Tree Frogs

[Amelia]

My eight year old nephew is very interested in frogs. I have been having him take care of the little aquatic african frog, as it will have to go to his house this winter and he has been doing great. He is very careful of things once he knows what the 'rules' are. He makes mistakes, but luckily I am there to supervise, correct and teach him when he makes those mistakes.

Lately he has been asking me for a tree frog. I have been quizzing him on his tree frog knowledge. Basic little kid questions like: where do they live? what do they eat? what do you have to do before and after every time you touch the frog? (not that I will encourage him touching it) and he is doing great.

My only issue is that I have never kept frogs before. Are they difficult to keep? My nephew is not going to be the sole caretaker of it. From what I have been reading they don't seem too dfficult, but it is never a bad thing to research beforehand. I haven't had much time to start on my own yet, so I figured I'd ask here and google when I get home from work.

What should be the primary diet? Crickets I read, but will they eat roaches or other insects? Do they require consistent temperatures(can they handle night/day variations)? What is adequate humidty for these guys? Can you differentiate between males and females?

Can I see some of your set ups?

I am thinking of putting together a little care book for my nephew to read and follow, and also encourage him to write down a care/feeding log.

I know of smeone who sells them locally, which is one of the only reasons I am considering getting one. One thing I am worried
about is the frogs being wild caught. We do have some in our trees around our house. I really don't like the idea of paying for a creature taken from the area locally when there aren't that many to begin with. Are the difficult to breed in captivity? I have asked the seller about this and am waiting for a reply.

Any tips, suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Exo]

I suggest getting a white's treefrog, they are hardy, long lived, and are usually docile. I have had one for 13 years and and he is so docile that he actually seems to enjoy being held. They seem to do well with lower temps than most treefrogs (down to 68F) and seem to prefer a humidity of 70%. Mine prefers crickets but will sometimes eat grasshoppers and other bugs. If you look around on the internet, you will find many places that sell them and they are not terribly expensive. If i can figure out how, I'll post a pic of my setup soon. Hope this helps.

 

[Amelia]

That helps a great deal. Thank you very much!

 

[whitewolf]

This is what I made for mine out of an EXO terra, plexglass, and hot glue. Just your average Green Tree Frog. I keep a heat mat stuck to the back in the bottom corner just to help maintain 70-80 degrees when the AC gets too cold. UVB light set on a 12 hour timer, and dust roaches with herpitive and calcium twice a week. My spoiled frog. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=161207

 

[Amelia]

Oh my! What a nice little project we could do. That is just too neat. How much did that cost to build?

 

[whitewolf]

Oh my! What a nice little project we could do. That is just too neat. How much did that cost to build?

I had the exo from another project but they run in the 200+ range. Zoomed are cheaper but only one door and I don't think you get the plants, background, eco, and light fixture. (Light is just a UVB 5.0 light I had).

The plexiglass I had extra can substitute for glass usually runs about a penny a square inch. I prefer to use 1/2 as it is stronger. Glass might be a better option and hotglue heavy about four to five sticks total. Glued down on both sides do the corners heavy. Lift it a bit to make sure ya get the bottom good. Used hot glue because I didn't want to wait for silicone and wanted to be able to cut it out later.

1 whole brick eco earth I get 3 bricks for $5-10. I recently swithed to peat because it's cheaper to buy the big bags. The plant was on sale $5.00 and a for free Ivy. Some kind of air plant says the name in my post I think. The rocks/sand are some from the beach that has been sifted and strained from a natural aquarium we had going awhile back. The river rocks I added for the toad tadpoles we put in for the kids to watch. Air hose and air pump are standard cheap ones. I still need to pick up an air rock. Timer was a plain one from walmart. And the fake plants and vine came with the exo. As soon as I get the Ivy growing nice I'll replace the cardboard vine with grapevine or something plastic.

Total I'd say I spent maybe $15.00 if I had to buy everything :?. Soon I'll expand into a 20 high as soon as my brother decides if he wants to pick up the snake or not.

I'll use Robc's how to on backgrounds to make the new backgrounds.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i caught a gray tree frog in the yard this summer, and from what i've read they're extremely easy to care for as far as herps are concerned.

i don't know if you can find them commercially, but i mist mine twice a day and feed it crickets. i have him in a 5 gallon tank with some plants and a water dish and keep him at room temp. i don't know if you can get much easier than that

 

[Amelia]

Can they live communally or do they do better singularly?

 

[Exo]

Can they live communally or do they do better singularly?

As long as they are the same species and are about the same size, they can live communaly.

 

[Amelia]

Okay, yet another question: are tadpoles difficult to raise to frog-hood? From what I have been reading they seem very simple.

 

[leoman777]

they are very easy right now im raising two little tadpoles myself and they are pretty cool i cant wait for them to turn into frogs

 

[Amelia]

Sweet! Well, I have found a place with Tree Frog Tadpoles. They should be here next week sometime. I will be sure to get pics.

 

[whitewolf]

:clap: :clap: Congrats and enjoy.

 

[Amelia]

Do you think it would be advisable to put a small heater in with the tadpoles? Last night it got below 70 in my room(the T's were in their warm box). I should have checked the temp in the aquatic frog's tank. I would assume that they would be like anything else in that cooler temps slow metabolism and growth.

 

[Exo]

Do you think it would be advisable to put a small heater in with the tadpoles? Last night it got below 70 in my room(the T's were in their warm box). I should have checked the temp in the aquatic frog's tank. I would assume that they would be like anything else in that cooler temps slow metabolism and growth.

Before I answer your question, I need to know what species they are.

 

[Amelia]

They are Green Tree Frog tadpoles.

 

[Exo]

They are Green Tree Frog tadpoles.

Then they should be kept in the 70-75F range, but occasional drops to 65F shouldn't hurt them.

 

[Amelia]

Well, here are my nephew's new pollywogs. They are VERY cute. My nephew hasn't seen them yet. I cannot wait for him to come home tomorrow.

Cute little devils aren't they?

 

[Tarantula_man94]

I suggest getting a white's treefrog, they are hardy, long lived, and are usually docile. I have had one for 13 years and and he is so docile that he actually seems to enjoy being held. They seem to do well with lower temps than most treefrogs (down to 68F) and seem to prefer a humidity of 70%. Mine prefers crickets but will sometimes eat grasshoppers and other bugs. If you look around on the internet, you will find many places that sell them and they are not terribly expensive. If i can figure out how, I'll post a pic of my setup soon. Hope this helps.

I cant agree more.I have a whites tree frog. They are an ideal pet frog. Docile, long lived, and hardy. Ive had mine for about 3 years now and i was told that he would be active most of the time, but mine seems to ony be active at night. In my eyes this is the perfect choice.