Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,

I posted this a few days ago on the Usenet group rec.pets.herp, but nobody replied there, so I thought I'd try here. My apologies to anyone who is seeing this twice.

I've been wanting to get a tree frog. Actually, I would eventually like to get a bumblebee dart frog, but that's well into the future. For now, I am interested in riding the learning curve with a more common species.

To that end, I acquired a "leaker" 10 gal hex tank from a local pet store. I have a chunk of cork bark about 16" square that I'm going to cut up and silicone in for decoration. A little moss, a few plants, and I hope to have a functional vivarium.

In the meantime, I have been looking into different tree frog species. There's really not a whole lot of info that I've found concerning captive care of these creatures. Most of the information I'm getting is coming off of Department of Environmental Such-and-Such pages, University Biology Department pages, and State Park pages. I'm still not comfortable enough
with my knowledge base to actually bring a frog home.

I do actually have a question in here somewhere.......

I was hoping someone could suggest some pros/cons with the following species, keeping in mind this will be my first-ever amphibian. I've had a few reptiles, many invertebrates, and a lot of furries, but no wetskins. Suggestions, anyone?

I'm currently thinking about:
Hyla cinerea (Green Tree Frog) (pet store)
Hyla squirella (Squirrel Tree Frog) (pet store)
Bombina sp. (Fire Belly Toad) (pet store)
Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (wild caught within 50 yds. of my back door)

I understand that the Fire Belly probably needs more floor space than a 10 gal hex can provide, and a greater quantity of water than the vivarium I'm making will provide. If this "introduction" works out, I'm going to attempt to build a 20 gal hex vivarium with a false bottom to recycle water..... but that's a project for another day.

Currently, I'm leaning strongly toward the Squirrel Tree Frog, only because it is the smallest of the bunch. There are three available at the store I frequent, and I might bring one of them home this week.

If anyone has any input on the species I'm considering, I would appreciate hearing it.

Thanks for listening

-Kays

Out of the species that you listed, both the green tree frog and squirrel tree frog would be good choices for your 10 gallon hex. They are small, active, little frogs that usually do well as long as they are purchased in good health. As you mentioned, a fire-bellied toad would do best with more floor space. They do make very good captives though, better first amphibians than the two tree frog species in my opinion because they are brightly colored, diurnal, and usually are available in better condition than green or squirrel tree frogs. Spring peepers rarely do well in captivity, so it would probably be best to just enjoy the ones in your backyard out there rather than in a glass box in your living room. Good luck,
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Devin Edmonds
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com

Thank you for the info & suggestions. Your website is outstanding, as well. I read the care sheets on both the FBT and the green tree frog, and I think I might just have to set up enclosures for one of each

Thanks again!

-Kays