Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my 10 year old a couple of Peacock tree Frogs(wild caught). I'm not new to amphib's and have kept tree frogs before. These were juveniles and were doing very well, then all of a sudden with no real signs of distress, one died. Then 1 day later, the other died as well. We both were heart broken. I couldn't get too much info on this frog from the pet store(not surprised). But I did look it up to find the scientific name(isn't it called the Leptopelis Vermiculutus?) Should I try owning these, what are the care, breeding requirements-can anyone clear up my confusion and distress? Very gratefully yours.

With WC specimens you do have a lot of sides that are not in your favor as far as their health goes. If you did your internet research and have previous experience with amphibians, primarily tree frogs or something of the likes, with healthy individuals you could succeed in their longevity.
If you and your kid enjoyed them, I would search around or ask around here for anyone that can provide you with CB ones, or you can treat them yourself with the assistance of a vet.
Otherwise, you are better off with some CB red eyes or white's.

Perhaps we can help you further if you explain set up, diet, tempurature, supplementation, light exposure, humidity etc.

-Brock

Thanks so much for your reply! Good to know there is help! Your comment that I'd be better off with CB red eyes-do you mean that they are far easier and hardier? I had one once, and wondered if they are a better choice for us. Could you direct me to care requirements, breeding info sites to research them or could you/any experts provide such info? My kid would really like to add to the hobby by breeding fine specimens but its heart wrenching when he loses a beloved pet-so we want to do as much research as possible.

much easier to keep than a redeye, even if it is captive bred. plenty of info about them. peacock frogs aren't for beginners. they aren't captive bred yet either, at least not in numbers.

I do like the Dumpy's; but really prefer the RETF. Could you point me to an info site about RETF? Would like to know what is required to successfully keep, breed and raise them. Thank you!

if your kid is going to be in charge get a white's. retf's look nice but they are not active at all while there is any light in the room. period. you will never see them very much. white's at least wake up at sundown so you can watch them before going to bed as long as not alot of light in the room. and please don't ask about breeding until you have kept one frog for at least a few months before even thinking about getting another frog. why risk more animals if there is something wrong with the setup. and this is the site to ask questions about your frog. buy a book too. much easier reference anyway.

I agree on the White's. I had a red-eye a few years ago, and rarely saw him. I just finished feeding my 2 White's, if you really want to interact with a pet, White's the way to go. My female literally jumped out of the tank on to my hand looking for dinner. The male is a little more subdued, but he also eats out of my hand and sings his heart out every night.

There is only one care page online in english that I am aware of and it is henry's page on them. I'll post a link for it below. If you're searching for some guesses as to the possible cause of death for your froggies, please give us the details of their care and set up(tank size, other tank mates, temps, humidity, feeding, type of water - frequency changed, tank cleaning, tank decor, plants, substrate, etc) and how long you had them and any changes or unusual behaviors - if any - that you noticed (appetite, activity, abnormal stools, etc). Not trying to drill you, just the more info we know, the better we can guess at the problem. Hope this helps!
Leptopelidae Care

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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~

Thanks for the info. We had them for 6 weeks. Had no care info on them. Juvenile Wild caught. Had them(only them)in a 5 gal plastic with only moss in it initially. Wanted to keep it simple to watch them feed ok. Temp: standard home. No lighting fixtures yet(just room light), I was still setting up the permanant tank. Hand sprayed 2xs a day with water that sat for 24 hours at least. Eating small size crickets gut loaded with flukers-saw them both eating well. Then, all of a sudden-36 hours of not eating for the 1st one then death, 2nd one behaved strangely(not eating)in only the last 12 hours, then death too

one thing- have the tank setup before you buy them. I would bet the frogs were sick before you bought them but who knows. no idea what they died from since I assume no necropsy was done. what kind of moss? don't like moss in my tanks for numerous reasons. if that dried spanish moss crap maybe the frogs ingested some and died from impactions although both at the same time is not likely.

