Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I have another question. My male azureus has found a hole inside the log that is on the underside of the log and facing toward the back of the tank. he has hidden himself in that hole and hasn't come out for since the Thur evening. Not even when I put in the fruit flies. any suggestions? I am keeping the tank covered with a towel to reduce the stress of the wide open space of our house.

Hey Josh, I was reading some previous posts and you mentioned that if the humidity is low that the frogs will hide constantly. Could this be the problem with my male since I took out the fogger? whats a good CHEAP way to measure humidity?

Either he is comfortable, sick, scared of his new surrounding, or suffering from low humidity (or a mix of those factors). To check on humidity you can buy a thermastat/humidistat from wal-mart, home-depot, target, etc. They are usually $10-$15 a piece. There should be a section of weather detecting devices (some over a $100!). You just need the cheap one (one step above the one that just records temperature). And keep in mind that the temp probe does not measure humidity (Others have missed that and got weird readings). You need to stick the whole device in the cage to get an accurate reading.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

I just got these frogs on thur from Saurian. They were healthy when he shipped them. tha female is doing fine. but the male has been out of sorts since he arrived, he just lay flat for a min or so till I gently shook him out of his traavel container then I thought he was fine, he was trying to climb the walls and went into the co-co hut. He hasn't come out since he found the hole under the log. I hope he is just afraid and will get settled and more comfortable in a day or so. What do you suggest to make him more comfortable? Any other suggestions would be sooo helpful. I am worried for him.
Thanks
Jean

is to look at the glass sides of your tank. If you see condensation on the inside, chances are great that your humidity is fine.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

Phlame-- I got beat up verbally for saying that once, although that's what I still do. Someone pointed out that the condensation depended upon the temperature and dew point-inside and outside of the glass, and didn't reflect the actual humidity. It was a very long, instructive lecture, so I bowed to this at the time, but in a house with central heating and no extreme temperatures on either side of the glass, seeing condensation inside the glass is still a good gauge.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

OK so if the humidity is good and I have the tank completely covered to cut down on disturbances from the outside of the tank. what else can I do to make this frog feel secure in his new environment so he will venture out? Or alternatively as Josh mentioned, how can I tell if he is sick sinceI can't even see him in the hole up under the log? Any suggestions?

I would defer to Josh on this if he disagrees, but I would seaparate him into a critter keeper with the vents sealed, or other acceptable "nursery tank," with a few pothos leaves, perhaps over a shipping cup on its side with some water in it, and a wet paper towel substrate. This way you can collect fecal samples to check for parasites if you need to do this, and watch him more closely for eating. I know that Patrick recommends keeping all new frogs separately in a quarantine tank for awhile, (especially juveniles) until you see they are eating well. I usually keep a mated pair together for a couple of weeks in a quarantine tank to make sure they are both eating, and don't always follow his advice of separate nurseries for the froglets and juveniles, putting the same shipment together of the same species, but for a month or more before introducing them to the main tank. That way, you can at least separate out and watch any that don't seem to be thriving as well as others.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

We just had this discussion on Frognet. There were people on both sides.

Some said the bigger tank was better because it allowed more micro-fauna, desposed of poop better, was more secure since it allowed more hiding spots and more room.

Others said you should use plastic containers with paper towel so you can see him/her better, get fecal samples, and make sure he can find the food.

There were froggers on both sides (some of who measured their experience with darts in decades instead of years). I don't think there is a right answer.
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Josh Willard
www.joshsfrogs.com

On a positive note he was out this morning when I first came down. He went back into hiding as soon as I turned on th light and my kids came down. So I still don't know if he's eating.

As I only have these two frogs in a 10 gal tank and they are a sexed pair so are not juveniles, I was thinking I should leave them there and just remove the log for a day or so just to make sure he is eating. Or do I need to leave it in for his comfort spot, there is still the co-co hut to hide in. WOW!! This is much more stressful than I anticipated! Thank you for all of your helpful insights so far, I am sooooo gald I found you guys!

Jean

If it's only a 10 gallon, I'd be inclined to leave him there and watch. I had a later thought that removing him might just add to his stress. He may be out more than you realize when there is less flapping around.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

Since I have a towel wraped around the tank I really don't have any idea how often he is out now. Whenever I sneak a peek I can't see him anywhere. Except early in the morning before all the commotion begins in our house ( he was out again this morning). I had thought to move the tank into our room, which is locked up during the day to keep the kids out. So there is not so much "Flapping Around" ( I love that) We have 4 kids under 7 so as you can imagine there is ALOT of flapping all the time.LOL.

oh yeah- what do you think I should do with the log? I am inclined to leave it.

Leave the log and take off the towel. Darts are diurnal, so need light in order to be active. I'd just tend to let him get used to it.

I've repeated this many times, but in the early 70's there was a movie, and somewhere I have the novel, probably by someone like Tom Robbins, or even Kurt VonGute, but I'm too lazy to even find the title in my library, about some Titan aliens from the moon of Saturn by that name. They "collected" a couple of earthlings, otherwise unassociated with each other and took them back to Titan and put them in what they had studied, and thought was their natural habitat, i.e. furniture from Sears. This confused couple ended up in this "habitat," and were barely getting aquainted, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to them, when a voice from above interrupted them: "ARE YOU BREEDING YET?"

I always think of this when any of my frogs seem shy.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

Thanks for that Patty! How many times have I laughed out loud at one of your posts! You have a great way of phrasing things that lightens up the seriousness of this hobby. I would love to read that book by the way if you remember to look up the title let me know.