New Member needs urgent advice for Dumpy Tree Frog

[Hop2It]

Hi,

Thanks for the good advice. I just checked the humidity and noticed that it has now dropped below 50%. Do you have any advice for increasing the humidity level? I have a double bulb light on top of the cage along with a 75 watt heat lamp. Also, I have 2 good sized dishes with water in them. Both frogs do sit in the water or hang out on the waterfall that I have in the cage. Can Dumpy Tree Frogs go for long periods of time (weeks) without eating? Is this part of the resting period?

[jtay]

See thread 'Increaing humidity?' - there are loads of good ideas on how to increase humidity in that thread.

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...-humidity.html

[wesleybrouwer]

Hi,

i am not sure if it is day or night in you're place.
Here it is night

Tree frogs will be active during the night, so at daytime they always take a nap.
That is normal behaviour.

Not eating for weeks is not a good sign
I doubt if they survive.
You don't have to see it like a hibernation like bears do.

They do eat and move, but not as much as they used to do when around breeding season,
that is the time they become most active, calling and feeding.
Most frogs will do less when temperatures drop since their metabolism depends on external heat.

For bringing up the humidity, you can spray more often,
Most people around the US as i read do this by hand using a flower sprayer (right word?)
How much and how often depends on how well the humidity stays in you're tank.
Taping off some of the ventilation when it dries out to quick might help a bit.

Frogs sitting in or around the water all the time need to be checked upon closely,
it is no good sign in most cases.

[Hop2It]

Hi,

I have been reading the threads regarding humidity this evening. Since the bottom of the cage is covered about an inch high with Hydro Balls I thought that this, along with having a waterfall, would be all I needed to keep the humidity at a good level. I have never sprayed inside the cage. Both frogs do sit in their water dishes occasionally but not all the time. Do you think I should start spraying a mist inside the cage about 2 times a day? Do you think this could be a cause for the male tree frog not eating.

I was also checking out the medical section which described how to treat various ailments. I was particularly checking out the ones that dealt with frogs not eating. I was curious where this medicine could be purchased. Is this something that a pet supply store would carry? Thanks again for your advice!

[Ebony]

Hi there, Sorry I cant help you with where to purchase the medicines..my guess would be a vet but it wouldn't hurt checking at pet suppliers. In NZ we just about need a script for every thing...lol. I recommend misting. I also have a waterfall in my enclosure and still mist every day.

I read that you have been feeding them superworms..these are over sized mealworms right? I just thought I would mention that feeding too many mealworms can cause impaction. They should be feed as a treat food only. Not sure if that is the problem but popped into my head when reading this thread. I hope your frog starts eating again soon.

[wesleybrouwer]

Like ebony said , you can mist you're viv once or twice a.day to get the humidity at the wanted level .

My best guess would be getting the meds at a vet.
They can also help you calculate the dose, this will depend on bodymass .

I am not yet used to lot of the english names on most things like animals or feeders ,
But if ebony is right and those are oversized mealworms,
This could be a problem due to the tough exoskelleton.
But they would be spending more time in the water in my experience , it is also a cause to prolapses of the intestines.
Bathing the frog I Luke water may help in those cases.

But I would say, first try getting the rv up by misting.
If that does not help you look further .

[Hop2It]

I did put the frog in lukewarm water one time. Maybe I'll continue this more frequently, along with misting, to see if that brings about any improvement.

[wesleybrouwer]

It MIGHT pose a problem to the frog,
feeding insects with a hard outershell can sometimes cause a prolapse.
It can also clog the intestines, but i am not sure that is the case here.
Sometimes my offspring die because they had to much insects with indigestible parts.
Others seem to do just fine with it, so i give them those insects, but not to much,

Best is to vary in the feeder insects you use,
for bigger frogs you got a good amount of feeders you can use.

Silkworms, waxmoths(sparsly since full of fat), crickets, little grasshoppers, tebo worms, larvaes of the black soldier fly and the flies itself etc,
If you live in a place where you have woods or something where you are certain of they don't use pesticides or fertilizers you could just catch yourself some bugs to feed,
be carefull tough not to get yourself poisonous insects like bees, wasps, certain spiders and so on.

Reading you're first post,
i think you will do best with just increasing humidity,
however variation in food is always good ofcourse.
You wrote he did not eat for a month,
i think he is less active and you just did not see him feed.\
They do this at night and i realy think he would be dead by now if he did not eat that long.
Try getting him active by spraying when the lights go off or just before that.
You can do probably more wrong then good by stressing him out.

Just be patient and try getting up the humidity a little.
I hope you understand they are nocturnal.

[wesleybrouwer]

I did put the frog in lukewarm water one time. Maybe I'll continue this more frequently, along with misting, to see if that brings about any improvement.

Sorry, i think you misunderstood what i told.
The luke water is a way to treat a frog that has his intestines clogged up because of indigestible parts he did not get out.
Or if they get it out but while doing so they get a prolapse in result, that is the same thing as hemmerrhoids with humans when you have to push to hard

Other then when certain of this, it has no use in putting him in the water.
Like i said, frogs with a problem will sit in the water very often.
Occasionaly sitting in the water is just normal, certainly if the RV is to low and you never mist the cage.
Frogs don't drink but get their water trough the skin.
You can see it as drinking as you wish.

Just start to spray your viv just before or just after the lights turn off.
I'll think this will do just fine.
Altough i start thinking he is active, but not when you are still awake.

[Hop2It]

The super worms might be causing the problem since they do have a hard outer shell. What are some other foods you recommend? Thanks