What Was I Thinking?!

[Marinecrab]

Fire Bellied Toads are a riot to watch. I have four as well (all named - LOL!). They didn't cost me as much as yours. Picked up a $5 used aquarium at Goodwill complete with light strip and filter. That setup was turned into a paludarium complete with two green cory cats and a couple minnows to clean up the watery world beneath. The most expensive parts were the screen cover and locks. Those little devils are escape artists! Good luck with your new FBT this weekend.

The Tadpole Team still seems to be thriving. My boyfriend and I collected algae covered rocks this last weekend. I added them to the setup, and the tadpoles are munching away. There are faint bulges where the front legs will appear on some of them. Still no casualties. A water change is due today. I have to wonder about some of the tadpoles that are so much smaller. A different species perhaps? We shall see ...

Thank you and hah, we picked up the tank, stand and screen for only 55 bucks I looked it up and find out that it was originally 500 bucks brand new so i'm pretty happy. I'm really excited to adopt and rescue that fire bellied toad from the perils of a 6 year old child. We're thinking about adopting the chubby White treefrog from the store since he's a loner too. Might set him up into the verticle tank I had originally for the toads when I was a beginner, once I do some research.

[Marinecrab]

Fire Bellied Toads are a riot to watch. I have four as well (all named - LOL!). They didn't cost me as much as yours. Picked up a $5 used aquarium at Goodwill complete with light strip and filter. That setup was turned into a paludarium complete with two green cory cats and a couple minnows to clean up the watery world beneath. The most expensive parts were the screen cover and locks. Those little devils are escape artists! Good luck with your new FBT this weekend.

The Tadpole Team still seems to be thriving. My boyfriend and I collected algae covered rocks this last weekend. I added them to the setup, and the tadpoles are munching away. There are faint bulges where the front legs will appear on some of them. Still no casualties. A water change is due today. I have to wonder about some of the tadpoles that are so much smaller. A different species perhaps? We shall see ...

That's great news, and yes. They are escape artists, we had a casualty due to one escaping in the middle of the night only to find him shrivled up. We fixed that problem now of course.

[Marinecrab]

Fire Bellied Toads are a riot to watch. I have four as well (all named - LOL!). They didn't cost me as much as yours. Picked up a $5 used aquarium at Goodwill complete with light strip and filter. That setup was turned into a paludarium complete with two green cory cats and a couple minnows to clean up the watery world beneath. The most expensive parts were the screen cover and locks. Those little devils are escape artists! Good luck with your new FBT this weekend.

The Tadpole Team still seems to be thriving. My boyfriend and I collected algae covered rocks this last weekend. I added them to the setup, and the tadpoles are munching away. There are faint bulges where the front legs will appear on some of them. Still no casualties. A water change is due today. I have to wonder about some of the tadpoles that are so much smaller. A different species perhaps? We shall see ...

We just adopted the Tree frog, he's a very calm chubby fellow, Girlfriend name him Opal.

[Wood Nymph]

That's great news, and yes. They are escape artists, we had a casualty due to one escaping in the middle of the night only to find him shrivled up. We fixed that problem now of course.

Yup. I had one escape as well. Still haven't found it. It's a goner for sure by now. That paludarium is well locked now. That was "Moe" of the Eenie, Meanie, Miney, and Moe team. Then there was no Moe. I replaced him with New Moe. I'm such a dork.

[Wood Nymph]

We just adopted the Tree frog, he's a very calm chubby fellow, Girlfriend name him Opal.

Glad you got the White's. Is it your first? I have five and they are almost as much fun to watch as the fire belly crew.

Okay! Here's an update:

Things have been happening rather rapidly in the tadpole tank. On Friday, I had two froglets pasted to the glass and more changing. By Sunday, I had two full-fledged frogs! Here are some pics:

On Friday




Sunday!

Looks like herpdoc was right: green tree frogs. Yer good!! I have a cup that I fill with fruit that maintains the attention of the flightless fruit flies for the frogs. But just for sure, I laid a line of diatomaceous earth along the upper lip of the aquarium. Next up will be pinhead crickets.

Since I last posted, I've done quite a bit of research. It seems that tadpoles can go into hibernation if they are in good health. So, I picked out the least developed of the whole mess. They were released in the spring that feeds a huge equisetum (horsetail) swamp alongside the creek that runs through the forest on my property. That leaves me with 8 - 10 (???) rapidly developing tadpoles, froglets, and frogs. That is a manageable number to feed and care for until release in the springtime. Sure hope the released tadpoles will be okay. Next step will be to enlarge the terrestrial area of the tank.

Their new home








For scale: My creek is 20 to 30 feet wide.

[Wood Nymph]

It's been a week full of changes. In addition to adding the rocks from my creek that had natural algae, the tadpole tank has been modified from mostly water to 3/5 land. By the way: I cheated and used mesh-covered plastic crates beneath the gravel so that I wouldn't have to use as much. That stuff's expensive and heavy.

All but one or two of the tadpoles have become frogs and are feasting away on fruit flies and pinhead crickets. Not all are green tree frogs. There are a few grays as well. And ... there are more than I originally planned to hold onto until spring. There are at least 15. Maybe more. Tough to count with all of the hiding places I've provided.

