A few questions from a newbie (okay more than a few)

[LilyPad]

I've had my Gray Tree Frog (Paddy) for a week now and she already went through a major growth spurt! She appears to be a happy healthy frog

Now for the questions...

Substrate - I have coco husk substrate in the bottom of her tank. She hates it. She doesn't even like jumping on it to catch crickets, when she has to, then she sits and cleans herself and acts all irritated. I had moss in there originally and that didn't bother her, but I was worried about impaction so I ditched it. Is there anything else I can do for substrate that wont bother her as much?

Feeding - How much is she supposed to be eating? I feed her 3 crickets a day and she gobbles them up right away. Should I be giving her more if she's so eager to eat them? Or am I overfeeding her?
- What types of food other than crickets would offer her a nutritional benefit? I know they are supposed to have a variety, but I read mealworms are pretty nutritionally lacking in benefit, is there something better?

Lighting - I have whatever light came with my Zilla tropical habitat set up -

• 5.5" reflector dome
• Day blue light bulb

Is that what I should be using? Also, the light rests directly on the screen, it gets pretty warm, as of so far, she has never gotten near it, but could that burn her? How would I fix that?

Heat - She has a heat pad (from the zilla habitat set up that I got) And it does NOT want to stay stuck to her tank! I have taped it on, but the tape warms up and unsticks from the heat pad and it falls back off. Is there a better heatpad that will stay stuck on? Or a diff type of heat source that would work for her? I know frogs are sensitive to heaters.

Climbing - So far I have not seen her do any climbing. I had one of those bendable branches in there and I figure that must not have been stable enough for her, so I put a zoo med twisty vine in there as it is thicker and much more stable..and I still don't notice her doing any climbing. She just sits on top of her log hideaway that I bought.

Reptocal - She hates it. When I coat the crickets she snaps them up and spits them back out. Eventually through the night she will get hungry enough to eat them and they'll be gone by morning, but she very much dislikes it. Also on that subject, how often should I use the reptocal? So far I've only done it once in the 8 days that I've had her.

I think that's all for now! I have not take a pic of her habitat as I've changed the set up, but I can show you the first ones I took if you'd like to get a better idea of what's going on.

[LilyPad]

I solved the substrate issue by packing it down hard, she isn't having an issue anymore

[LilyPad]

Any help at all? I've read so much stuff and so much contradictory advice, I just want some answers from experienced herp owners.

I did catch her climbing last night but she is still using the top of her log as her sleep spot, she must just like it there.

[UncleChester]

I'll do my best, I'm no expert but have 2 adult Grays I've had for a couple years and a small one that I've had for about 8 or 9 months.

Live plants (when you add them) won't enjoy a packed down substrate. To keep the substrate off the frogs, I use either leaf litter or sheet moss that I lay down on top of it. The moss I use comes from rocks in the woods- I just peel it off in as large a sheet as I can and lay it down in the viv. The leaf litter I use is collected from under our magnolia tree- the leaves are are pretty reddy/brown and take a while to break down.

Your frog must be fairly young if you've noticed growth already? If so, I don't think overfeeding is really an issue, they'll be growing fast. 3 a day is probably good assuming the crickets are a decent size.

I don't see the need for a heating pad at all, mine stay at room temperature. I do use a CFL bulb (one of them energy saving spiral deallies) very near the top of the cage, along with perches at as many different heights as possible so they can be as close to or as far from the light as they want if they want more heat. It doesn't put off much heat, but does make a little difference if they want. If you think your bulb is too hot, can you move it furthur away? Or get a lower wattage bulb? If not, I'd make sure there aren't any perches too close to it.

Mealworms are fine to feed on occasion and so easy to keep and breed in a small space that you may as well have some around. Waxworms are a good treat as well, I suck at getting them to breed but the frogs love them and the moths they turn into. You could also look into feeder roaches, I'd give them a whirl but I think they are illegal to breed here in Canada, at least they are illegal to breed in my house according to my girlfriend. I dust every 2 or 3 feedings for the adults, more often for the young one. Calcium supplement dustings are thrown in as well every few dustings. I dunno about them not liking the dusted crickets, mine usually scarf down anything that moves and gets too close. Since you've only done it once so far, maybe it was just shock at the odd tasting cricket?

As for climbing, imo they more stuff available near the top of the viv the better. Mine most often perch near the top. In the "wild" I most often find them at the tops of door frames. They like to be high as there's less stuff up there that can eat them. Yours might not find the high perches you have available comfortable for whatever reason, though I find it hard to imagine that given the places I've found them lounging. Maybe it feels exposed on the vine? Maybe it just really likes the log? In any case, the more you use the vertical space, the better. I have pics of my treefrog vivs in my albums if you want some ideas (and pics of my own Grays).

Anyways, good luck, enjoy your new pet, and welcome to the forum.

[LilyPad]

Thank you so much Brian!!

I added live plants tonight, but all I did was rinse off the plant and roots and then put the cocohusk back in the original container that I got them in (after washing) and put them in the tank and put substrate around them.

I rearranged a bit tonight because of the new plants, so I arranged the height away from the lightbulb. She did climb around but I think that's because I changed things and she was stressed out.

She is small yet but not a little baby or anything, I've been feeding her small/med crickets. She was very very skinny when I got her.

Thank you for ALL your help!!! I am going to go check out your albums now!

[artes]

In reference to your frog sitting on her log to sleep, I think they just like being near stuff that reminds them of trees. I have a small water dish that looks like the bottom of a tree (complete with roots), and sometimes he sleeps on the dirt smushed into the roots. I'm thinking about seeing if I can find a fake tree for him to play on. He has a live plant (I forgot which kind) and a fake climbing vine. He mostly sleeps on the vine or smushed by his bowl - he only uses the plant for playing.

[LilyPad]

I think maybe she is comfy there because it was the highest point in her habitat for a while? Today she happens to be napping on a branch! I think I just need to give her more time to get totally adjusted.