General Red Eyed Tree Frog Questions...

[VooDoo]

OK, so as I said in another thread, I'm a first time owner of red eyeds. Instead of constantly starting a new thread everytime I have a question, I'll just keep my questions in here.

Right now for substrate I use coco fiber with sphagnum moss on top. It does well holding humidity, but the frogs tend to get the coco fiber all over them. Is there a better substitute? Whats your opinion on sheet moss and leaf litter? If I got sheet moss, do I just put that over the coco fiber? Does sheet moss hold humidity as well as sphagnum moss? Is leaf litter used mostly for looks?

And right now I use spring water to mist and for their 'pool'. Replacing the pool every day with new spring water can get pricey. If I use tap water, what conditioner do I need to use, and will that for sure be fine for the frogs? Or should I just stick with spring water?

Thats it for now. Thank you guys so much for your help. It gets overwhelming reading different info on other sites, so I figured this would probably be the best place to get answers.

[John]

Coconut fiber does get on the frogs, it's true. It's very light and fluffy, and it doesn't clump well, so it's always going to stick to them. I suggest you cover it with leaf litter and/or the moss as you suggest. The moss probably won't live for long in you terrarium though. You don't replace the substrate with the leaves or moss. You have substrate and then the covering layer of leaf litter and/or moss. Leaf litter is a good place for spring tails to live if you decide to introduce some.

Don't use spring water to mist. You will just end up with salt deposits clouding the terrarium glass. Use distilled or reverse osmosis water for that. If you want to put water in the pool, conditioned tap water is fine. The brand doesn't matter, just make sure it's aquarium water conditioner (sometimes called dechlorinator).

[Kisa]

John's got great advice as usual. For my White's and Tiger Leg's I keep a layer of moss over the coco fiber and leaf litter over that so nothing sticks to my guys. I highly recommend leaf litter as it's naturla looking and will keep moss and/or coco fiber from sticking to your frogs and irritating their skin.

[VooDoo]

Will sheet moss/leaf litter hold humidity as well as sphagnum moss?

As far as treating the tap water, how do you go about it (as far as how much treatment to use). Do you make up a gallon at a time or something? Or can I just fill their dish up every day and add a drop of the conditioner in there, or will that be too much?

Thanks..

[DonLisk]

I usually treat my water in a gallon milk container. Then I have water available when ever I need it for in a water dish.
As for distilled water for misting, I pick that up at the grocery store since I don't have a way to produce it at home yet.

Actually if you get enough stuff up high like branches and vines, you'll find the Red Eyes will rarely walk on the substrate. I use leaf liter in most of my enclosures since it will keep the frogs clean as well as help hold moisture.

[VooDoo]

Awesome, thanks for the help. And sorry about all the questions, but I just wanna make sure everything is just right.

So for a gallon of tap water, how much conditioner do you put in.

And this may sound silly, but when misting with distilled water, is it ok if you get the frogs wet with it?

[DonLisk]

It should be on the bottle how many drops.
The misting won't hurt the frogs at all but they may give you the look

[Kurt]

Like Don said, misting the frog directly with distilled water won't hurt it, just don't use it as the frog's main source of water. Different individual frogs will react differently to being misted, some love it, while others hate it. All depends on the particular frog in question.

[Kisa]

Kurt and Don are absolutely right. My biggest WTF Bruce loves being misted and becomes extremely active after I give him a god spray. My middle WTF seems completely indifferent to misting and my Tiger Legs don't appreciate it at all. They squint their whole bodies (if that makes sense) when I mist inside their enclosure. It's just different preferences.

[VooDoo]

OK, now regarding dusting the food.

Right now I dust with calcium, but have read I should dust with vitamins also? What kind should I use, and how often do you use it?

Thanks.

[VooDoo]

Anybody?

[ViperJr]

What you need is calcium and vitamin d3. They are both very important. Zoomed have a good powder that have both these ingredients in a not too small box.

Sorry I did not answer before, totally forgot about it.

[VooDoo]

What you need is calcium and vitamin d3. They are both very important.

I already dust with calcium w/D3. But I've also ready you should just a few times a week with a multi-vitamin of some sort?

Quick question. I got a female RETF today to go with my other two. They're all sleeping right now. The two I've had are bright green as of now. The new on is darker green with some tiny white spots (pimple looking). Should I be worried?

Thanks.

[ViperJr]

As far as I've read (and I've read alot to say the least), calcium/d3 is enough for the frogs to get everything they need.

They often turn darker at night, and females usually are darker than males (correct me if I'm wrong on this one). The white dots are naturally occuring on RETF, some have them, some do not. I guess it could be some dieses, but it certainly don't have to be. If you want to be sure, post a picture and let the pros tell if it's the naturall dots or something else.

[VooDoo]

Thanks for the reply.

Now, this new frog I got (the one thats bigger that supposedley is female) is wide awake right now (in the daytime), and is croaking.

Do females croak as well?

[VooDoo]

Bumping this. Is it normal for red eyeds to wake up in the daytime and croak/chirp?

[leesahlynn]

I'm definitely not as experienced as the other RETF keepers here but my little group is doing pretty well. :]

I think females will call back to a calling male if she's ready to lay her eggs, but none of my females have ever made any noises (or at least I haven't caught them doing it). But then, I have a pretty bad time telling them apart, so maaaaybe this one should left to someone with more skill. x] Sometimes I'll catch one up/hear it chirp during the day though. Usually it'll just change locations or readjust and go back to sleep.