Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if i have to hibernate my 12 gray froglets when they turn in to frogs. I need to know what tempatures,what substrate, if the burow, or other information on it.

jessy

It is not necessary to hibernate the tree frogs unless they insist upon it. In fact, you should make an effort to keep them from hibernating as there is a significant risk of mortality. Keep in mind that in ectotherms, low temperatures are directly associated with immunosuppression. This means that if hibernation is done improperly, the organisms that the frog would be able to fight off could be lethal. On top of that, it is a general rule that an animal in its first year of captivity should not hibernate, simply because there can be a huge adjustment period.

If the frogs insists upon hibernating, where they become inactive and stop feeding, you should first make sure the temperatures are high enough to sustain activity. Adding some florescent full-spectrum lighting for 12 hours a day might help. I have no information on how to hibernate them, as I never done so.
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If your Grays are from Northern 'climes; they want to rest.

Wait until they burrow into the substrate & stay down (early winter). Keep temps in the 50's; keep in cellar or cool corner of house. Keep fresh water available. They'll awake in spring and climb back onto higher perches.

No losses in 3 years

I agree; the animal generally knows what he's doing. So you will want to initiate nothing -- simply follow their lead. If they burrow in and go to sleep just go along with it by shutting out the lights and dropping the temps to about 50F. Make sure there is always clean water -- they will wake up and soak if they need to.

If they choose to stay up for the winter, keep feeding, keep the light cycle steady and keep them at normal household temps.

While I have not kept new-morph Greys, I have never lost a frog to winter brumation with this approach either.

Henry

I'm from Florida, so my frogs never really hibernate. However, some still burrow deep and they will get less active if it's cool enough. I agree that it's part of their natural cycle and you should have season changes for your frog, especially if they're wild caught. So, it's my opinion that depending on the origin of your frog (if it was wild caught) that should be a guideline to how cold you'll want to go. But not too cold, because some animals naturally die every year, and you don't want to risk that in captivity. And good luck with whatever you decide

Wow, thanks for your help everybody, but dose anyone know what to feed him and his soon to be cagemates? they're only the size of the tip of my pinkie to the size of the tip of my thum.

Jessy

Pinhead crickets are probably small enough if you can find any near you. If not, you'll probably have to go for fruit flies. I did feed some of my froglets ants for a couple of weeks, but it's not recommended from my understanding of it.