Grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor and H. chrysoscelis) HELP

[GartenSpinnen]

Rescued 3 males and a female tonight from getting killed at work. The whole building i work at is surrounded by nasty chemicals, and people were stepping on them and running them over with the forklift. I saved the 3 males and female i found. I would like to spend the money and set up a proper environment for them and keep them. (Please dont flame me)...

Anyways... does anyone have information on how to ID these 2 species? I have a basic idea on care and plan on setting them up temporarely until i get the information just right for the permenant setup.
Thanks

 

[Zoltan]

Unfortunately I can't help you about care requirements, but I just want to say that rescuing them is very nice and generous of you. :worship: :clap:

 

[MaartenSFS]

A very cool species frog and a noble deed. Check the Audubon (Spelling?) Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of North America for the distinguishing characteristics - I think that's where I found it, eons ago.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

UPDATE-
I actually found that one of them is deformed. I believe this to be because of the chemicals around where i work. Its pretty sad . Ill get pics of him when i can. I got the setup all good to go, complete with damp moss a very large 2" deep water pond for them to swim in, and its setup arboreally . Later today i will get some plants to hang in there, the reptile kind with the suction cups that hang. The enclosure is kept very humid and has a tshirt hanging over it in a dark warm room. I did not want them to get too stressed out more than they already are. I put some lobster roaches in there for them to munch on. I plan on giving them variety of foods and picking up some nutritional supplements for them.

I figured out that the way you ID them from each other is actually by the noises they make. One species has a higher pitched noise and one is slower and lower pitched. I found one example of the noises on the internet (Hyla vericolor), but need to find the other audio (H. chrysoscelis).

I guessed on how to distinguish sexes by the males making more noise and having the dark colored patch under there mouths. The females i figured would be lighter and quieter. Turns out i was right . Not too bad for knowing very little about frogs and never trying to mate them before!

I plan on keeping these guys as i have found out they are common species and are actually in the pet trade (which i did not know). However, i may have to separate the deformed male because he may find it hard to compete for food. Of this i am not too sure of. He seems smaller than the others, slower, and more docile. He is an image of how we affect our environment around us, many times in ways we do not realize. Turns out these little guys are especially vulnerable to acid rain.... so i figure all that acid that has been dumped outside is probably having a very negative effect on them (however, it will no longer seeing how that was taken care of we now keep the stuff in containers and have it PROPERLY disposed of/recycled).

Thanks for the comments and wish me luck! Pictures will come soon. I definately want to post pics of the deformed male to show people the effects of an industrial plant that throws off a lot of pollution. I also am going to keep my eye out for more frogs and toads and take good care to see if i see any more deformities.

However, i do not think i can take any more in! 4 is enough. They make such a pretty noise though, and are so beautiful and neat to look at . If i get tadpoles and figure out how to ship them ill let everyone know .

Cheers

 

[wayne the pain]

Try here for care sheets

http://www.pollywog.co.uk/caresheets.html

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor and H. chrysoscellis) HELP

Dear Garten Spinnen,

Please google (or surf reptile shows) in search of other frog fanciers.
If you find more frogs that need help you will need to know who can take them.

If your amphibian activities expand at all you will need political information as well.
You would not believe how officious authorities can be:They can be terrible troublemakers.
Among other things they are more likely to demand not-so-accessible permits before you ship tadpoles than to point you toward usable instructions on how to do it.

OR who are permitted to take them.

Please do all necessary homework BEFORE any problems arise.

P.S.

One deformed frog has his eyes stuck in his throat.
Although this fortunate frog had no formal training he learned to open his mouth in order to see-and he learned to find food.

I wonder whether froglets like him could be taught equivalent skills before they shrivel from starvation.
The right time to find out would be when tadpoles are actively transforming and before the deformed froglets starve.
If they CAN be taught to scent-and feel-and snap at food...

What a marvellous video!!!

And they might learn to see through their mouths.
One fantastic frog already has.

What a sight for sore eyes THAT would be!!!

And normal offspring might be possible.
Chemicals that injure them during development may look more "genetic" than they are.

There is research potential here.

I hope the word gets around.

 

[MatthewM1]

Great job saving the little guys, I haven't kept greys yet myself but heard they are fun to watch at night. And it sounds like you've got a good handle on their care, only thing I would change is the substrate. I'm guessing that you talking about loose sphagnum moss, it's a sure fire way to have one of your little guys end up impacted down the road. Whenever they accidentally swallow a little piece while nabbing up food it is highly unlikely they will pass it and it will spindle around the inside of the intestines untill enough gets caught in there it forms a little ball and blocks the passage of wastes. And even if they pass this it usually ends in a prolapse and or death =( Use moist paper towels changed daily or eco earth, and if you don't want it getting all over the frogs when they are hunting on the bottom you can cover it with sheet moss or leaf litter.

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