Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I am new here, I was on talk to the frog, but it appears to have disappeard! I have seen a few names I recognise round her, Hello to TimOsbourne, Dakota and Tadpoleo!

I just bought a new WTF. he seems to be settling in nicely, he's only been her since monday and has eaten 7 crix already (he had been fed just before I picked him up!) I was a little worried as one night he didn't come out at all he just hid in his moss all night long. However he seems happy now, he slept on the side of his tank all day today (is this good that he wasn't hiding?)

His tank is normally between 22 and 30 degrees and is about 70% humidity.

Just wondering if everyone think he looks ok as my last frog (a retf, a lot harder to look after I know!) died.

Here's some pics of my Lumpy

Oh I forgot to ask. I've been told that I can feed him/her a pinkie mouse once a month or so. Is this OK?

Hi, I was on talk to the frog too, any clue as to what happened?

It's ok if your frog was hiding, especially if he is new to the enclosure. It took mine quite a while to get used to a (i'd say around) 100 gallon tank, as opposed to a ten gallon tank (it wasn't store bought, but handmade) Just a note on the red light, keep an eye on your frog. On that last pic it looks as if his eyes are slit, instead of open, and that could mean that the light is bothering your frog. It should only be used as a viewing light at night, although could be left on during the day for heat. ^^ Just a note there. (for the two days I had one on the tank, one of my frogs didn't get up at all).

As for the mice, they are high in fat content. Once a month should be alright, but there again, you should be monitoring your frog. If he seems to be gaining too much weight to fast, I would stop feeding them entirely. (you can tell they are gaining weight by the ridges on top of their eyes. In extreme cases, those ridges can become so fatty that they actually cover the entire eyes of the frog. I saw a pic once, it's not "cute" of "funny" Really though, I would recommend sticking to crickets and worms (meal, wax, whatever). If you want to use earthworms, make sure you know beyond the shadow of a dought that they were not cultivated in an area that uses pesticides (that includes surrounding areas).

Ok, yeah, I may have just told you a bunch of stuff you already knew, but hey. lol

Have fun with your frog!

Thank you daystorm! For the last pic I put the red light on to see him and that was it, I turned it off straight after the piccie. Its only on durning the day for heat :d

But thanks for all the info

Do WTF's make a chirping noise at all? I can't fiind any crickets and none of my other crickets seems to be chirping at all.

Hey Kara..
Hiding is just part of it, as well as sleeping on the glass.. (I think they feel high, there for safe).

Anyways.. crickets wont make noise until they are adults.. Male whites will call, and all frogs can make some noise if distressed...

You can feed adult whites pinkie mice for a rare treat if you like.. some will eat it.. some wont.. But it is really not needed.

Keep an eye on the weight, they will pack on the fat in a hurry.. feed him 3-4 crickets every other day and you should be fine.. (I like fat frogs, so mine get a little more).

On the red light.. I know you only had it on for the pics.. but it will sometimes keep the frogs from waking up and moving around, you also will have to keep an eye on the temps while it is on.. some of those put off a lot of heat.

Whites are fun frogs though.. they have a lot of personalities.. and a bit more forgiving with husbandry errors..

OH, as for thefrog.. no one really knows why, but the forum server account expired. The mods dissappeared several years ago.. as a result, it is lost.. possibly for good..
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

Oh Oh well.

As for the red light, its on during the day, its a 40 watt bulb which keeps the temp between 22 and 28 centigrade. Its on for 12 hrs ATM (I have a very cold house) and for the last 1 1/2 hrs he has a towel thrown over his cage to keep the heat in. He seems to be doing great he's been out and about every nught but one and he seems to have eaten.

