Pacific Tree Frog not eating

[doodleBug]

Long story short I'm curious how often a small (prob Juvenile) pacific tree frog should need to eat.

I kept these guys ages ago during the summer as a kiddo, like 7 or 8 years old, but never really longer than a week, maybe two, before they got super noisy and my little sister, who I shared a room with, complained. I had a decent setup as we also owned hermit crabs, fish, and rabbits so we didn't half-a** enclosures: Large aquarium (15 gal i think), eco earth, water dish, some fake plants for 2 or 3 frogs. Usually I would drop in a small beetle or isopod, or even a millipede (also WC, remember I was young). Sometimes they ate, sometimes they didn't. Then, as mentioned, I'd have to set them free.

The tree frog I have now is WC and I've had her (I think 'her') for just over a week now and I've yet to see her eat. Her enclosure does not have live plants (yet!) but does have isopods, worms and some springtails. I'm wondering if she's not interested in the dubia nymphs I've offered because she ate an isopod or maybe a worm? Maybe she wants something jumpier like a small cricket or lateralis nymph? Maybe I'm over-estimating how often/much they eat. Would a 1/4" nymph be an appropriate size meal for her? I've tried live and pre-killed/half-killed. I've tried offering half a nymph. I've left pre-killed in for 12 hrs. Nothing. Posted some pics for size reference; she's about 1"-1.25" DLS actually lol but can stretch out to about 2" during a jump. She weighs next to nothing, and looks slim. Not emaciated, but slim. I have a delicate scale for medicines that I use on my parrot (a small one, around 90-95 grams) and chameleon. The closest measurement I could get from the frog was 0.04 oz. And before anyone asks: Yes, I zeroed the scale in with the cup on it before adding the frog

 

[schmiggle]

I'm no expert, but what are your conditions like, primarily humidity and temperature? I would usually expect an adult treefrog to eat at least twice a week, and more if it's a juvenile (I fed my salamanders every other day while they were growing faster, and salamanders are far less active than tree frogs). Having said that, she may be getting used to her new home--I'm sure she'll be able to go several weeks at least without eating. When you say worm, what exactly are you referring to--earthworms, mealworms, or something else? Finally, does she have anything at all to climb on, even though there are no live plants? Without being able to get off the ground, I'd imagine she'd be rather stressed.

PS how are you sexing?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Prekilled will never work with frogs. They need something that moves. I also wouldn't be too worried if it isn't eating after a week, especially since I'm pretty sure these guys are more nervous than the gray treefrogs and toads.

I would definitely try crickets or lateralis. Dubia don't move around much and don't have a very appealing form of movement. I've never gotten a cold, stressed out or otherwise not hungry frog to eat dubias. I'm guessing the only reason my treefrogs regularly eat dubias at all is because they're so heavily trained to hand feeding... they jump out of the tank and attack my fingers regardless of whether there's any food.

Things like crickets that run around a lot and don't burrow (even if you have dubias in a bowl the frog might not feel like going to the bowl, they might just wait for something to crawl past them) are a much better option for getting it to eat at this point. As the frog gets more comfortable and eats more voraciously it'll eventually start associating you with food, then it might start accepting bugs you hand feed it or drop right in front of it. Then it'll probably eat baby dubias. (yes, 1/4 inch dubias are the perfect size for a 1 inch frog.)

 

[doodleBug]

Hey guys, thanks for replying. @schmiggle Temp and humidity are estimated 70*f and 50-55% humidity. I would say I'd assumed along the lines of 2-3x a week depending on prey size. I figured frogs are much more active than a T and thus would certainly need more food to power a higher metabolism. The worms I have in the enclosure are standard earthworms (I believe they are of the genus Diplocardia) from a culture I use as part of my bioactive system. She does have stuff to climb. I tried to give her climbing, hiding, and wet/dry. I also sloped the substrate because why not. I put in fake plants, some moss for hiding, a mostly buried dish with some water and rock. I attached a photo of her enclosure at the moment. Its in a 5gal sterilite, not great I know. Planning on upgrading to a 10gal in a week or so. I need to get my lid set up (I used to have fish in it, with no lid, and am gonna DIY one) and gotta go to the store for some false bottom supplies. Also "she" is just speculation. I read somewhere males tend to have dark throats, which this one does not, although I dont know how true that is because they range from green, to mixed 'earth', to brown. Some have thicker eye bands, some have a spot or two. Sooo... :shrug: Also haven't heard one peep. That may be, if it's juvenile, just due to lack of maturity, or may be a female. Like I said, all speculation lol

@Salmonsaladsandwich Yeah, I figured as much. I tried the half-killed as I thought it was the best I could do to keep the nymph from burrowing, but it died in about an hour so I just left it overnight. Good to know they can go a bit longer than I guessed w/out eating. I'm just gonna order some more lateralis. Two of my true spiders are a bit small for dubia nymphs, so I split one between them. If lateralis would be more appealing for the frog too, lateralis it is. I just don't like the idea of crickets. I've heard they can be noisy, smelly, and are a very touchy type to get conditions just right for. I also hate the jumping. Ironic coming from someone with a frog XD but I feel like its more trouble than it's worth unless you're somewhere roaches are illegal.

 

[doodleBug]

I feel like it's a tad small seeing as she can make it from one side to the other in one pop. But she likes to hang out in the water or the plant mess on the top right side.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

That looks big enough. Might want to consider adding a light source switching out the fake plants for real ones like a pothos vine. If it got overgrown with plants that in a way increases the living space... then at least three frogs could be housed in there comfortably.

 

[doodleBug]

I would agree I need a light source. I want to invest in one of those fancy sunlight replication lights. I've heard many good things about using them for parrots and you can get double headed ones so that I could aim the other side at the frog. I adore setting up vivariums/terrariums and enclosure design in general. I want to do a bioactive 10gal with a false bottom, realistic back, and live plants. I totally know what you mean about plants adding living space. It's like turning a 10x10 room that's 40 feet tall into a two story setup. Might do a little water feature but I'm not terribly experienced with that sort of thing lol You think adding other WC frogs would be good or bad? I'm on the fence... I wasnt sure if introduction of one frog to another it doesn't know would be stressful or if the community would be good.