Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I'm new to the Tree Frog forum. I have reptiles and fuzzy pets, but no amphibians. I am interested in getting a White's Tree Frog, specifically one of the "True Blue" ones. I am new to frogs and am happy to have this forum for learning about them before getting one. I've searched online and visited many sites, and read many of your posts. I found some conflicting information and am confused.

First off, I have a 30 gallon high critter tank (with the sliding screen top). From what I've read that should be ok to house one adult White's. Please tell me if it's not.

I have an UTH and heat lamp and can play with both to get the correct temp. That was my first problem. Some sites said warm side at 70, many said 80, some said 85. So I was leaning towards 80 for the warm side as that seemed the most popular opinion. What do you guys keep your warm side at?

Then there was humidity. Seems anywhere from 30 to 50 is recommended. Some say mist daily, even twice a day. Some sites said don't keep too humid, mist once or twice a week. How often do you guys mist, and what do you feel is the ideal humidity?

I have bed-a-beast for substrate, and several silk plants. I have a nice piece of cork bark to lean against the back, I read that they like to sleep on the glass and would appreciate being able to do so behind some cork bark to feel more secure. I read on one site how you put regular backer on the back and sides, and you need to put a strip of paper on the outside front towards the bottom, just a few inches. So if he/she walks to the front he won't rub his nose on the glass trying to walk through it.

I haven't decided if I'll try live plants. If so, do I need a special flourescent light to keep the plants alive?

I read you really shouldn't handle them, but have seen lots of pics of people holding their White's, or having them out of the tank sitting by the computer or on chairs or tables. How bad is it for them to pick them up?

Finally, where could I get a "True Blue" White's from? And are they really different than regular White's? I read that the regular ones go through all diff color changes and can be blue sometimes. Do the "True Blue" ones stay blue all the time, or go through the same phases and are just more blue in the blue phase?

Sorry for all the questions. I'd love to see pics of your White's, hear stories, and any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
-----
www.LynsLair.com
4.8 Leopard Geckos
(Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess)
1.0 Carpet Python
(Bear)
5.1 Ferrets
(Wolf, Shadow, Roland, Verdell, Boo, Sullivan)
0.1 Cat
(Mia)
1.0 Beta Fish
(Nemo)
0.0.1 Dojo Loach
(Whiskers)

..............First off, I have a 30 gallon high critter tank (with the sliding screen top). From what I've read that should be ok to house one adult White's. Please tell me if it's not.

that enclosure is good for 2 adults, at max. the 'rule' is 20 gallon for one frog, than add 10 gallon for each frog you get.

..........I have an UTH and heat lamp and can play with both to get the correct temp. That was my first problem. Some sites said warm side at 70, many said 80, some said 85. So I was leaning towards 80 for the warm side as that seemed the most popular opinion. What do you guys keep your warm side at?

get rid of the UTH, because WTF's are aboreal the will not be on the ground for heat, the incandescent is perfect for them, if you are unhappy with the temps play around with the wattage. i think a 60watt bulb should be fine for a 30 gallon. im not exactly sure about farenheit, but the temps should range from 25-30c to 20c.

........Then there was humidity. Seems anywhere from 30 to 50 is recommended. Some say mist daily, even twice a day. Some sites said don't keep too humid, mist once or twice a week. How often do you guys mist, and what do you feel is the ideal
humidity?

50%, you can buy a humidity gauge or hygrometer to tell the humidity within the enclosure

.......I have bed-a-beast for substrate, and several silk plants. I have a nice piece of cork bark to lean against the back, I read that they like to sleep on the glass and would appreciate being able to do so behind some cork bark to feel more secure. I read on one site how you put regular backer on the back and sides, and you need to put a strip of paper on the outside front towards the bottom, just a few inches. So if he/she walks to the front he won't rub his nose on the glass trying to walk through it.

if you take care of your frog perfectly he wont rub his snout on the glass trying to get out. usually if they are unhappy with something within the enclosure, they will try to escape.
so nah, you dont need that thing to stop em rubbing their snout. but cork bark is great for hiding spots.

...........I haven't decided if I'll try live plants. If so, do I need a special flourescent light to keep the plants alive?

yes, you will need full spectrum fluro tubes. some plants will survive with normal incandescent bulbs or little light, but the majority will flourish if full spectrum fluro's are used.

........I read you really shouldn't handle them, but have seen lots of pics of people holding their White's, or having them out of the tank sitting by the computer or on chairs or tables. How bad is it for them to pick them up?

dont hold them. because frogs partially breath through their skin, they can absorb many oils, toxins, chemicals or anything. naturally our hands secrete oils which are not good for frogs. to a frog when you hold him/her, it will feel like sand paper and you can even tear their skin by holding them. if you must, make sure you wash your hands, and keep them wet.

.........Finally, where could I get a "True Blue" White's from? And are they really different than regular White's? I read that the regular ones go through all diff color changes and can be blue sometimes. Do the "True Blue" ones stay blue all the time, or go through the same phases and are just more blue in the blue phase?

true blues dont stay blue all the time, some peoples blues will turn bright green at night, while others will turn from green to blue at night. i dont know where you can some bluey's in USA, im from down under, so i have no idea.