I know about the fat thing, he is just plump atm and I feed him 6 crickets every 2 days. He seems to eat them over the 2 days

The talkto thefrog place may be back. There is a new post on the old link saying they are being repaired
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Janmarie (aka Fogbert)

Can you place the bulb ontop of cage screen or put something around it like screen?
One day he will jump on that bulb even if its on and he will burn. By the time he feels the heat and jumps off he has burned himself to the point he will die by the next day.
if you could put the bulb ontop of cage in a dome light your problem is solved plus that looks like a spotlight which is great as it will direct the light/heat into the tank.
If you ever change bulbs try a blacklight spotlight they cant see the blacklight . Red I think my barking treefrogs used to thats why I switched to black.
Either way other than bulb in tank nice set up.

Does anyone else think I'll have a problem with this bulb setup? I Don't know what a dome light is or if I can get them in the UK? This setup was done for me by the reptile shop I bought the frog from, this apparently is the way they sent them all up and have never had any problems?

Hey Kara.. I personally have never seen any one ever do it like that.. and honestly, it is not something I would want in my tank. It appears your red bulb is inside the tank and unprotected? I would remove it and get one of the reptile domes.. I have attached a pic for you.. I am sure you can get them in the UK.. I don't know of many shops over there.. but Pollywog was on the frog alot, and he was always helpful.. I would contact him about getting one if you cannot find one elsewhere.

They have them at large home improvement/hardware type stores sometimes too..

The fixture w/ the attached link is just one that will work.. this one has a glow in the dark interior.. personally, I don't like that feature.. but that is just my taste. They are often bare metal as well (the one in the link is black)..

G'luck
Link

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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

TimOsborne posted a great link with what I was talking about . They sell that in UK . Its just a dome that directs light/heat into the tank and the bulb is screwed into it . Any type will be fine it doesnt have to be that type.
The good thing about it is that you place it on tanks screen top and your treefrog cant come in direct contact with it.
With toads and non climbing lizards a bulb in the tank is fine but with treefrogs that will jump from object to object or climb a bulb in the tank will in time kill him.
They dont know any better they jump on the lit bulb than they jump off after they are burnt bad. Which only takes a few seconds .
They dont understand the concept of being burnt on contact. I am suprised pet store you got him from hasnt had deaths due to bulb in tank.
Who knows maybe this will never happen but I think your better off putting the bulb where he cant reach it ESP if you use it on cool night when he is most active. I heat with black light incandescent bulb to placed in a dome as I think its better for treefrogs as it heats the air while the under tank heat mat did nothing to heat the air .

I think in this case that it will also be helpful to note that unless you know the pet store person has alot of experience with the pet which you are wanting to buy, don't take everything they say as truth or fact. Like it was mentioned, heprs that don't climb or do much jumping wouldn't have a problem with it, and maybe the pet store simply does not have alot of experience with tree frogs. You never know when your frog will get up earlier than predicted and jump on the just shut off light. Your best bet before and after you buy an animal is to do some research on its housing requirements. You won't see the bulb inside the tank for a tree frog in any book you read (and if you do, return the book, it isn't worth reading).

Ok ramble ramble. My point being, you can't always trust what the pet store people tell you.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

You see, thats what throws me. He's been selling TF for about 10 yrs!

As for my tank I don't know if that shirld will work, my cage top is mostly glass. Surely he could do the same on the glass if the bulb is heating it??

Oh no you wouldnt put the bulb on the glass as that would crack the glass. You would put the bulb in a dome fixture like the link showed than you place that on SCREEN tank top.
It has to be screen top for heat to pass into the tank glass will stop the heat from getting into the tank and thus is no good at all for a dome fixture plus the glass could crack.
The treefrog can certainly jump on the screen under the bulb but it cant come in contact with the hot/burning bulb and the dome fixture elevates the bulb a few inches anyway. if you put your hand by a hot bulb few inches away it gets hot slowly on your hand you can remove your hand but if you grab a hot bulb in few seconds your burnt in your treefrogs case its been killed.
Keep in mind terrariums that are made for amphibians/reptiles arent always made right or made for non climbing amphibians,reptles.