With only having them for 6 weeks, I agree with Mark that they were likely ill when you got them, especially since they were wild caught. Some things in the set up weren't exactly right either - which you can tell for yourself by comparing to the care page - which may have contributed to them being stressed which only worsens a sick frogs condition. I can see by your posts that you are sincerely interested in this hobby and are going about getting new frogs the best way this time by researching them first. If you'd like a recommendation for a good species to start out with, White's are great. RETFs are wonderful pets as well but it's better to move up to them after you've kept an easier species for some time as they are a very delicate species and have a bit more advanced care. I posted a link to my webpage on RETFs above under mve's post where you asked for care info on them - you can also visit my page on White's by a link on that page as well. Hope this helps and feel free to ask any more questions you may have.
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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~

I forgot to mention that I had kept green tree frogs(none died), a red eye tree frog(for 2.5 years-then died), pairs of asian firebellies(which I had 6-700 babies from) long ago before we had the internet. I had no info on them and was able to do fairly ok. My saddest day was when the RETF died-I couldn't bare it. So I didn't get anymore(this was nearly 20 years ago) So, I guess you wouldn't say I was a tapole in the subject, maybe a Juvi? Do you think I might be able to handle the RETF being a Juvi and not a tadpole? And how would I set up tanks to breed these guys? I don't mean keep pushing you for info about that, I just want to make sure that when I do get experienced enough, that I have the right set up to do it and that I have the right capabilities to provide them well. thank you! By the way, your froggys are so cute!

Find a link to Beckis' frog site. She can help you with your retf information needs. Hank

I think that you will do fine with RETFs - just have your tank set up ahead of time so you can experiment with getting everything regulated just right before you get them. It took me a few days to work all the kinks out and get it all down pat. If you're planning on getting froglets, they won't need a fully set up tank at first - I briefly cover the bare set up they need on my page, if you are planning on getting babies and have any other questions about them or the set up - or anything else for that matter, feel free to ask away - either here or you can e-mail me by clicking on my name at the top of the post. Thanks for the compliment on my babies - those pics are when I first got them and I hope to update them soon - maybe this week - as they have grown so much and are 1000 times more gorgeous now. I don't know when he'll have more RETFs for sale but my babies came form Hank (mercedesherp) and they are truely exceptional specimens of the species - I'd highly recommend him as an excellent breeder - not to mention a great person. Hope this helps!
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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~

I think that you will do fine with RETFs - just have your tank set up ahead of time so you can experiment with getting everything regulated just right before you get them. It took me a few days to work all the kinks out and get it all down pat. If you're planning on getting froglets, they won't need a fully set up tank at first - I briefly cover the bare set up they need on my page, if you are planning on getting babies and have any other questions about them or the set up - or anything else for that matter, feel free to ask away - either here or you can e-mail me by clicking on my name at the top of the post. Thanks for the compliment on my babies - those pics are when I first got them and I hope to update them soon - maybe this week - as they have grown so much and are 1000 times more gorgeous now. I don't know when he'll have more RETFs for sale but my babies came form Hank (mercedesherp) and they are truely exceptional specimens of the species - I'd highly recommend him as an excellent breeder - not to mention a great person. Hope this helps!
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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~

I think that you will do fine with RETFs - just have your tank set up ahead of time so you can experiment with getting everything regulated just right before you get them. It took me a few days to work all the kinks out and get it all down pat. If you're planning on getting froglets, they won't need a fully set up tank at first - I briefly cover the bare set up they need on my page, if you are planning on getting babies and have any other questions about them or the set up - or anything else for that matter, feel free to ask away - either here or you can e-mail me by clicking on my name at the top of the post. Thanks for the compliment on my babies - those pics are when I first got them and I hope to update them soon - maybe this week - as they have grown so much and are 1000 times more gorgeous now. I don't know when he'll have more RETFs for sale but my babies came form Hank (mercedesherp) and they are truely exceptional specimens of the species - I'd highly recommend him as an excellent breeder - not to mention a great person. Hope this helps!
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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~