New owner, wondering if my frog is sick =(

[JadesMom]

Hi everyone, my name is Jenn. I just bought my first whites tree frog, Jade, last week. The first night that I had her, she seemed very active. But since then, all she wants to do is sleep in her hiding spots. The temp and humidity are what they should be, both around 80, her tank is big enough for her size at the current time. She becomes active when I take her out to feed her, but as soon as she goes back in the tank, she burrows under her moss until the next night when I take her out. Also, not to be gross, but her stool is kind of runny from what I have seen. I feed her 2 meal worms every 2 days and dust once a week. Any suggestions? I want to take good care of her! Please help. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[Jace]

Welcome to the Foum Jenn. I personally don't own a Whites treefrog, but I hope my advice will help you.

Runny frog poo is not normal. I would definately take Jade into a vet that has experience with frogs and see if she might need to be treated for parasites. Parasites can be quite common and should not be a major issue if caught early enough.

Mealworms are not a great staple diet for any frog, especially ones that can get obese on the wrong diet, such as Whites. I would swtich Jade to a cricket diet (gutloaded of course!) and keep mealworms as a treat now and then. Roaches, small worms, and locusts are also good foods that are high in protein if you want to spice up the diet a bit.

Whites should be doing most of their activity up high. Does her setup offer lots of climbing options, cover, and cool ledges to hang out? Remember too, that it can sometimes take a while for a new frog to settle in. Taking her out to feed might cause her some stress until she gets used to you and her new surroundings.

Here on Frog Forum, pics can tell us alot. If you could post pictures of Jade and her home, we might be able to help you even more. Best of luck and I hope we can help you and Jade.

[Paul Rust]

Hi Jenn and welcome to frogForum.
A pic would help. It sounds just fine to me. They need a while to get used to the new home, they are very stressed at first. The fact that it is eating and pooping is a really good sign. If you didn't know, they are nocturnal and not known for being terribly active. Crickets should be the staple diet. Here is a care sheet in case you haven't already seen it.

http://www.frogforum.net/tree-frog-c...-caerulea.html

[JadesMom]

Thanks so much guys! I will switch to crickets to see if that helps her at all. As for her tank set up, I do have branches and vines for her to climb on but she doesn't, which is why I was worried. My boyfriend and I frequently check on her during the night and she is always sleeping. But hopefully that will change once she gets a little more comfortable with her new surroundings, like you said. I have some pictures and will post them asap. Thank you again!!

[lnaminneci]

Welcome to the Forum Jenn!!

Congratulations on your first White's. I hope that Jade just needs to get settled in and will be ok. The change in diet will greatly benefit her! Keep us posted on how she is doing. And can't wait to see some pictures, we love pics here!

~Lesley

[Paul Rust]

You are most welcome. Keep us posted on the progress.

[bshmerlie]

I think since you've only had your frog for a week give her more time to settle in. I would agree to have her checked for parasites when you get a chance it definately wouldn't hurt. Also my older Red Eye is a lot more active now that I have added a couple of tank mates. Of course depending on your tank size having other frogs bouncing around makes them feel more at home. Its also more entertaining for you. Frogs aren't terribly active pets anyways so if you increase their numbers you have better odds of seeing at least one moving around at night when you're watching. And being nocturnal keep it real dark for her and I bet you'll start to see her move around more at night. If they're in a high traffic room sometimes they're nervous to venture out of their hides. In the wild, due to a frogs small size, they are on the dinner list of a lot of predators so your frog may doing what she feels is safest...staying put. Give her time to realize there are no predators around and she'll start to come out of her shell. The fact that she's eating and pooping is a good sign. Feed her in her own terraium where she can be the hunter and sit back a enjoy watching her.

[JadesMom]

Well I just thought I would give everyone a little update on my Jadey. I tried feeding her crickets last night and she wanted nothing to do with them. I put her in a feeding tank that's about 6x6x6 with a few crickets and she was acctually trying to get away from them. As if she were affraid. They were jumping all over her and I was worried they would bite and hurt her so I took her out, tears rolling down my cheeks. =( I felt so bad. And now I'm at a loss of what to do. Should I try taking their legs off? Or buy dead ones? =/ But on a good note, I cleaned her tank and she became very acctive that night. I found her on the wall of her terrarium this morning and I was so happy. It was a first. =) Any comments? (p.s. sorry no pics yet... Soon though!!) Thanks!