pacific tree frogs

[lesley]

Hi Guys,

I just acquired two pacific tree froglets from a friend. I have a ten gallon screened tank that I am going to use to house them, but I don't know how to go about setting it up. I want to have some live (CA native) plants in there, and a watering pool of some kind, but don't know how to best accomodate the froggies and make sure it is easy to clean their terrarium and water source.

Any ideas?

Lesley

[OrionGirl]

Oooo, I'm jealous! I love frogs--don't have any place to setup for more, so just have my ACF for now.

Here's a good website: http://www.anapsid.org/mainherpetology.html It has lots more than just amphibians, as well. Tom's Place (http://www.tomgriffin.com/) has a forum for herps, and there are several members that have many frog setups and could offer advice.

[Leopardess]

Here is a great forum that seems really knowledgeable:

http://talkto.thefrog.org/index.php?

I poked my head around a long time ago and bookmarked it for no apparent reason:)

[lesley]

Thanks for the suggestions OG and Leopardess. I ended up setting up my terrarium yesterday and used a very fine sandy soil called yolo fine sandy loam. I think it will work well for my froggies as well as for the mosses and ferns that I am planting with. I guess now the big part will be keeping up the fly supply. I couldn't believe how expensive the vials of fruit flies were at the pet store (about 5 bucks.) I need to start culturing them myself.

The froglets are hiding right now, but I will try to post a picture of them later.

I got a picture, but he's a little muddy. This little guy is about the size of the tip of my pinky finger. He just metamorphosed about a month ago.

[Leopardess]

Aww he's so cute and...slimy!

Just be careful, you may want to take an indepth look around the site I gave. I remember reading a lot of people saying that some substrates can be very harmful because the frogs can/will swallow pieces. I'm not sure that yours is a problem but it can't hurt to double check:)

[OrionGirl]

Yep, totally jealous. What a cutie! You might also want to look into crickets--they are pretty cheap, and the small size might work for you. Of course, there's a variety of easily cultured flies if you can setup the space for them.

[lesley]

Here's another picture.

I think my substrate will be okay. It's basically a fast draining mud. I think the problem comes in with substrates that the frogs can swallow in chunks and they get lodged in their digestive tracts. The stuff I used is probably closest to what they encounter in the wild, since it is basically a native soil.

Also, I do plan on looking into crickets as soon as these guys are bigger. I just haven't found any crickets yet that aren't bigger than the frogs. I have read about pinhead crickets, but haven't seen any in pet stores nearby.

[Indigo]

So cute! Congratulations on the new additions!!

[Dangerdoll]

I love that little guy!! good luck with them lesley! :)

[greeneyedlady]

they are sooooo cute lesley, I would have a hard time convincing hubby that I "needed" frogs for pets since I have 4 fish tanks set up right now and he is a tad overwhelmed by my "hobby" :D

[ChicoRaton]

frogs are awesome! :D I was feeding some firebelly toads one time and two were going for the same cricket and one of them ended up with the other's head stuffed in its mouth! :laugh:

[chunksofpoooo]

Hey, I’ve had a few frogs in my days, so I suppose I can give you a few pointers (I currently own a Pacman Frog http://www.livingunderworld.org/gallery/photos/anura/leptodactylidae/ceratophrys/ornata/)

First off, don’t use the 10gal tank yet, esp if they just went through their metamorphosis. You can find a small terrarium at your local pet store (generally rectangular, have very colorful plastic ventilated tops, cant recall what there called....vivariums?). A froglet will have a much harder time finding its food in a 10gal, so its going to be cheaper and easier to keep them both in a small 1.5-2gal vivarium (smaller, if its easier). Sphagnum moss is good when your frogs are big enough to eat small crickets. But for now, you might want to consider just a layer of moist paper towel (I know it’s not pretty, but it’s easier to take care of them, and easier to clean). Most of the vivariums will come with a small light on the top, and you can keep your frogs in the vivarium until they are eating normal sized crickets. For now you’re all set with fruit flies and pinhead crickets.

Fruit flies are incredibly easy to raise. I’m presuming you already know how to raise them(?) Pinhead crickets can generally be bought offline, try: http://www.edsflymeatinc.com or www.skipio.com for some maggots, although gross, they make an excellent food source for froglets

Pacific Tree frogs are incredibly tame; I used to own two that would eat crickets out of my hand. Although this is cool, it can lead to overfeeding if you’re not careful.

Just a quick question: is your 10gal vertical or horizontal? Generally Tree frogs do best in a vertical tank, but vertical tanks are harder to clean, so if you have a horizontal you’ll be fine.


any questions you might have id be happy to answer, i love frogs

Cool little frogs, by the way. And good luck, they're a blast! :D

[lesley]

Thanks, uh... Poo :)

The froglets were kept in one of those plastic things for about a month past metamorphosis. They seem to be doing okay in the ten gallon, though i do watch pretty carefully to make sure that they get all of the flies I put in and that the flies don't escape. I think it helps too, that I'm feeding the flightless kind.

The type of tree frogs that I have are evidently more terrestrial than other types of tree frogs and there is debate about whether they should actually be classified as chorus frogs as opposed to tree frogs. (They are the native ones that probably occur near you as well, since I notice that you are also in CA.)

Thanks for your tips, I have taken those things into consideration.

By the way, did you take the SEM that you are using as your avatar? I have done some SEM myself.