.......Sorry for all the questions. I'd love to see pics of your White's, hear stories, and any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

dont be sorry!! this forum is here to educate. if you have any more Q's feel free to ask, or you can check my frog website.

luke z
-----
http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia

I checked out your site. Frodo is adorable! Feel free to take a peek at my site if you want to see the animals I care for currently. Thanks for all the info. I went to my local store today and they didn't have any White's at all, green or blue. But they go to reptile shows almost every weekend and said they will try to find me a blue one. I was wondering, if the main reason for not handling tree frogs is the oil in your hands, what happens if you wear gardening gloves, being sure they are always washed and clean. The gloves are softer than the cork bark in the tank, so shouldn't do them any harm, and they'd be protected from the oil on your skin, and you could easily wet the gloves first. Would that be an ok way to occasionally handle a tree frog? I can live w/out handling him/her but would like to be able to take him/her out for cage cleaning, and for pictures. Plus I do alot of educational demos with my animals and would like to be able to bring my new frog to some of the demos. Wouldn't need to handle him/her at the demo, but would need to transfer him/her into a smaller portable cage. I guess I could always coax the frog onto some driftwood and transfer him that way too w/out touching him.

Here is a pic of my current Aussie buddy. His name is "Bear" because he gives great Bear Hugs

-----
www.LynsLair.com
4.8 Leopard Geckos
(Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess)
1.0 Carpet Python
(Bear)
5.1 Ferrets
(Wolf, Shadow, Roland, Verdell, Boo, Sullivan)
0.1 Cat
(Mia)
1.0 Beta Fish
(Nemo)
0.0.1 Dojo Loach
(Whiskers)

sorry, i forgot to tell you that handling frogs also causes stress. but if you will only handle your frogs for relocation, or cleaning their enclosure, than thats fine.

luke z
-----
http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia

Since it's hard to tell boys from girls, if I do get two White's Tree Frogs and they both turn out to be male, will they be ok together or need to be separated? Also, would I have to get both at the same time? Or would it be ok to get one now, and add one later? Would just one frog be happier alone? I'd rather have one happy frog than two mildly stressed ones if they really don't like being housed together. Thanks for all the help!
-----
www.LynsLair.com
4.8 Leopard Geckos
(Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess)
1.0 Carpet Python
(Bear)
5.1 Ferrets
(Wolf, Shadow, Roland, Verdell, Boo, Sullivan)
0.1 Cat
(Mia)
1.0 Beta Fish
(Nemo)
0.0.1 Dojo Loach
(Whiskers)

male WTF's are fine together, it doesn't matter if you introduce one later than the other, or at the same time.

luke z

p.s- nice website!! your ferrets are gorgeous
-----
http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia

OK, I spent the afternoon working on the tank, think it looks pretty good. I added a mini drip that slowly drips water down onto the plants (all silk, no real ones) to help keep the tank humid between mistings. I went ahead and plugged in the UTH even if he won't be on the ground, it might raise the humidity to warm up the moist substrate, I figure it can't hurt any. I do have a heat lamp and the hottest place in the tank is 85, it's right around 80 on the driftwood, the lower right part of the tank is in the lower 70s. How does it look so far? I named my new frog (who I don't have yet) "Trevor". If any of you like Harry Potter the name will make sense. I hope I can find my "Trevor" soon! In the mean time I'll keep working on his setup and do more research to be sure I have everything ok...

-----
www.LynsLair.com
4.8 Leopard Geckos
(Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess)
1.0 Carpet Python
(Bear)
5.1 Ferrets
(Wolf, Shadow, Roland, Verdell, Boo, Sullivan)
0.1 Cat
(Mia)
0.0.1 White's Tree Frog (Coming Soon)
(Trevor)
1.0.5 Assorted Tropical Fish
(Nemo, Whiskers, Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo)

wow! that looks great! so far so good. whats the humdity in the cage?

luke z
-----
http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia

I'm sorry to say I haven't picked up a humidity gage yet. I'll get one on Tuesday when I stop for crickets for my geckos. It's pretty humid right now because of freshly soaking the bedding, but the top is all screen, I didn't cover any of it to keep the humidity in yet, so it will probably decrease as the week goes on. I'm concerned that Trevor won't be able to find the crickets though, lots of hiding places for froggie means lots of hiding places for crickets too. When I had Crested Geckos I used to put a shallow bowl of cricket food in the cage under a low piece of driftwood. The crickets would gather on the bowl and the geckos quickly learned they could ambush them from above. Do tree frogs ambush stuff from above like that? If so, I'll try the same trick with the cricket food. If nothing else it will keep them gutloaded till they are caught! Thanks for looking at my site. Ferrets are alot of work, but so much fun too!

-----
www.LynsLair.com
4.8 Leopard Geckos
(Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess)
1.0 Carpet Python
(Bear)
5.1 Ferrets
(Wolf, Shadow, Roland, Verdell, Boo, Sullivan)
0.1 Cat
(Mia)
0.0.1 White's Tree Frog (Coming Soon)
(Trevor)
1.0.5 Assorted Tropical Fish
(Nemo, Whiskers, Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo)

thsy ambush their food aswell. what i tend to do, is hand feed my frogs a couple of crix each, and then put the rest on the screen lid at the top of the enclosure, so the crix are climbing around upside down. this is in a open area so my frogs can see the crix.

luke z
-----
http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia