Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted a 5 year old White's tree frog about 3 weeks ago - very healthy and not overweight at all. He was in a small, horizontal terrarium (typical 10 gallon aquarium) and I got him an 18x18x24 ExoTerra terrarium less than a week later. I put all of his old stuff in the terrarium and some live (safe - I grew them myself) plants. Everything else has been the same except more space.

When I first got him he spent most of his time in the corner on the glass - as high as he could go (which wasn't very far). Since moving him to his new home, he buries himself in the moss near his water bowl all the time. I haven't seen him climb at all yet. Now I should add that I'm a teacher and for the moment he is living in my classroom (only for a couple more weeks)... so I don't see what he's doing at night. I do see evidence that he's getting in his water bowl (pieces of moss), etc. And I think he's eating his crickets - though crickets can hide pretty well.

Anyway, today I picked him up for the first time in about a week. He seemed smaller to me... maybe thinner. I don't want to be paranoid or too worried. I've been trying to leave him alone to get used to his new home... yet don't want to ignore if there's a problem. Any suggestions?

I either feed my dumpy by hand (hold the bug in front of him until he attacks) or place the frog in a plastic container and let the bugs wonder around until he eats them all. Otherwise the bugs just escape into his well-planted enclosure and I never see if they are eaten.

also, does the school have heating and/or air-conditioning during nights and weekends? I think some schools shut down even while school is in session. This could result in your frog being uncomfortable.

Best of luck!

What are your temps? daytime high, nighttime low?
What is your humidity like? high, low?
Is there any heating devices or way he can thermoregulate? /are you providing him with a temperature gradient?
What are you feeding him? is he eating? how much?
Did you get fecals done on him?
There are a million things it could be, or it could be nothing. But if you truly think it's a problem it will not go away if you ignore it. I would suggest getting a fecal done, Dr. Frye specializes in amphibian veternaty practices and has a website called http://www.fryebrothersfrogs.com/

I get fecals on all my stuff and it really helps they keep weight on when they are only eating for one. Plus whites are one of the easiest frogs to treat for parasites because they are so hardy and don't stress easily. Tell us what you decide to do and if you have any specific questions you can contact me at otis07_@hotmail.com.

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Hedgehog, bunnies, dog, fish, crawfish...

It could be that the Crickets are getting away from your frog. My frog's crickets love to hide in the dirt or behind the foam background. I like Otis's idea of feeding the frog in a tub until all the crickets are eaten and then putting the frog back into the terrarium. I might try that myself.
Just keep an eye on the frog and it would be a good idea to get a fecal done just to check for parasites. If there are no parasites, look to making the crickets more accessable for the frog. They aren't very active frogs so the crickets mostly have to come to them to be eaten.
Let me know how your froggie is.