OFBT Color?

[Jumpshot724]

I have had my OFBTs now for two and a half weeks. They seem to be very happy and healthy, but their coloration is not what I have seen in pictures. Their underbelly for the most part are a brilliant red but their backs are olive green and not the brilliant green I have seen they are capable of. Is there something I can do to brighten them up?

I feed their crickets Fluker's Cricket Quencher (blue), T-Rex Calcium plus gutload pellets, and I put a baby carrot in there as I have read that carrotene (sp?) will help brighten their coloration but I haven't seen any results yet.

 

[keechoo]

That will mostly help their underbellies. There are different varieties from different parts of the world also they are known to change their colors at a whim. No one knows exactly why but some people do say it's due to: what they eat, temperature of tank and water, humidity levels, and camouflage. In my experience, my bright green one turned black when he went into the cold water, another one turned olive green when he was sitting on the java moss, and another one turned from bright green to brown to black for no reason I can think of.

 

[happy toad]

I could agree with Nicole. I mean you should always supplement & gutload feeders to keep frogs healthy, but supplements don't really seem to affect the dorsal (green) coloration at all. Your best bets to get the frogs to color up are to make sure there is a varied diet, make sure all parameters are in the optimal zones, and and try make as many of the surfaces green or as light colored as possible. These are just armchair theories though.

PS: on a side note it would be an interesting experiement to put the frog into a tank with transparent walls. You would cover the the walls on the outside with light green or some light colored construction paper and see if over time the frog adapts it's coloration to blend into this lighter enviroment.

Best of luck!

 

[SludgeMunkey]

I have had my OFBTs now for two and a half weeks. They seem to be very happy and healthy, but their coloration is not what I have seen in pictures. Their underbelly for the most part are a brilliant red but their backs are olive green and not the brilliant green I have seen they are capable of. Is there something I can do to brighten them up?

I feed their crickets Fluker's Cricket Quencher (blue), T-Rex Calcium plus gutload pellets, and I put a baby carrot in there as I have read that carrotene (sp?) will help brighten their coloration but I haven't seen any results yet.

They change color slightly at will. Bright green can dull down, brown can become almost black etc. It appears to change based on lighting and the stress level of the animal. Beta carotene is strictly for orange/red coloration. In this case, the ventral colors of the frogs.