck]

If feeding phoenix worms poke them with a pin first, and I always crush the head on butter, horn & waxworms just to ensure they don't come out the other end whole. I've had phoenix worms come out whole on my Fowlers & Southern toads. They are more for lizards that have teeth and chew their food.

Yeah, I will just have to see how they do... if they end up not working well I can always try and feed them to my toads or something.

[HazelCat]

I wondered about poking them with something first, I will definitely do that as well as crushing the head... I mostly got excited about them because they are the right size for this tiny guy, which seems pretty rare... the good sized feeder sold near me are the flies.

[HazelCat]

Woops, meant the ONLY good sized feeder... Forgot a word there.

Just an update, he is doing very well and seems to have already gotten bigger and gained weight. Not sure how to upload photos from an iPad, so here's a link: http://imgur.com/YmtFkPl

[LilyPad]

Awww he is quite thin. Poor little guy. If you can find wax worms that are small enough, they're really high in fat. Not high in nutrition though, so they should not become a regular feeder. I would start feeding him some fruit flies a couple of times a day. Make sure you're dusting with vitamins and calcium.

[HazelCat]

Whoops, meant the only good sized feeder, forgot a word in there.

But just an update: he is looking very good now, and already seems to have grown some. I have also discovered that he does well with eating from tongs, which makes it even easier to make sure he's getting enough to eat. Figured with him being so small, he'd be afraid of them, but he does even better than my much larger American toads. Not sure how to upload a photo on here, so here's a link: http://imgur.com/YmtFkPl