If you can ask the pet store people how is it with the bulb directly in the cage they never had a treefrog burn? Make sure they have used that method with TREEfrogs for years not toads or ground dwelling lizards .
I dont know if you can change the tanks top to a screen top than you simply place the dome fixture and the bulb ON TOP of it.
I am no expert but a hot bulb inside the tank is just an accident waiting to happen one day your treefrog will jump on that bulb and will burn.
I can not fathom a pet store using bulb in tank set up for treefrogs . Toads yes and frogs yes but not jumping,climbing treefrogs.
I would be interested in hearing what your pet store says if you get the chance to ask them.
thanks

Kara.. out of curiousity.. before you get anything, what is the temp in the room where you keep the frog? you may also be able to get away with a simple flourescent fixture, which can sit fine on the glass.. It will provide the light, allow you to keep a glass top.. thus you will be able to maintain higher humidity..

Also.. As stated above, believe very very little that you are told in a pet store, I would even doubt that they have kept tree frogs for 10years with the bulb thing.. You would be surprised at some of the things I have heard pet store people recommend or state as facts..

Anyways.. like I said.. pollywog is in the UK somewhere, and I know from forum conversations that he is very knowledgeable when it comes to amphibians.. Find his site on the net (he has a web page), google should get it for you.. if your close, pay him a visit.. The owners name is Andrew..
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

Unfortunately Pollywog is in Scotland as I recall and I am in NI. The temp in my room, its really cold, about 18-20 during the night, maybe 20-22 during the day?

Yes thats to cold .My room temps are cold to infact colder than that in winter its like 63 to 65 but I use blacklight bulb in a dome over the screen and the temp is around 80 - 82. I lower or increase the heat by using a dimmer on the dome light.
Either way this pic is from the photo gallery its not a treefrog cage but its to show what I meant by putting the bulb in a dome and putting that over the tanks screen top.
This person uses 2 different types ofcourse for treefrogs all you need is one but the picture is great as it shows 2 different domes.
The silver type you can but in Europe,etc in a hardware store but ofcourse you need tank to have screen top so light/heat pass into tank.

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.php?photo=258735

Have you considered buying a screen top . Who knows maybe your treefrog will never burn himself on the bulb but its a risk.
Your set up is very nice .

There is a small side if my tank is screened, I wonder would that be enough?

I'll check it out, and see what I can do.

I actually found him the other night, about 2 hrs after his light went out, sitting on the bulb. So yeah I need to try and get that sorted ASAP!

Its good to know that the message got through. You know, you can also buy dome lights that come with fixtures to mount them to the tank, so instead of sitting on the screen, you can point it in the direction of the screen. Just another option if you feel you don't have enough room.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

Its official, he's aboy!

I heard him call for the first time tonight!! Wheeeee

not to seem rude, but you should take the heat light out of the cage, it is very dangerous for your frog to keep it in there, it should be put on top of your tank on a screen. it may not have happened yet, but treefrogs, even fat whites can be very active and having a light that is on in the tank could cause severe burns and death to your frog if it comes in contact with the light.

2.0.0 whites treefrogs
0.1.0 mexican leaf frog (P. dacnicolor)
1.0.0 golden treefrog
0.0.1 green treefrog
1.0.0 southern leapord frog
2.0.0 green frogs
0.0.1 bullfrog
1.0.1 smokey jungle frogs
2.0.0 pixie frogs
1.0.0 pac-man frog
3.0.2 fire-belly toads
0.0.1 yellow-belly toad
1.0.1 fire-belly newts
1.0.0 blue-spotted salamander
0.1.0 yellow spotted salamander
1.0.0 barred tiger salamander
1.1.0 blotched tiger salamander
1.0.0 eastern tiger salamander
1.0.0 gray tiger salamander
0.0.4 koi
0.0.1 fantail comet
0.1.0 green iguana
1.0.0 german shepard
1.0.0 quaker parrolette

Hi Tegu, that has already been discussed thanks!

do u mean 23 degrees c right ?!!!!! how did u get that light in there? cant u kill it?!!!!