RETF: Turns dark at night? And other qustions...

[Shorte85]

Hello Don and Brit, thanks for getting back with me. I appreciate it!

Well, I took a few pictures for you of the terra and I hope that helps out. As far the frog that died, I know it didn't die of a accidental ingestion of wood chips because I didn't have any in the tank at the time. The only thing I had in the tank was cocoa fiber and a piece of brown paper towel at the bottom wet because I didn't exactly know if the cocoa fiber was going to stick to the frogs or not if they happen to roam on the floor. So the wood chips came in after the other frog died. Also the pet store I got the wood chips from said that it should be alright to use. I'm so confused because it seems like I keep getting mixed information as to what is good for the frogs and etc. Kind of frustrating if you ask me. lol

Checked the hood and yep, you were right Brit. Right now I just have a 25w sun glow in there and a 5.0 uv reptic bulb on the other side which I'm not sure the wattage is for that, I could probably read what it is on the exo terra site. But right this minute I do not know that answer. I'm thinking about taking it out to see how the sun glow bulb by itself does and see if it keeps the temp up. But not sure how it will do on it's own as far as the sun glow 25w.

As far as the frogs, I was told they are about a year old and they are wild caught but before the store got them the captor had them for a month and had them doing well. They had three of them, and I bought two and that is when I brought them home and one died and the other is doing great so far. Now as far as how the person housed them when s/he had them for about a month is beyond me. I think I'll probably just do what I did last night. Turn the moonlight on just before I go to bed to keep the temps leveling out at night.

Here are some pictures of the viv setup I have going on. Also, sorry but some of the pictures are sideways, lol.... If you break your neck, don't hurt me. LOL
















Also I took a picture of him roaming around, him and I were having a very funny staring contest. I had fun, ha! But here is a picture, it's a bit dark.... But you can definitely still see him and his red eyes. lol



Hope all this helps, pictures and all.

[bshmerlie]

I would definately get rid of the wood chips they could cause a problem if ingested. They are kind of haphazard when then lunge at food. I use cricket bowls which help to avoid them ingesting anything else.

[Shorte85]

I'm almost wondering if I should feed him outside of the tank just to be sure he is eating and what not, I have no doubt he isn't eating but I just also do not like the crickets being in the tank pooping all over and what not or dying and not seeing where they are dying off at if that makes sense.

I guess my thing is, how come the store I got the frog from said that wood chips would be fine to use? I'm a little confused by this.

EDIT UPDATE: I was just thinking, if I were to go ahead and feed him in a dish outside of his tank and not inside his tank would it be alright to leave the wood chips in the tank? I am just worried that if I keep messing with the tank after he's just getting warmed up to his new surroundings that I'm going to stress him out and etc. So I just thought I'd ask about that, I've been reading other posts and what not and see that others tend to feed their frogs outside of the viv to be sure that they are eating and what not. Would this be something I could do when I go to feed him tonight?

[DonLisk]

I would replace the wood chips with plantation soil (found at pet stores) and add a few live plants and vines. They love to be up high and feel hidden.

I feed mine from a bowl and the crickets can'tt jump out so uneaten crickets can be just dumped back into the cricket keeper. The less you handle the frog the less stress you create for him.

If you sticking with fake plants then add a few hanging leafy vines from the top down so he can go on and behind them. Check out some of the photo albums of members to get some ideas on both planted and fake leaf use.

Brit just put together a beautiful viv so check her's put.

[Leefrogs]

I wouldn't be handling a WC frog at all, especially fir daily feeding. What she's revering to is a cricket bowl. A glass bowl, big enough for the frog to get in and out of, fill it with crickets and they can't get out. Greanted some may jump out, but rarely. Dig substrate so bowl can sit almost level. Especially at tge begining, your frog may not understand and get stressed. Remove the bowl after frog eats. Check bowl for any chipped edges and etc.

The holder of your frog probably had them in a opaque plastic bin, where they can't see out, and u should cover all sides of your viv for atleast a month. Noise from a house is stressful enough, much less seeing what's making the noise. Your dead frog was probably trying to make a nighttime escape and fell, breaking it's back.

[bshmerlie]

I would definately not feed your wild caught frog outside his enclosure. In the wild the are in constant fear of being eaten. They are very cautious and will seek cover of plants and leaves if they suspect danger. In a very confined habitat it is important to give him as many leafy hiding places you can...and hopefully he will eventually see you as the cricket god and not a huge predator that he must think you to be right now. If you insist on keeping the wood chips then try the cricket bowl to avoid any potential issues. It is a simple glass bowl about three inches by an inch and a half deep. The crickets will not jump out nor will they roam the enclosure and get lost. I use a small glass dipping sauce bowl. That also allows you to monitor how many crickets he is eating.

[Shorte85]

I guess my thing is, is will the frog be okay on cocoa fiber because I've been told that they are okay on cocoa fiber? A block which it expands, almost acting as if it is soil but really isn't. I just didn't know if it would stick to the frog like crazy or if the frog would rather have that as the ground than wood chips.

[Kisa]

Unfortunately pet stores are not always trustworthy with information or pets, so you cannot always trust what they say. It was good of you to come to the forum and post this thread because I'm sure any more information you were given at this store could be harmful to your frogs.

I feed my WTF outside of his viv because of his terrible eyesight and a few other factors, but like Ginger said it probably won't be beneficial if you handle a wild caught frog any more than necessary. If your other frog was wild caught that could be the reason he passed, often wild caught animals have ingested parasites or have come to the store with harmful bacteria, their sick when you buy them. Another big factor with wild caught specimens is the stress factor. This problem increases with Wild Caught animals because they are not used to human intervention and are prone to become over stressed when forced into a smaller environment than they're used to.

I suggest in the future not buying any wild caught animals unless you have to, it really is not a beneficial situation for you or the frog. I am entirely against the WC population of frogs and all animals in general, personally I find it a form of torture. Not that I'm condemning you, if you were misinformed by the store than it is not your fault, I just wanted to get my opinion out there.

[Kisa]

Just a quick update for you Shorte, our moderator Cheri owns several Red Eyes and just informed me that hers will not wake up and move around until it's pitch black in their viv so maybe the moonlight isn't the best idea for you right now. My frogs feel comfortable enough at night with the moonlights on to move about but it may not be the same with Red Eyes. How are things going by the way?

[Delilah and Sampson]

Sorry if someone has already written this but I keep my whites warm with a fish tank heater in the water tank side of my tank. The side itself is way too deep so I put LARGE rocks in and covered the heater. As long as you keep the heater completely submerged you should be fine. My frogs LOVE sitting on top of the rocks and sunbathing on the warm rocks under the warm light globe. Haha gotta love em. The temp of my tank is always above 20 degrees Celsius at night thanks to the water heater and is about 21 during the day thanks to my UV light globe. Hope my reply wasn't too late!
D and S