Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my two adolt frogs for almost a year now and have noticed that they rarely if ever show the bright green color they should be... They are in a 20GH tank with top soil substrate. They have a branch they climb on and plenty of hiding places. There are a couple of live plants and even a few earthworms in the soil to keep things broken up a bit. There is a water hole for them and I find them in there in the evenings. There is a heating pad, protected by aquarium carpet on one side and the lights in the tank are set up to turn off and on every 12 hours... The temperature on the thermometer strip shows about 80 - 85 Degrees during the day and about 70 - 75 degrees at night... I spray the tank down and feed them crickets a few times a week like I am supposed to (dusting the crickets ever few feedings) Really the only time I ever see any green is with my little one on the rare occasions when I get him out.

Also, are they supposed to make noise? I've never heard a peep from their tank since I brought them home. (They were a rescue adoption. Somebody took them back to the pet store I got them from because they didn't want to deal with them)

Any comments or help would be appreciated.

I don't know much about the colors, but I can say that as for the calling... only males call so perhaps you just have two females.
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Heather

female frogs wiil also call, the will reply when a male is calling, the will call when being attacked or squeezed. frogs change color on many factors eg: heat, humidity, lighting etc. everything sounds good in ur setup, except 2 frogs in a 20 gall is a bit small, 2 in a 30 gall is minimum. you may just have some WTF's that originated from indonesia or paua newguinea because they will usually be a dark brown. what lighting do u use?????

dont be to worried about it, get them a bigger enclosure 20 is to small./

luke z

whats the humidity within the enclosure??? and what soil do u use

I agree that the tank size is too small for 2 adults, but it's not abnormal for some WTFs to be darker green to brown most or all of the time. You can check out the link below and see the pics of Satch, my WTF who is almost always reddish-brown. I don't think you have too much to be concerned about. I'd also ditch the heat pad for a heat light - they don't naturally go to the ground for warmth but the opposite in going to the sun for heat and the fround and water for coolness. Hope this helps a bit.

www.froggie.info

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Happy Frogging!!!

~Becki~

Thanks, I know the tank is a bit small... My fiance was supposed to be getting me a 30 gallon to upgrade them to, but it fell through... We're checking the classifieds for a bigger used tank.

The heating pad is on the side of the tank that they hang out on most of the time... I didn't put it on the bottom because I didn't figure it would work through my substrate.

Dude, [chuckle] you've shown this picture like the thousandth time. Nice frog by the way! LOL

I don't know the humidity... Does it have to be specific? I just spray the tank down every other day or so and make sure to keep a clean water spot for them...

The soil I use is a clean top soil with no chemicals or fertilzers in it. I got it from a plant nursery in town... When I first got them I put Bed-a-beast on top of it, but it got too messy so I just let it mix up with the dirt... I figure it would be good for the plants anyway.

hey thanks for posting by the way.

the humidity should be arround 40-60%, if the humidity is to low frogs can dry up and die, if it is to high, they can develop fungal infections. by a hygrometer or humidity gauge to tell the humidity.

luke z

You are right about the tank size. But, when I got them, they guy I aquired them from told me that they only needed 10 gallons of room a peice... I thought my tank was a 25 gallon tall (but it's only a 20) so I thought I had more than enough space, but I can tell by looking at them, they would really like a bigger home even if they are always smiling. (one of the things I love about the little things)

When I got them, I was told I had a pair... One is way bigger than the other, so I figured that was the female and the small one is the male. Since I know nothing about sexing them, I just figured my little boy is quiet... But having two females is a possibility. Maybe one is just younger than the other one??

I have found that mine do best with no heat source and at room temperature. I spray 2-3 X a day, but not too heavily. Also spaghnum moss bedding is great for them. My male actually roams freely in my bedroom most of the time since he is an escape artist. He just sits on my fish tanks all day. I think it sounds like yours are the brown-type. I have one green and one brown one. Even among my 30 babies, there are some of each.

frogs are ectothermic, this means they rely on the external enviroment temperatures to be able regulate their own body temps. WTF's optimal body temps are around 20-25c, if the temp is lower then that the frog will metabolise its body a lot slower and will be suspectable to alot more diseases, like red leg.

if your room temp is around 20-30c that is fine, but if it is under this temp u will need another heat source.

i would not advise you to let your WTF roam around the room, it is obvious that sooner or later your frog will "dissapear" or die from stress and/or disease. it may become dehydrated and dye, or get caught in the carpet etc, there are so many possibilities.
luke z

