New Member needs urgent advice for Dumpy Tree Frog

[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]

Hello again....I tried putting my frog in warm water a few times this week just in case his intestines were clogged. He does not have a prolapse so I've stopped this procedure. If both frogs are gong, I have not seen any feces in the cage in a while.

I'm concentrating now on getting the humidity level higher in the cage. I've added water to the hydro balls and I have started misting the cage a few times a day. However, the humidity level still does not get above 50%. The temp seems fine as it stays between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for feeding, I bought some fresh meal worms yesterday. Both frogs will not eat anything that I hold in front of them. They just bat at it with their front leg or flick it aside if the food is crawling beside them. That being the case I just put several meal worms in a shallow container for the night. This morning I couldn't tell if any had been eaten however a few did manage to crawl into the water dish and drown. Like you say, the smaller male frog probably would not be alive by now if it was not getting some sort of nutrition. To look at him you would not think that anything was wrong, but I'm still not 100% comfortable thinking that is the case. I would feel much better if I actually saw him eating something. Is it true that frogs will only eat live bugs, worms, etc? I'll keep you posted on any changes. I think I might try to upload a picture of the cage and a picture of each frog.

[bshmerlie]

Frogs will only eat the live moving insects. I would stick withcrickets at this point. As far as the humidity not going above 50%, check to make sure your gauge is working. Invest in a good digital gauge that way it is easier to see the fluctuations after you mist.

[Hop2It]

I'll go get some crickets tomorrow and give that a try. Can I just put a few in the cage and let the frogs catch them on their own, or should I feed them to the frogs using tweezers?

Yesterday I purchased a new gauge made by Flukers and will see if that gives me a different reading than the one that came with the cage. I saw the digital ones but opted not to get one due to the cost. But as you mentioned, that may be my best bet due to much better accuracy. I'm from Pennsylvania and when I purchased the frogs in July the house had more humidity, but now that it is Fall, the air is getting much drier. This is quite the challenge. Thanks for your advice.

[bshmerlie]

I wouldn't try feeding with tweezers until the are very settled in and eating great. I've given up on the cheap gauges. Preferably use a cricket dish or let the crickets roam free. Put then in 30 minutes after lights out.

[Hop2It]

I used to keep crickets in a cricket cage when I had a fire bellied toad, however I am not sure what a cricket dish is for frogs. Could you please let me know what that is. I can ask tomorrow at Pet Smart when I go to get crickets. At night do you turn all the lights off in the cage or do you leave one on that simulates moonlight? I have been leaving one light on at night that has sort of a blue glow.