My friend bought a baby white tree frog a month or two ago. We are college studnets and she lives to far from school to take it home so i am watching it over christmas break. I have watched it before and had no problems with it. It is startign to turn like really dark when it is normally light green and it barely moves and is startign to not eat crickets put int the cage. Can any one help me at all.
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Baby white tree frog
angl03grl
Dec 22, 2003 11:40 AM
Replies (6)
KristenM
Dec 22, 2003 12:38 PM
How do you have the frog set up? Its normal for whites to change colour, but if its not eating thats another story.
Kristen
angl03grl
Dec 22, 2003 01:32 PM
he is in a 10 gallon. with a night and day light, water thing some tree thing i don't know much about it i just know it eats better at school. It never turns this dark for this long either.
ellasmommie
Dec 22, 2003 01:53 PM
If he has recently been moved from his usual home and there has been any sort of temperatur fluctuation, it could just be a little bit of stress causing him to darken up. Put him in a low traffic room and cover the tank to give him lots of privacy and quite. Leave him alone for a couple days (other than to offer a couple crickets and change water) Perhaps if you give him a little time to get settled, he'll start eating again and ease his way back to green.
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Heather
ellasmommie@yahoo.com
angl03grl
Dec 22, 2003 07:59 PM
It started getting like this before the move.
ellasmommie
Dec 22, 2003 09:02 PM
Hmmm...
well if you are really concerned, tear down his tank and set him up simply. Moist paper towels on the bottom of the tank, water dish with fresh, treated water and a few hide spots (potho clippings work great because they last a VERY long time unplanted, just put the roots in a water dish) This way you can keep a better eye on him and check and fecies. It also makes it easier to keep an eye on how much he is eating. Try offering smaller crickets to reduce stress and raise the temps a little. If you can, try to maintain an average temp of around 80-85 day time and 70-75 night time.
*IF* he still refuses to eat and he starts to get thin, you can try force feeding with a pair of feeding tongs. Try rubbing the food item against his lips, if he doesn't open up apply a little pressure. But only try this as a last resort.
If all esle fails, locate a local herp vet and call for advice. Some will advise you over the phone, some will want to see the frog.
If he starts eating again but still remains brown rather than green, don't worry about it. It's quite normal for a White's to be both colors.
I wish you the best of luck and hope that the lil bugger returns to normal.
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Heather
ellasmommie@yahoo.com
henry capobianco
Dec 23, 2003 07:04 AM
With all due respect I have to differ with the last advice. To tear down the tank and make all these changes will be very stressful. Living on papertowel substrate will result in either constant changing of the substrate ( = constant stress) or continual exposure to dirty paper towels, which don't neutralize waste like a proper substrate will.
And as I read the letter, the main issue is not severe weight loss so force feeding or assist feeding is not at all called for. That's a last resort for a starving frog. This sounds like a stressed frog.
I would second the recommendation to reduce all causes of stress. Make sure temps are good, plenty of hides and cover the tank for privacy.
The other possibility is that this frog is starting to succumb to a parasite load. Do you happen to know if its ever been treated for that? You might take a fecal sample to a vet. A load of worms would explain the lethargy and loss of appetite.
Henry Capobianco