I agree that most people should not let their frogs loose. However this frogs spends his day sitting on top of an aquarium where he recieves plenty of heat and humidity. I check on him every hour and it is a small enough room that he does not get lost. I have found this is a better alternative to letting his scrape his nose to death. He is just a very social frog.

the reason why he "scraps his nose to death" is because he is NOT happy with your enclosure, he is trying to escape because something is wrong with your enclosure, it could be temps, humidity, cage furnishings etc. what is your set-up like?

litoria caerulea do not like HIGH humidity, the humidity in their enclosure should be 40-60%. if his nose is scratched and u keep him in high humidity he will devolop fungal infections which will kill him.

frogs are not "social" the only time frogs really spend time socializing is when the come together to breed.

for more info on WTF's you can go to my site at http://luke_zecevic.tripod.com/frogsofaustralia

luke z

Actually, you know these frogs in Australia are found near where people are because there is water around people houses. We use springler to water are plants and lawn and these frog are attracted to the water. I would imagine they can tolerate the dryer condition, but like all frogs they love moisture. I think they like the humidity to be higher, but a good ventalation is must...I think that's where a lot of people went wrong--they don't provide adequate ventalation.

you told me u live in USA, how r their WTF's jumping around ur yard?. i know that WTF's are frequently found in toilets houses etc, but this is usually in the dry season when the humidity gets down to around 30%. litoira caerulea are BEST kept in arounf 50% humidity. that is a fact. i have talked to profesional herpatologists and zoo keepers and this is what they have told me, it is also stated in many good books.

luke z

I'm sorry I don't know what you mean, but I live in the US. [chuckle]

My frogs is not scratching his nose in response to his setup. He lives in a 20 hex with plants, several braches, moss bedding. I monitor his humidity and temperature with gauges. He is social, he actually calls when I walk in the room. He just enjoys being loose sometimes. I think you have a stick up your butt or something. If I want to let my frog out ocasionally there is nothing wrong with that. He has a rubbed nose before I got him and was an escape artist then, that is why he was given to me. I keep several other varities of tree frogs and have bred some of the more difficult ones. No matter how much you know about an animal, each one is an individual with its own preferences. This is the first thing anyone should know about keeping any living animal or even plant. Who deemed you the WTF expert?

i am not saying i am a professional!!!! but i do know the captive care requirements for WTF's, and you are not keeping your frog correctly. if he is scratching his nose in the tank, then it is obvious that there is something wrong with your set-up!!!!!! what is ur set-up like? eg temps? humidity? cage furnishings? etc

luke z

You know...Luke...I've read this book written by Barlett and he saids the key to keeping Amphibians is moistures. I don't know maybe some books says otherwise; maybe you can tell me what book you've read so I can do a research and compare datas.

Admittedly, I take my WTF out on occasion. Usually to feed him every 2 days, or to check him out to make sure hes looking okay. Ill let him sit around out in the sun with me for a few minutes, or just let him rest on my hand. I dont know if he enjoys this particularly, but i figure a little fresh air cant do him any harm. Now I dont know how you know that your WTF enjoys being out-did he tell you that? it would definately be a shame if something did happen to the frog while it was out of his tank. Perhaps there is somethign wrong with the tank setup. Put some background on it or something. Maybe he was WC. Im sure if someone took me out of my house and stuck me in one room for the rest of my life, then stuck theyre big old hand inside to pick me up, id be REALLY stressed out, as you can im sure imagine. Just take into consideration how weird this is for him,and how stressful it is. Frogs are not social. My frog croaks when i come in the door, but Im sur eit has something to do with the squeak of the door, or the dogs barking or a draft or whatnot. Anyways,lay off Luke, hes an awesome WTF keeper who has given me some good advice and helped me get out of many binds. Hes only looking out for the wellbeing of your frog, not trying to be prick. Just relax and see what he has to offer.

hey knot,

do u have msn?? if so we can talk online about herps alot easier, and then i will tell you all the books i have read.

luke z

I have SBC yahoo my username is knotsripol.

My AOL screename is KnotSripol

You can read ten different books or articles and everyone will have different parameters for keeping fogs. Some people swear that they like high humidity and high temps and soemtimes otherwise. I have already described my setup, it is fine. I breed frogs. The one in question lives alone. I am just about done arguing this.