Tiger-legged monkey Frog - acclimation process

[Heuchera]

Hello all!

I am thoroughly excited and pumped to have purchased my first frog, a Tiger-legged monkey frog (Pithecopus hypochondrialis), a few days ago. I had a planted vivarium for about 6 months to settle in all the microfauna while trying to choose what to buy...and with the help and insight at a reptile convention, purchased this little guy! I have a few beginner questions, so forgive me for the long post. I am giving as much info as possible so I can learn about the acclimation and behavior of my little guy.

Tank set up
Exo Terra, 12" across and 18" high. Orchids, moss, vines, corkbark all growing happily. Isopods and springtails as microfauna. No severe mold problems to date. Humidity range 75-90%. 80% covered, 20% cross ventilated (using plastic wrap to partially cover top mesh). Spraying with distilled water 1-2x daily. Temp outside cage is around 70, relatively consistently.

I currently have a Reptiglo 2.0 terrarium bulb coming in to replace my Ecosmart 5000k LED bulb I was using for my plants before. (for the UVB), I am also, in the next few weeks, hoping to disassemble the vivarium to add some thorough drainage features (something I somehow missed when first setting it up).

Now, onto the questions:

How long will until my frog feels safe/is this behavior normal?

- He was a bright, vivid green when I purchased him and is now a darker, spotted green two days later. He ate one fat 1/2" cricket the night I purchased him, but did not touch any of the 1/4" crickets I put in a deli cup for him last night. He is also not pooping in his water dish, which I heard is something they enjoy doing. I saw him slowing exploring some portions of his cage last night, and he was in a slightly different sleeping spot (tucked up underneath the roots of my orchid) when I woke up this morning.

There is also what seems to be a small cut/bump on his back, which I will monitor for signs of infection (it seems like its in the healing process).

Is this behavior normal for new frogs? I am trying my best to be patient, but I also don't want to do nothing if he is suffering from non-ideal tank conditions.

What supplement powders do you recommend?

Seeing lots of posts about types of powders to coat crickets with before they eat. The only one I found is unavailable in my area, so i'm looking for other suggestions folks might have. =)

Would a stick-on pad heater on the back of the cage be a good idea?

Since it is winter, the tank temp doesn't rise above 70. I have a 6-8 inch sticky undertank heater I could put on the side of the cage, but I dont want to cook him since the temp is not adjustable. I could certainly put it on a timer so it shuts off at night, too.


Last question!

I do have an 18x18x18 exo terra not in use, should I upgrade to that?

I am thinking if this goes well, I would like to have a colony of frogs down the road...are lighting larger vivariums (for plants) a lot more difficult?


Thank you for your time! I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's insight.

[elly]

Hey,
I don't particularly know about the tiger legged species but I've had a particularly nervous White's that took several weeks to adjust. Some frogs are just sensitive. This article says they're a lot like red-eyes behavior-wise so I'd expect them to be very nocturnal and a little shy. I know it's hard to be patient but once he relaxes it should be worth it. I'd continue leaving him a cup of crickets and maybe try adding plants and hiding spots to the tank or even cover it to make him feel safe. If later the frog turns out to not want to come out in the light at all, you could try a red light or blue light for easier observation at night.

I like Repashy Calcium Plus which is a combined calcium and vitamin mix. Calcium and d seems the most important thing to supplement but frogs can also suffer from lack of A eventually. Supposedly a UV light will be of some benefit to some species, maybe too.

Most importantly: Your tank's a little cold for the species, at least according to this. Maybe try raising the heat another 5-10 degrees.

Personally, I'd look for a taller tank. If Tiger-legs are like Red-eyes they're more arboreal than some tree frogs and prefer to spend time climbing. I know the article I linked recommends a 20 gallon and also that it may be hard to find taller than 18'', but tree frogs really like to climb.

[Heuchera]

Hey,
I don't particularly know about the tiger legged species but I've had a particularly nervous White's that took several weeks to adjust. Some frogs are just sensitive. This article says they're a lot like red-eyes behavior-wise so I'd expect them to be very nocturnal and a little shy. I know it's hard to be patient but once he relaxes it should be worth it. I'd continue leaving him a cup of crickets and maybe try adding plants and hiding spots to the tank or even cover it to make him feel safe. If later the frog turns out to not want to come out in the light at all, you could try a red light or blue light for easier observation at night.

