Green Tree Frog and Temperature

[fixedsights]

Hey, folks. I am looking for some advice. Here in NE Florida, our winters are a little weird. On average, the high temps during the day are around 65 and the low temps at night are mid-40s. However, we go through times where it's significantly hotter or colder. About a week ago, we went through a mini-heat wave by winter standards where the day time temps hit about 80. Around that time, a medium sized (~1.5 inches) American green tree frog (hyla cinerea) attached itself to the frame of our front door. No big deal since we've seen it before... they usually wait until it gets dark and then leave. Sometimes they are back in the morning, sometimes they are not. I'm guessing the frogs became active again after the warmer weather occurred.

Well, we hit a bit of a cold snap after that with each day getting colder than the previous and the nights getting quite cold (by Florida standards anyway). Temps weren't getting out of the 50s during the day and dipping below 40 at night. For three or four straight days, this little guy stayed right where he was and didn't move an inch day or night. As I saw that temps were going to get very cold (daytime highs in the upper 40s and night time low in the low 20s) and he had already been immobile for the better part of a week, I figure I would bring him in the house. The last time temps got below freezing, I found a couple of dead anoles on my sidewalk that apparently didn't find shelter in time; and I was hoping to not repeat this with the little frog.

I put him in a smallish container made for holding animals / fish (think beta tank) -- certainly not something I would keep him in long term but not like a small tupperware dish or anything -- with a bowl of (distilled) water, a small branch with leaves from a tree from outside, and some spanish moss on the bottom. I mist it down twice per day with distilled water, and it's not terribly dry here in Florida even indoors in the winter anyway. I also feed him crickets (which he's been eating a couple of each day). He's been here for two days now.

The temp looks like it's going to be 65 on Sunday, down to 50 overnight, up to mid 70s on Monday, mid 50s overnight, and then falling back to about average after that point. I figure it'll be a good idea to put him back out where I found him at that point since the temps will have moderated. I'm hoping that he will find more suitable shelter (rather than just stuck on the side of my house when it's 20-something degrees out) after that. That would mean he would be indoors about 5 days total.

As a frog newbie, I wanted to run this by everyone to see what you all thought. Is it safe to follow through with this plan? My fear initially was that I was pulling him out of some sort of winter hibernation and he wasn't going to be able to acclimate back once he went outside, but I figured (1) that these types of temp swings are common around here anyway and (2) I'm not sure he was going to make it with no food / water for days and days while fully exposed to an abnormal hard freeze and gusty cold wind. I know that frogs are generally hearty critters, but he wasn't exactly prepared for these temps where he was situated and it was clear he wasn't going to be moving any time soon.

Thanks in advance.

[jarteta97]

You should be perfectly fine to release him at the time that you have stated. Five days is not nearly long enough a time for a frog to permanently (in a relative sense) acclimate to new temperatures. I've done the same thing with an american green tree frog (though not in winter). Filtered tap water might be better for the water dish in the meantime, though, as distilled water is simply not encountered in the wild, most water has metals and minerals in it that animals are used to. If you can dechlorinate it, that would be even better. Just release him when weather heats up and he should be good. Be careful, though. This very thing is what got me addicted to frogs in the first place, so make sure you don't become too attached to these wonderful creatures... you may never escape the urge to keep them

[fixedsights]

I hear ya. While I don't think I would necessarily keep this particular little guy, I've already been thinking about what it would take to set up a vivarium in the not too distant future. However, considering we might be moving for work within the next year or so, I think it's a good idea that I put it off for now.

As for the water... where I live, I suppose that if I REALLY wanted to make him feel at home by giving him what he encounters in "the wild" around here, I'd fill his dish with water loaded with pesticides and fertilizer (like our retention ponds) and mist him with calcium-loaded chlorinated tap water (like our lawn irrigation systems). It's surprising that these little critters can survive the environment we put them in. I do think you bring up a great point about the distilled water, though. Of course, since tomorrow is release day (based on the weather report), I guess that ship has already sailed. I tend to keep my house between 68 and 74 degrees depending on the season. Since it's going to be about 70 degrees tomorrow, 51 degrees tomorrow night, and 75 on Monday, it's probably time to put him back into the yard. I'm not quite sure if I should put him on the side of the house exactly where I found him or if I should put him on a tree near one of the local ponds maybe ~100 yards away (but across the street). I'm guessing all the local snakes will be out looking for chow with the warmer weather considering it's been frigid around here (relatively speaking). While I suppose that all god's creatures gotta eat, I would hate to have him survive the cold just to become lunch shortly after being paroled.

[jarteta97]

It's usually best to just place them on a tree or a nice large green leaf where they can blend in. I agree that some amphibians can be very hardy when it comes to environmental conditions around residential areas.

[elly]

I hear you about the pollution. Frogs are pretty stressed right now. But there are other reasons not to use distilled besides it not being "natural". It can actually draw minerals out of the frog's skin by reverse osmosis. Reptiles don't have this problem as much because their skin isn't as permeable. (Source: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Rept...stilled-Water/)

Over the short term it shouldn't cause too much harm, but maybe bottled water would be better. (There may be some chlorine even in bottled, but you'd be using it for a very short time, maybe it wouldn't matter? Or you could use dechlorinating solution to make sure.)

[fixedsights]

Update... I released the little guy (or gal, dunno which) over the weekend onto the same spot as I found him (on the door frame of my house). Once it got dark, I checked and he was gone. He did not return... So all is well.

Of course, tonight it's going to dip into the 30s again so I found myself wondering if he had found himself a nice, insulated place to stay. When I walked outside this morning, there he is... right back on the door frame where he was last time! When I told my wife, she said that maybe he learned where to go to get into the warm froggy-spa to ride out the cold nights. While I'm not typically given to anthropomorphizing animals, she might have a point.