Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got home today and saw my Pacific tree frog lying in its pool, not moving and not breathing (at least not from what I could see). It's skin was very dark brown, which is unusual because it's usually very pale (I know it has the ability to change colors, but still). I tapped the cage and opened and closed the lid to see if I could wake her up (I don't like to poke her, it's not nice). I waited three hours. Still no breathing, no movement. So, I pronounced her "dead". I cried, read some inspirational stories, and dealt with it. 5 Hours later, still dead. Then I went to bury her about an hour after that, and she was gone. I thought the crickets had eaten her (crickets are very stupid, they each each other and even themselves). But there she was, sitting in her little "hut", skin back to it's usual shade.

I'm wondering if she's hibernating, or on the verge of death (she IS sort of old for a pacific tree frog, I know that she is at least a year old). She looks emanciated. I don't know if this is from sickness or from hibernation. She doesn't seem to be eating, but again I don't know if that's from sickness or hibernation. She's not really moving, but again.. well you know. . Do pacific tree frogs hibernate? I live in California and on the coldest of nights it rarely gets below 40 deg F. I use a lamp during the day, which raises the temperature to about 75 at the most (since she is wild caught from this region, I don't think she needs extreme heat, she should be used to these temperatures, right?) . What should I do to make sure she is getting enough nourishment? I read about someone putting their frog in the refridgerator for winter. Wouldn't she die!?! I don't know, she's VERY skinny. I'm going to try to leave the lamp on during the night to see if that helps, so that maybe she will start eating again. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Eden

There are many things that could be going wrong with your frog...

Unless you have prepared her to hibernate (more correctly-brumate), than you should not be letting the temps fall too far below about 60 degrees at night. Also, they do not brumate in water, so that is not what she was trying to do in there.

The dark coloration and lethargic behavior could be a result of a fungal disease, bacterial disease, hypothermia, old age, stress, or something else.

Start by raising the night temps. Use a heat bulb that does not produce light, like a ceramic heat emitter or something similar, but monitor the temps to make sure they do not get too high. You could also use an under-tank heater if there is a suitable place to put it, where the substrate is not too deep.
Make sure the water is fresh and clean, conditioned and free of harmful chemicals.
Put in enough climbing structures and hiding places.

That is all I can think of for now, good luck.