Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My kids have four grey tree frogs, two each, that we raised from eggs. They morphed about three weeks ago. We're feeding them pheonix worms and fruit flies; they aren't real big on the pheonix worms, though; maybe they don't move enough.

My daughter wants to start handling them on a regular basis. Is this a good idea? Should they be handled at all? Can we feed them anything else? I haven't found any real pinheads in town. It seems to take a LOT of fruit flies to keep them satisfied....

as far as handling them goes.. im sure that anyone on this forum will agree that you should touch them as little as possible.. frogs have delicate skin, that is easily damaged and they absorb moisture, oils, and toxins through the skin, because of these reasons is it best to look at the frogs, not handle them. this advice goes for any species of amphibian, not just frogs.

as far as food goes, ask your local petstore if they can order pinheads for you... sometimes they can, sometimes not.. but its worth a try.. how big are they? frogs can eat amazingly large prey in comparison to thier own body size.. i have squirrel treefrogs that would fit on a half dollar that eat "small" (i think 1/4 inch) crickets easily.. you wouldnt want to give them large ones, but depending on thier size, they might be able to eat the smallest ones your petstore offers..

hope that helps ...
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, chameleon treefrogs?, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

My frogs are about 1/2" in length. they are probably still froglets, although they've lost their tail (of course). I'm going to the reptile store today, so I'll see if they can order me some pinheads. The smallest they keep are 2 week crickets; I got some a week or so ago, and the frogs didn't know what to do with them, so the stupid crickets just drowned in the water dish.

So handling frogs is out? I knew we didn't want to handle the CFBN at all, but I thought with proper preparation handling frogs (except dart frogs, of course) was OK occasionally. However, if that's the case, we won't handle them more than necessary.

I remember reading about amphibs that were raised on crickets, and then they didn't see slower moving food after a while; and also critters that were raised on mealworms, that didn't see the fast moving crickets when they grew up. Can I keep my frogs flexible by feeding them some fast and some slow prey? Of course the fruit flies are all fast....I wonder if thats why they don't go for the phoenix worms...What about tiny earthworms? And how can you hand- (or tweezer) feed without the frogs escaping?

i have a large group of gray tree frogs that are probably a month or so older than yours i also have so tadpoles that are still enjoying being tadpoles
aphids are great for the babies they are often found on the backs of dandilion leaves that would be good for your girls to be able to find food for them i just lay the leaves in their cage on the higher branches ive been raising them for a while they seem to do the best if they can eat high in their trees or branches high in teir cage i use the pinhead crickets they cheepest to order on line wormman.com has real quality pinheads again they like to eat up high and crickets are stupid and they drown so easy i use a small plastic clear box if its about2 inches the crickets cant crawl out o put a rock in the middle that doesnt touch the sides and the frogs can eat them off the rock i put my little box up in the tree or on a higher branch it really encourages them to eat if it can be up high
i love these guys one other thing they arent fond drinking out of a dish of water they poop in there i use a fine mist and just mist them once twice a day and they open their mouths to drink i love watching them they dont like to get soaked just a drop also you might consider a small light that is slightly warm to shine in one little place where they can can bask after they eat i also use the 7% uvauvb light they are a little different than like green tree frogs thei skin is a little like a toad it helps them get vivid colors greens through grays some are even coming up black as they grow they see my face all the time and when they get older they like to jump to my shirt and then i put them back like you would a bird sitting on your finger i raise several different frogs my favorites are by far these gray or copes tree frogs they are such clowns they like to hang on the screen on the top upside down under their warm light its no more than the tiny 25 watt they like to warm their stomaches
if you have any questions let me know you can email me too frognarf@yahoo.com if you ever have a problem and need replacements i live in south carolina and grays are becoming numbered i live on lake murray and i like to raise them over the winter and then when i hear them calling outside release them and go with more babies or tadpoles i find in temporary puddles this year i should have several hundred to release next year i think its great youre introducing your girls to frogs they are under rated by many and they should be more protected i have rambled fran

Actually Fran your advice is pretty interesting....I have a regular incadescent lamp on one side of one of the boxes my daughter has frogs in, a 13w Azoo clamp-on lamp on the tank my son's frogs are in; the frogs definitely seem to enjoy the warmth. Didn't make it to the reptile store today, but I will tomorrow. I haven't seen any aphids in a while, but I'll look. We live in Knoxville, TN, so it's started getting chilly here at night. I did find a couple of tiny pillbugs the other day that I put in; yes, I know there is the possiblity of toxins, but this is well within my large yard, and I've lived here 11 years and never used any pesticides. I have debated on the swimming pool thing; so far they haven't gotten it very messy, and I did find one of my daughter's frogs sitting in his bath today for quite a while. His color was off last night and he didn't look quite right; so maybe he was (I hope not IS) impacted and was soaking for a reason. My son's White's TF sat in his last night to poop....disgusting, but it works.

We'll soldier on and I'll look into ordering some pinheads from wormman (or whatever).

Thanks!

In regards to your Tweezer feeding question, Yes it is possible, and can be very convienient.

I hand feed both of my WTF for two reasons

1) I can make sure they both get the same ammount of food

2) I hate chirping crickets, this way i never have loose crickets running around.

They get used to it quickly, and now they expect to be fed whenever they see the tongs. I use 10" feeding tongs i got at a pet store, they work great, especially because I dont have to reach my hand right in close.

To get started just put a cricket in the tongs and hold it nice and close to your frog (maybe just touch its mouth if thay are stubborn, just not to much, you dont want to stress them out). when they take the prey just gently let them take it, and be careful not to jump yourself when they lunge at the tweezers, that takes some getting used to too!

Good luck!
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0.2.0. Leo
1.1.0. WTF
0.1.0. Irish Setter
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I'm tweezer-feeding my GTF froglets Zoo Med's Repti-Cricket pieces (preferably abdomen half) dusted w/ T-Rex's Treefrog Dust.

I started them as tads on algae wafers, then onto on "dusted" fruit flies (both species)-- now, preserved foods are far cheaper to obtain & ration out. My little guys are plump & the dia. of a nickle.