Weight

[Immortal]

When researching I didn't come across how you'd know if your frog is too thin or too fat lol. I was wondering if anyone could let me know?

This is Orchid, taken the day I got her (March 28 2011)

Frog Forum - Immortal's Album: Orchid - Picture

Thanks!

[bshmerlie]

Very nice picture by the way....you're gonna have to enter our monthly photo contest. You don't really have to worry about red eyes getting fat. I feed mine as much as they want and they seem to stop when they're full. They are naturally slender frogs so they can eat all the cheeseburgers they want and it doesn't go to their hips. If they start to look too skinny increase the food or feed more wax worms as they have a higher fat content and will put more weight on your frog.

[Immortal]

I just submitted that photo a while ago to the contest!

Ok that's good they're not very hard to keep proper weight then lol. I have a thoroughbred horse and it is a constant battle to keep weight on him. He's always a bit on the thin side, even with fatty foods, just because of his breed. Thank you!

[Kisa]

Now White's THAT'S where you have to watch the weight. My bug guy is totally huge and I've had him on a diet since I got him! Not healthy...but I'm trying here.

My P. Tomopterna's (which have the same basic body shape as a Red Eye) always look thin when their walking around, but the breeder (who is amazing and very knowledgeable) told me that you really only have to worry once you start seeing bones, as in, it's obvious that their underweight. You'll know if your frog needs a bit more food I think.

[Immortal]

Well I'd say from her photo she looks kinda boney, but I don't know if that ammount of boney is normal or not. When she's sleeping (I just looked at her right now) you don't see that, so maybe it's even the way she's sitting?

[Kisa]

All frogs tend to bunch up when they're sleeping, so I'd say the normal weight is looking at them when they're awake. I see in your pictures that she does look just a bit boney, but I don't think this is life threatening. Maybe just give her one more cricket at feeding time for a little while until you can't see the bones? I found some examples on google, so take a look at these and see if they help.


This one is definitely underweight. You can see it's ribs. It's skin is also pretty dark, it could be normal discoloration, as you will see all types of frogs change colors between night and day.


This one looks right about perfect to me, skin is healthy and eyes are bright.


And this one is the healthiest of all! XD Jk. A bit chunky, but there is no cloudiness in the eyes yet so I'd say this is just a little above healthy. This frog could also be pregnant, I'm not an expert in the difference.

I'd say if they look anywhere in between the middle and last pictures, you're a-okay. Hope these have helped you out. Orchid looks like she falls between the first and middle pictures, but her skin is healthy and her eyes are bright so I'm sure she's fine, just try feeding her a wax worm or two and the boniness will go down right away.

[Immortal]

LOL I've never seen one that big! I'd assume it'd be pregnant. She had 3 crickets last night, I assume she ate them all as I didn't find any wandering around. The pet store said they've been giving her 2-3 a day. Should she have more than 3 a day then? I just don't want to put so many in the terrarium in case she doesn't eat them, then they end up escaping and all over the place lol.

[Kisa]

Which pet store did you get her from, if you don't mind me asking? Just curiosity.

And I think three a night is good unless she starts looking plump, like in that picture. You should try out waxworms, just as a snack until she gets more filled out. Waxworms are high in fat and protein so they'll bulk her up in no time, one every couple days should do the trick, but don't use them as a staple food they can cause cataracts if they eat too many or get too fat. If she doesn't go for them in a bowl or just on the ground, I suggest feeding tongs, that usually works for my Whites'. Waxworms are white and squishy, plump looking, make sure you get those if you decide to feed them and not mealworms, those can be dangerous.

I had an incident with small crickets escaping my Tomops's viv, some of them ended up in my bed. >> Not good.

But again I don't own Red Eyes, this is just my observation dealing with any frogs, if they start to look thin = waxworms for desert. XD Cheri, our moderator up there, would definitely know what to do, she keeps five Red Eyes.

[Immortal]

I got her from Pet Zone in Sarnia Ontario. I don't like to buy animals from pet stores but I've never even seen them anywhere before, I just happened upon them last week.

I'm not sure if there's anywhere around here to get wax worms. I can most likely get silk worms though, how are those for them?

We had a cricket in the kitchen sink yesterday lol! Somehow it got all the way downstairs and in the sink. I wonder if my cat did that.

[Kisa]

You know I'm not sure about silkworms actually, but a friend of mine feeds them to her White's. Maybe someone here can illuminate us on the nutritional value of silk worms? If you can't find wax I'm sure there's something else you can do. Try calling around to your local pet stores and see if they have them, there's always a chance someone will.

Yeah, one hazard of enjoying the company of your frogs, is you're gonna have to learn to enjoy the company of their food as well. XD;

[Immortal]

Yeah I think I'll call a couple stores and see if they have them. I have to go 40 mins to Sarnia and they have 2 pet stores, or 30 mins to Chatham and they have one. But I get a discount at Pet Smart, which is in Sarnia.

I don't mind having crickets, I've had them before with my water dragon, but then I switched to feeding him meal worms because he got too lazy to chase the crickets lol. They're fine as long as they don't get out all over the place.

[bshmerlie]

You have a beautiful frog and he looks perfectly fine to me. If you're ever worried about his weight just feed him extra everynight until he looks like you want. Red Eyes don't really get fat that's just their motabolism, but they shouldn't look unhealthy either. My frogs fatten up pretty quickly when I want them to. Although it is not ideal to buy a frog from a pet store sometimes we don't really have a choice. Some frogs aren't available everywhere and if you pass them up at a petstore you may not see them available again. Your frog looks great and it is no wonder that that Red Eyes are the poster children for rainforest conservation.

[Immortal]

I think they are just the most beautiful and cutest frogs ever and I always have. I always look in pet stores when it says "tree frog" and it's NEVER a red eyed tree frog. I was so surprised to see them, first time ever seeing them in real life! I fell in love all over again lol. I really want to breed them, once I learn more and get more of a feel for them.