Here's what the expanded setup looks like now:

Left side of expanded tank (distance)



Right side of expanded tank (distance)



Left side from above





Right side





With screen lid closed and hood over basking area



One favorite hunting area is atop the wood slab. In the distance is a small dish of gut load chow for the crickets.



Small dish of banana with fruit flies. Froggie on leaf.



Two frogs hangin' out by the steps



They love climbing the horsetails.



One late bloomer

[LilyPad]

They're adorable! Do they have a flash of yellow on the inside of their legs? If so, then they're definitely grey tree frogs which is what I would guess by looking at them.

[Wood Nymph]

They're adorable! Do they have a flash of yellow on the inside of their legs? If so, then they're definitely grey tree frogs which is what I would guess by looking at them.

They are lighter on the inside of their legs, but I don't think I'd call it yellow. Are new grey tree frogs green in the beginning? These are lime green with the exception of two or three that are grey. They are so darned cute I could squeak. LOL

[LilyPad]

All my grey tree frogs started off as grey in the beginning The yellow in the legs was pale at first, almost translucent, but it was there. All of mine were out of the water in July and the 3 that I kept still do not have coloring quite as dark as the adults. I can already see the patterns starting to form on some of yours though. Also, Indiana does not have any green tree frogs native to the state, so it is unlikely that it would be those. When I look through the list of native Indiana frogs, your guys would only compare to copes or eastern grey tree frogs. I hope this helps. Good job with them! Here are a few photos of mine early on so you can compare.

[Wood Nymph]

All my grey tree frogs started off as grey in the beginning The yellow in the legs was pale at first, almost translucent, but it was there. All of mine were out of the water in July and the 3 that I kept still do not have coloring quite as dark as the adults. I can already see the patterns starting to form on some of yours though. Also, Indiana does not have any green tree frogs native to the state, so it is unlikely that it would be those. When I look through the list of native Indiana frogs, your guys would only compare to copes or eastern grey tree frogs. I hope this helps. Good job with them! Here are a few photos of mine early on so you can compare.

Yer right. Mine look just like yours. Thanks! I've never seen any green tree frogs about, so that would explain it. I have greys that run all over my windows during the summer and live in my outdoor planters, but these tadpoles were from my BF's place which is in another county South of mine. Thought maybe he had greens there. Thanks again for the info!

[LilyPad]

You're welcome! My first frog was a grey and they've remained my favorite to this day . They have such big personalities.

[elly]

What cuties!

[Wood Nymph]

My original intention was that I would release all of these in the springtime in my forest. Now ... am I being unrealistic? Can frogs brought up in a sheltered home environment function properly if returned to the wild, do ya think? 'Course - there's probably no real way to know, but I wonder what your opinions are ...

[Marinecrab]

Hey! Sorry I haven't been very active on the forums lately, I just enlisted in the U.S army and ship out in less than a year.

It looks like your frogs are coming along nicely, very cute!
Yes, he's my first real tree frog but he's a riot, very cute. We're begining to think he's a she since she is so quiet but we're not sure. Also, you live in a beautiful area!

[Wood Nymph]

Congrats on "signing up" and thank you for your service in advance.

I DO live in a beautiful area. My own little private paradise. But, I had to wait many years to build here. Still have to pinch myself to make sure it's all real sometimes.

[Marinecrab]

Congrats on "signing up" and thank you for your service in advance.

I DO live in a beautiful area. My own little private paradise. But, I had to wait many years to build here. Still have to pinch myself to make sure it's all real sometimes.

Hah,np
yeah you do live in a beautiful place

[LilyPad]

Because you have other amphibians in your house, I would not release them without first testing them for disease. I released a bunch this summer but sent out skin swabs. I also released them the day I got the results so they were with me for as little time as possible. The other option would be to rehome them via Craigslist or a buy sell trade. If you plan to keep them all winter, be sure to check your state laws regarding captive native animals. In Wisconsin, we can only have 5 gray tree frogs at once. They also get pricey to feed if you're not breeding your own crickets. If it were me, I'd try to rehome them as soon as you know they're thriving and healthy

[Wood Nymph]

Because you have other amphibians in your house, I would not release them without first testing them for disease. I released a bunch this summer but sent out skin swabs. I also released them the day I got the results so they were with me for as little time as possible. The other option would be to rehome them via Craigslist or a buy sell trade. If you plan to keep them all winter, be sure to check your state laws regarding captive native animals. In Wisconsin, we can only have 5 gray tree frogs at once. They also get pricey to feed if you're not breeding your own crickets. If it were me, I'd try to rehome them as soon as you know they're thriving and healthy

Thank you for your input, Amy. The production in my "cricket & fruit fly factory" was realllly ramped up for these little guys. So, feeding them isn't a problem. Dunno the legalities yet. I'll look into that. I do know that you have to have a current fishing license - which I do. I carefully wash my hands before and after caring for them. No equipment is shared. Where do you send your swabs for testing? My heart is really set on releasing them into the wild, if at all possible.

[LilyPad]

I did mine with a mail in kit at research associates laboratory. http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/reptiles - I tested for ranavirus and chytrid. I got the swab kit from my exotic vet. If you can't release them now though, due to weather (they're all hibernating up here in WI already) I probably wouldn't after winter. I'd be worried that they would have trouble learning how to find food in the wild. However, they do have a pretty strong instinct so maybe it wouldn't be an issue at all.