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Thread: New WTF owner, Couple questions

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    Talking New WTF owner, Couple questions

    So as of August 11th, I became an owner of one White's Tree Frog as a birthday gift from my girlfriend. I immediately decided to add another one for a friend, so quickly became two. As I'm sure many too, I've been constantly paranoid about if my frogs are happy and healthy or not. So I just had some general questions to ask if things sound all clear or if there's any advice.

    I apologize in advance for lack of pictures. If I get actual feedback on anything, I may take some time to get proper images of them.

    So I managed to get a good deal on a clearance vertical tank I house them in. I want to say 26 gallons. It isn't huge, and I would ultimately like larger, but so far it's worked pretty well. I have non-UVB fluorescent lighting (I found a lot of conflicting info about if it was needed or not, so I went with no), set to a 12 hour timer of 7 am to 7 pm. Heat is also on a timer with high use in the morning to maintain around 78-80 degrees, down to staggered timing for a temp of about 70-72 at night. There's also a large under-tank heater to keep the floor warm (due to the height of the tank, which I'm sure the heat lamp doesn't warm the base too well). The heat mat has a built in gradient, hot on one end and cool down at the end. I was a little concerned at first with this because at the hottest point, there is a noticeable warmth in the ground. But the frogs seem to not mind in any way, even occasionally hanging out in that area at night.

    Humidity is run by a room humidifier which is setup to a timer to be active in bursts around when the heat lamp is running, due to it drying the air so quickly. Generally it hovers around 60%, however humidity has a tendency to shift around a lot with heating. I'm still working on getting it juuust right (I only recently hooked the humidifier up to a timer, hence my still needing of practice with it).

    So essentially, the tank parameters are more or less automated, although I check it frequently and make adjustments based on readings and ambient conditions. Also occasionally I will switch of the humidifier and give them a good misting to simulate some proper rain.

    Substrate is coconut husk fiber. There's a fairly good size water dish that fits both frogs at once, and they love to soak at night. Water goes up to just under their chin, but is sloped so they can just sit in shallow water if they so wish.

    A couple simple little plants on the bottom for looks, two large wooden branches and a bendable vine wrapped around, tying them together and attached to a suction-cup small branch stuck to one wall. There are 2 silk plants hanging from the walls, but I hope to add more. And I just bought another vine with attached leaves which I will try to use to make a canopy of sorts for them.



    Anyhow... Wow, already wrote way more than I was expecting.. But so, on to the frogs themselves! (I don't have any names for them for some reason, so will just be Frog 1 and Frog 2)

    So generally the two frogs just sit up in the same corner of the tank every day during daylight hours. It's the darkest, most well-concealed corner. It's kind of comical because not only do they always pick the same corner, they always pick the same lineup, with Frog 1 being up above Frog 2. Every time, exactly the same.

    As they sit, they like to call a few times a day usually. Especially Frog 1, he is extremely vocal. Frog 2 a bit less so. He usually only starts up if Frog 1 calls for a long time, or if I imitate a call for a long time to get him talking. But practically anything seems to set them off. They especially seem to enjoy the sound of the shower, when they hear the water running they both often take off.

    While they sit all day like that, once the light turns on they come alive. Frog 1 always is the first to move, he crawls down to the bottom of the large wooden branches and awaits crickets. Frog 2 is a bit slower to come out. Also, he doesn't like to sit down below. Once Frog 2 gets moving, he spends a while going absolutely crazy! He jumps all over the tank, from wall to ceiling to floor and all over. He starts the night off with very hyper activity, almost every time. Frog 1 is very docile while Frog 2 is very active.


    But now here comes the part that concerns me from time to time.... I feed them a diet of crickets, dusted every other feeding and gut loaded. Now, Frog 1 is a voracious eater. He can't be stopped. As soon as crickets hit the tank, he goes ballistic, attacking every cricket in sight. And his skill is amazing, it's like he's a laser-guided frog. I've seen him dive-bomb a cricket from the top of the tank all the way down to the bottom and manage to snatch it right up into his mouth. Frog 2 on the other hand, very different story. He's a very passive eater, sometimes not even seeming too interested in food. Also he misses rather often it seems, I've seen him miss 3 times in a row before. But again, he's extremely active when it comes to moving around the tank. But he's also noticeably thinner than the other frog now. Frog 1 is getting a touch fat while Frog 2 is still rather slender.

    So I guess my main concern I have in the end (and apologize for the book-like post, just kinda got going I guess) is, can frogs just sort of have different feeding personalities? Like, humans do all the time of course. Some eat a lot and get fat, some aren't such big eaters. In your experiences here, do frogs sometimes behave the same, and should I not worry about it? I've started doing a lot of hand-feedings lately to count crickets to make sure of who eats what. And for example tonight, Frog 1 ate his first cricket in an instant. I then did 3 for Frog 2, as he got a somewhat small feeding last night too. He wasn't super excited to eat them, but he did. A couple hours later, I tried for a 4th. He had no interest and just pushed my hand away. So I moved the cricket to Frog 1 and I didn't even stop moving my hand towards him before he grabbed my finger, pulled my hand in, and snatched up the cricket.

    Now with that concern said though, they both have a beautiful, brilliant green color. Sometimes turn a bit brown, especially when soaking. But when roaming the tank, a wonderful light emerald color. No splotches or discolorations or spots of any kind, both are a purely solid, deep color. Eyes are very clear and, at night when they go full black, are perfectly deep and clear. Like spheres of pure blackness.. haha! They also both poop very often, never skipping more than 1 day of poop.



    Again I ramble... But yeah.. So in your experience, can frogs sometimes just not be as big an eater as others?

    Also another question. Soon I will be going on a small vacation. I will leave Wednesday afternoon, return Sunday night. It's looking like I won't be able to get a frog sitter. So, I can change water and load many crickets Wednesday night, and Sunday night. So this would leave the frogs with Thursday, Friday, and Saturate with old water and no extra crickets. Does this sound like a tolerable situation for them? My biggest worry is they often poop in the water bowl and it won't be able to be changed out. Will this be greatly harmful to them, or is it generally ok for a few days like this?

    Sorry for the lengthy post! Would love some feedback though. Just want to make sure things are in the right direction for my little frogs!

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  3. #2
    100+ Post Member elly's Avatar
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    Default Re: New WTF owner, Couple questions

    Hey, it sounds like you have a really nice setup!
    As for your questions, frogs have slightly different personalities but all the same I'd keep an eye on the reluctant feeder because usually poor appetite is a sign of illness. Is Frog 2 the smaller of the two? If he is he may be a bit stressed and that could account for it.

    Leaving water sitting for three days is not ideal, but it will probably be okay.

  4. #3

    Default Re: New WTF owner, Couple questions

    Heh, I forgot about even posting here for a while..

    So in the end, I wasn't able to get a sitter and had to leave the frogs unattended. I left out a second water bowl as well. When I returned, things overall looked ok. The second frog, the picky eater, was pretty thin but still appeared healthy. They both immediately resumed eating that night, but again the second frog continues to eat light. But they both call out with loud energy when I mimic a WTF call, and they are a nice emerald green as always, so.. All seems well!

    And yeah, the second frog is a fair bit smaller. But with that said, he was from the moment we got them both. I can't be sure of them being the same age or not. But even with his slower eating, as far as I can tell he seems happy still.

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    100+ Post Member elly's Avatar
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    Default Re: New WTF owner, Couple questions

    Glad they seem well. I would still keep an eye on the smaller one though and watch for signs of illness like staying in the water most of the time or uneven sheds. White's are usually so hungry...

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