I like Repashy Calcium Plus which is a combined calcium and vitamin mix. Calcium and d seems the most important thing to supplement but frogs can also suffer from lack of A eventually. Supposedly a UV light will be of some benefit to some species, maybe too.

Most importantly: Your tank's a little cold for the species, at least according to this. Maybe try raising the heat another 5-10 degrees.

Personally, I'd look for a taller tank. If Tiger-legs are like Red-eyes they're more arboreal than some tree frogs and prefer to spend time climbing. I know the article I linked recommends a 20 gallon and also that it may be hard to find taller than 18'', but tree frogs really like to climb.

Thanks for the reply! I thought I responded to this yesterday but it seems to not have posted. I appreciate all the help! I found this recently https://www.joshsfrogs.com/tree-frog...nt-bundle.html and it seems to have what you are talking about plus some vitamin A for that potential issue down the line. I can't quite afford the whole thing now, so i'll go with the calcium plus first and slowly build up my arsenal.

Yesterday I added a heat pad on the side of the cage, and woke up to see him on the front side of the corbark sleeping near it. I put a temp reader on the opposide side and now it reads as being around 72. I'll put another heating pad adjacent to the other one and hopefully that will be enough to create the proper temp.

Since he is out in the open, I took a picture of how he looks today. He didn't eat any crickets last night, either. :'( This was taken after I sprayed the moss and plants (I tried to avoid spraying him). You can also see the bump near his eye, which is what concerned me before. To me, he does not look happy. :'( I'm just not sure what I can do aside from wait.


The ExoTerra 13W natural light came in and I switched it out with my LED, although it is much darker than the LED and im concerned about how my moss/plants will react. However, he is more important so I will figure out additional lighting later.

[elly]

He looks kind of thin, though I can't really tell. The lump could be an abscess from a cricket bite or other injury. Darker colors doesn't necessarily mean unhappy or at least it doesn't with White's Tree Frogs but it can indicate being cold or stressed sometimes. Hopefully warmer temps will get him to move and eat more even with the lump.

[Heuchera]

I am hopeful! The tank is now closer to 78 with the second heater, which is great. I'm glad the darker color doesnt necessarily mean he is sick.

I've been wary of releasing the crickets into the cage (I dont really want them to eat my moss) but do you think thats the only way he will eat? Could he not be used to eating from a deli cup?

[elly]

Brown doesn't necessarily mean sick, but in this case, with the lump I'd be concerned. See if he tries any hunting tonight or if any crickets go missing by morning.
He should be able to find the crickets in the cup if he moves around. If you release them they'll probably hide anyway.

[Heuchera]

Alrighty...bad news. No crickets went missing last night.

I read online that they feel safer if you put a towel over the cage, so I ended up doing that last night for two reasons 1.) to make him feel safe and 2) to keep the temp up slightly (with the light off it wasnt going above 70). I spotted him soaking in his bowl last night, but it did take him a while to wake up. Lights go off at 7, it was maybe around 10 I finally saw him move from his spot.

He is looking pretty lethargic on the whole. In sort of a last ditch attempt I tried tong-feeding a slightly larger than 1/4" cricket (since that is what he ate the first night I had him), but he barely attempted to open his 3rd eyelid and very sluggishly moved away from the cricket. tired and annoyed, basically.

I'm reading wildly different types of information online regarding the humidity, and i'm hoping if i can get that sorted out then he will be all right. For his species, some care sheets are saying 30-50%, some say 60%, and others are saying 80%.

Here's the schedule he was on all day yesterday:

Day:
Lights on at 9am - sprayed enclosure (distilled water)
Temp range 75-78 degrees
Reptiglo 13W bulb for UVB (through mesh) 10 hours
Humidity range: 60-80%

Night:
Lights off at 7pm
Temp range 70-76
Humidity 70-80% (I dont know why it was so high, i opened the bottom vents more to try and counter the towel up top)


He is still a very dark green like last night. I did open up his cage during the day to insert a fake vine, in case he didn't have enough climbing room with the cork bark pieces. Could it very well be stress that's preventing him to eat, or something worse?

I'm considering emailing the guy who gave him to me; he told me their care is generally very easy, they like high humidity and my set-up looked perfect. I'm starting to think their care is more advanced than what I have and I am slowly killing this frog without intending to. :'(

I'm attaching a picture of the enclosure, you can see my little guy sleeping in the middle. Also as a note: he is not sleeping with his legs tucked underneath him this morning. :'(