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Red eyes or Green Tree frogs?

L

leah

Guest
I've started to set up a tank that I'd like to put frogs in. Available to me here are red eyed tree frogs, gree tree frogs, and spotted grass frogs. I've kept green tree frogs before, but they were when I lived in Canada, and are DEFINITELY not the same green tree frogs as I've seen for sale here. The tank is pretty big- 4 feet/50 gallons, but doesn't have a lot in the way of height (just your standard 50 gal.)
The setup will be 50/50 land and water, because the tank had some built in dividers and platforms already that I didn't want to try removing. Some pictures of what I've got so far can be seen here:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/27568.html?1104909703

My question is what kind of frog should I put in this tank? The spotted grass frogs aren't tree frogs, so would probably make more use of the water and entire tank area, but I loved the tree frogs I used to have and have always wanted more! I know I shouldn't mix species and don't want them to be over crowded, so I only want a few, maybe 4- is this too many? Are any of these species totally wrong for this kind of setup? The tank won't be ready for at least another month, so I've got time to decide, but any suggestions would really help me out!
 
J

jarred

Guest
Leah, I am also looking into to keeping frogs but I haven't seen any for sale around anywhere. I am up in QLD. Can you tell me what kind of place you saw those frogs?
 
L

leah

Guest
There are several people advertising in the newspaper here, some wanting to get rid of adults that they've lost interest in, and the odd breeder with young frogs. There are also a few specialist reptile and amphibian shops here in Adelaide- I can't remember their names but can find out for you as they may be able to help you out. The store I'll be getting mine from is a feed store that also sells ducks and chickens, and has just recently started stocking some tropical fish, a few turtles, and frogs. It's a fantastic store- they've even taken the time to write up care sheets for each animal they sell and the family that runs it are very knowledgeable as far as stores go. I went in there looking for dog food, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the frogs- all healthy and separated into species tanks, not jammed together like you normally see!

I usually stop in every new pet shop I see, and I've found several good ones doing so. They're usually very small, owner operated stores in out of the way places, but I prefer them to the big stores that don't care about the animals they stock. I'd start with newspapers and the phonebook, and call all the little shops- you might get lucky!
 

pollywog

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Your setup looks more suited to a terrestrial species. Personally I would remove the Venus fly traps, although carnivorus plants do work well in amphibian enclosures the venus fly trap is one that I am not too sure about.
If you wanted to keep tree frogs in the tank add more large-leafed plants and branches for them to climb and rest on.
The Green Tree Frogs you are offered are probably the White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)
 
L

leah

Guest
Thanks Andrew. What is it about the fly traps in particular that you're unsure of? I was thinking of getting a sundew plant as well- have you ever seen this carnivorous plant in a terrarium setup? I'm going to move the fly traps into little pots stuck to the back wall of the tank because I think the prayer plant will eventually cover them with one of it's big leaves! Is there still a problem with the fly traps up high?

I've added another prayer plant and am about to add the climbing plant I'd bought- I think it's called chain of hearts. It'll be attached to the vine you saw in the picture, and another vine of the same type that I just bought.

Still undecided what type of frogs, but I'd like to be able to go either way when everything's done. Are there any plants you've used that you'd recommend?

The "green" frogs here are the White's tree frog- I thought they looked familiar! would 3 be too many for a tank this size? The spotted grass frogs are much smaller and only get about an inch long. I was thinking 5-6 if I choose them, or is that too many?

Thanks again for your help!
 
L

leah

Guest
Jarred-
Someone at work suggested this site to me:
http://www.petlink.com.au/Classifieds/Reptiles/

I can't vouch for any of the sellers as I've never purchased anything though any of them, but you might have some luck there or a similar site. I'm going to go out and look at some Peron's tree frogs listed there- will let you know how it goes!

*Edited to add this one:
http://www.frogs-for-sale.com
Again, I have no experience with the above site so I don't know if it's any good. Just something I came across in an internet search. I hope it can help you though!

(Message edited by trip on January 08, 2005)
 

pollywog

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I know of many people that use carnivorous plants in their enclosures and they have no trouble with them. The pitcher plants and sundews work in a different way to the Venus flytrap, the larger frogs might be ok with them but smaller frogs may have a problem, maybe someone else on here could comment on their suitability, it might just be me being over cautious.
You should be ok using the majority of house plants available in your local garden centre or DIY store, choose something with large broad leaves that the frogs can rest on. I like to use Banana plants with my White's but they do grow very big very quickly and so might not be too good an idea for you.
The darker coloration in that pic is normal as you can see from the 2 White's pictured in my avatar photo to the side of this post.
The number of frogs would depend on the dimensions of the enclosure.
 
L

leah

Guest
It's a standard dimension 50 gallon tank, so 4 feet long by about 1 foot wide and 1.5 high? I can't find my tape measure...

Can't wait to get my frogs!
 
L

leah

Guest
Nice
happy.gif
That's about how many I wanted anyway!
Do you have any pictures of your White's tank?
Thanks again
 

pollywog

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Here is a pic of my White's setup it's a 36"x12"x15" housing 2 Adult White's, it's a fairly simple setup, I no longer use live plants with them since one of my adult males developed oxalate toxicosis from eating crickets that had been eating the plants.
28971.jpg
 
E

edward

Guest
Venus Flytraps need a winter dormancy period as do the native pitcher plants (Saraccenia) and do not do well long term in a tropical enclosure.

Ed
 
J

jarred

Guest
Thanks for the links Heather. I'll be interested to hear what you buy in the end. Also to see a picture of your tank when it's setup is complete.
 
L

leah

Guest
Thanks guys, the flytraps have been removed and replaced with another prayer plant, a climber called chain of hearts, and an indian rope hoya. Sould be ok?

The other thing I'm wondering (as I fight with this $%^@&*! mesh) is what kind of top I need for this tank. It came with a glass top, but the frogs need air circulation, don't they? This screen top is a pain to build, so if I can keep the glass, I will!
 
E

edward

Guest
Hi Leah,
I use screen tops with a piece of plexiglass cut to cover about 75-80% of the lid. There is a gap in the front and back of the lid to get the air to circulate but still enough to keep the humidity up.
You can silicone the glass to the screen lid (to keep it from always falling off) but this is just optional.

Ed
 
L

leah

Guest
Got em
happy.gif
I'm now the proud carer of two young White's tree frogs, about an inch long each. I would have gotten 4, but there were only the two left! There's a breeder nearby that has some coming up for sale soon, but would it be safe to mix them, even after a quarantine period?

I'll post pictures of my little guys once they're in the big tank. For now they're in a smaller container where I can better monitor their feeding (and what little piggies they are!) So far they've had 10 small crickets and 30ish house flies between them in 2 days, but spat out the earthworms I offered. The axolotls don't like these new worms either though, so I assume they have a bad taste. I don't want to overfeed them, but they just seem SO HUNGRY! Should I just keep offering? I've read that these frogs are prone to obesity- true?
 
L

leah

Guest
Here they are anyway, in their temporary housing (they looked too cute not to take a picture!)

29708.jpg
29709.jpg


29710.jpg


(Message edited by trip on January 24, 2005)
 

pollywog

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Very nice, you should be ok to add more later on, just make sure you quarantine them and that they are of a similar size as they will try to eat the smaller ones.
If they are hungry feed them, older specimen are prone to obesity but these are still growing as so should be fed as much as they want, and don't forget the calcium & vitamins.
 
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