Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my pair of whites for over 3 years. They are kept in a 37 Gal tank with a cork bark background, false bottom with water area, large climbing log and a few live plants. The tank is kept ar around 70-75 degrees and 45-55% humidity at all times.

I seem to recall that the frogs will be brown when stressed, however one of mine was green when I got it, and even stayed green in the small tub I brought it home in only to turn brown when I placed it in my vivarium after quarantine. The only thing that I can think of is that they are staying brown to match the majority of their habitat. Is there any chance that adding more plants could change their color? Any thing else you can think of? Thank you.

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0.0.4 Blue Dendrobates Auratus
4.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2.3.0 Asian Floating Frogs (Occidozyga Lima)
1.1.0 White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

Hi, I noticed in the pics that your temp gauge is up near the top, that would usually mean the temps are cooler towards the bottom, unless you have some type of heating in the bottom.

That said, the caresheets that I have read have stated daytime temps to 85 degrees. So I would think that you would want to try to maintain a daytime of 80-85 and then let it drop to your current temps. You could do this with a heatlamp on a timer for 10 hours or so. Also misting more frequently or covering a portion of the top to keep the humidity in the 50-60% range.

That may be why the one especially has not turned green since you got it. Just be aware though that some always stay a shade of brown, or are always a shade of green and never brown.

Here is a link to a good caresheet for them (though the rest of your setup looks good).
Whites caresheet

I am using a 100W Ceramic heater (not in the picture) to heat the tank. The temperature is warmer near the top of the tank, however the frogs seem to prefer the ground. I will experiment with covering part of the top to increase the humidity. Thank you.
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0.0.4 Blue Dendrobates Auratus
4.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2.3.0 Asian Floating Frogs (Occidozyga Lima)
1.1.0 White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

In the pics it seems that the temp gauge is at the top, and you say your readings are 70-75?

It is possible that your gauges are not working correctly. Yours looks like the Exoterra's that I have, I've heard that they're not too reliable. I would double check your gauges and try to maintain the 80-85 on one side during the day, letting it go to 70-75 at night.

Sometimes they will go to the bottom for a couple of reasons, too hot, too cold or not enough humidity.

I cannot remember where I read it, but I know I read that often times White's that prefer the ground tend to stay brown, and those that prefer staying/climbing in the trees tend to be green more often. Just something to consider.

Chris

I don't know where that was read, but I don't really think its true. My female is brown all the time and she slept high enough up in the cage when I was at my parents house and in a plant here. My male is green and he sleeps in the plant or nearer to the ground. It simply depends on the frogs, what they're genetics are like and stuff like that. (also there is an australian breed and an idonesian breed and although they are hard to tell apart, there may be color differences there too). My male will change colors during the course of the day, depending on the conditions in the cage.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:2

actually, i think the local of the whites also determines the color. the so called blue-whites treefrogs i think are from australia while the ones that tend to stay brown are of the indonesian islands around australia. i bought one captive bred blue-whites treefrog and since the day i got it, it has never changed from being a nice blueish-green color. on the otherhand i was given as a gift from a pet store about 35 yrs ago a whites treefrog that is almost always brown. i only ctach it when it is green when i turn on the lights after it has been dark for a while. im thinking its from the islands and not australia.

Not to contradict anything, but did you know that australia alone has three different environments that the white's live in? Some of the white's go into hibernation when the colder weather hits while others don't ever have to.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:2

trstgdf

Thank you for all of the help. That picture is a few years old. The tank and branch are the same but the plants and thermometer placement have changed. I now use a digital thermometer/humidity gauge at the base of the branch. I decided to add a large fake plant under where my ceramic heater is (real plants whiter from the heat there) and it seems to have worked. My younger frog (the one that was green when I bought it) is now sleeping on the plant and is green. The other is still brown, but like one poster mentioned, it may be an Indonesian strain. I do not think I have ever seen it green. Thanks again.
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0.0.4 Blue Dendrobates Auratus
4.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2.3.0 Asian Floating Frogs (Occidozyga Lima)
1.1.0 White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

try putting more green plants in, i have two whites, and one is brown during the day and then gets green when he's in his plants and he's always green at night. the other i've never seen during the day so can't tell ya much about him. i have a birds nest fern, i've tried lots of differnt plants and they have ultimatly killed them, but this one has been in there for a while. i have two and i switch them about every 4 months. this seems to work well. the leaves are really strong and perfect hiding spots.