New American green tree frog tank questions.

[ionaday]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and just collected my frog today. I have wanted a frog for sometime and as christmas is coming up seemed like a good xmas prezzie from the hubby. I am unsure of the sex so have named my frog Charlie just incase. I was told at the pet shop I didn't need much in the tank but after researching last night discovered this to be wrong. I have added to long fake plants one at either side of my 12x12x18 tank and a long piece of drift wood and another fake plant in the bottom. The tank came as part of a package and with this was a large water bowl, this fills much of the bottom of the tank. Do I need such a large bowl for this frog? Also I am struggling with the temp of the tank. I bought a thermometer but the suction cup was not in the pack so have to take it back. The tank does however feel cold. I managed to get the humidity up by covering the top whilst Charlie was still at the pet shop and have left it half covered will this be ok? I have a large heat mat stuck on the bottom of the tank that has been on since I set it up yesterday afternoon, it covers much of the bottom. I'm not sure if the substrate is to thick its around 5cms?
The pet shop did not have any crickets due to delievery problems, so I had to get mealworms. I understand its not good to feed them to many of these. I put three in with Charlie, placing one in front of her and she gobbled it up. I did it with another but it got away. I think they have now buried themselves in the substrate. Will she find them or will I need to try anf fish them out? Also how many should I feed her and how often?
She seems fairly happy she has taken to sitting on the dirftwood in the center of the tank in full view so I'm taking this as a good sign.
I will try and get some pics put on. Any advice ect would be much appreciated, I want her to do well.

Iona x

[ionaday]

Pictures

[Jace]

That is a very nice setup; tree frogs love to have branches to climb and added plants make them feel more secure, so good call on adding more. Your substrate is a bit thick for an undertank heater to be very effective. Have you thought of getting a small overhead heat lamp instead? These frogs actually do very well at moderate room temperature; mine seems to be thriving at an average room temperature of 22 degrees Celcius. Covering part of the top ventilation will help with humidity; if you swap out some of that soil with moss and keep it moist but not soggy, that will help too. Mealworms are fine if that is all you have, just do not feed too many at once and get crickets as soon as you can. If any are buried in the substrate, I would try and find them, but if you can't, they will merely turn into beetles and then you will be able to catch them. If you cannot get crickets for a bit, feed her three mealworms every other day or so, and allow her to pass what she has eaten before offering her more.

Are you able to take a closer shot of Charlie? Her markings look to be a bit unusual compared to my American Green Treefrog. Oh, and welcome to the Forum!!

[ionaday]

Thank you for the reply. I intended o get some moss today and thought I had but when I got home I realised the shop assistant had forgot to add it to my basket I will pick some up as I had read it helped with the humidity. I will try keeping the house temp up and that may help with the tank. I was going to place the tank near a radiator but then changed my mind, if I cannot get it to heat up I may give this a go. I should be able to get some crickets by Friday fingers crossed. I'm thinking of changing the water bowl to a smaller one and getting a mealworm bowl so that I don't lose them. I intend on adding some more branches and making the water bowl smaller will give me the room to do this. Do these frogs need a large water bowl or would a small one be enough?
I will post some close up pictures of Charlie as soon as she comes out of hiding .

Thanks agan for the reply

Iona x

[Jace]

As long as the water bowl is big enough to fit their whole body into it, they do not need a huge one at all. All they need is enough water to have a soak in as they are not big swimmers. Good call on the mealworm bowl-those little worms can be quite the escape artist! As for heat, I sometimes place my tank (which is exactly like yours! ) either above the t.v. or on top of the fridge at night if the temperature drops; it gives just enough warmth to not overly dry out everything and cause the humidity to drop. Best of luck and I can't wait to see some more pics!

[ionaday]

These aren't great but I didn't want to stress her out to much taking snaps. However having taken these and then looking at some pictures of the pacific chorus frog, I'm starting to think that I may not have an American green tree frog at all. What do people think?