I have been looking into getting a Bearded Dragon, but now that I think about it they are just too expensive right now. I was wondering if there were any good information sites about Whites, and if they are generally good starter herps. I also have a few general questions. •Are they fairly easy to take care of? •Do they chirp? •What do they eat and how much? •Are they inexpensive/expensive to keep?
With whites I assume you are talking about treefrogs. They are not that expensive. With care they are realitivly easy, Some extremely importaint requirements are VERY high humidity,decholorniated water, and not handling them very often or any at all. They eat alot and the older they get the more they eat I am talking 1 dozen crickets+ a week. The dont chirp but they do croak and it can be rather loud! If you want a recording of what one sounds like just tell me and I will link one. Other than that they are great and really intresting!
Well, at least it's not 50+ crickets a DAY for Beardie babies. If you could give me a link to a good site for info about them then that would be great. Thanks for the quick answers.
I have 2 White's and I believe they're the perfect herp to have. You can handle them as long as you wash up before and after handling them. They're very dosile and don't mind humans at all. Only the males croak, and as stated above, they can be VERY loud. I've had to cover my ears at times and they're on the other side of the room. They really aren't that big of eaters. I feed mine 2 dozen large crickets a week and there's always some left over. If you plan on having life long companions these guys are the way to go, living to over 20 years of age, if cared for properly of course. They're easy to take care of. I clean their tank around every other month or so depending on how it looks/smells, and spot clean it every day. Well I hope my rambling has helped, I love my White's and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world!
What about Red Eye Tree Frogs? I was wondering where a good place to get information on them would be...
red eyed tree frogs are NOT a beginner amphibian. white's definately are a great beginner amphib, though. Habitat: A glass tank is preferable. Even though these frogs are tiny when young, they can grow very big! Males reach an adult length of about 4 or 5 inches while females get even bigger. One male White's Tree Frog should have at least a 20 gallon high tank while 2 male White's Tree Frogs should be kept in at least a 29 gallon high. One female White's Tree Frog should have at least a 29 gallon high. Two female White's Tree Frogs should have at least a 40 gallon high. The bigger and taller the tank the better! Remember, tree frogs are great climbers and if they don't have many places to climb, get high up, and hide, they will become stressed easily. Although these frogs are very hardy, too small of a living space or too many 'room mates' can cause serious stress which will lead to disease. The tank must have a secure lid because these (and all tree frogs) are great escape artists and can fit into very small spaces. I highly recommend a lid which is half screen and half glass or plastic. This way humidity can be kept high in the tank but air can circulate as well. Never place any animal in a glass or plastic cage near a window. Drafts can flow over the cage and quickly cause disease and the sun can easily shine through the window and be magnified onto your pet - even in winter! This can make the cage far too hot. No different species of herps (especially amphibians) should be housed together. Amphibians secrete mucous and toxins that don't effect humans if we wash our hands, but can kill other species. Many herps are also known for eating anything that will fit into their mouths - including cage mates. Different species of animals can spread disease to each other, perpetuate cycles of disease, eat each other, poison each other, or simply cause stress by being forced to live in the same enclosure. Putting different species of reptiles and amphibians is a bad decision 99% of the time. A hood with a full spectrum light is a good idea for tree frogs and I typically place this hood over the screen portion of the lid. This way the UV rays are not blocked by the glass/plastic. Only fluorescent tube-type light bulbs give out the proper wavelengths without spending a *lot* of money. Each of these bulbs costs around $20, but can last up to a year. Even if the bulb has not burned out, it should be replaced every 12 months because as these bulbs age, they lose their ability to give off the vital UV rays. The light should be on about 14 hours each day during the summer and about 12 hours per day in the winter. All animals' enclosures require fresh water at all times and amphibians are certainly no exception. All tree frogs need a dish of cool, fresh water in their cages at all times. For White's Tree Frogs I would recommend a dish no deeper than 3 inches, but it can be as large as a foot in diameter. This dish must also have a rock, small log, or other climbing apparatus in it so that the frog can easily climb out of the water. This also helps any live food items to climb out of the water so they don't drown. It is a huge waste of food when the food items drown. Tree frogs' skin is very delicate and can actually soak up water in puddles that the frogs sit in. Because of this fact, water dishes must be kept very clean. All water used in tree frog cages should be dechlorinated. You can dechlorinate your tap water by letting some sit out in an open container over night or you can purchase some reptile/amphibian water conditioner such as AmQuel. Do NOT use any water conditioner that aids or builds slime coat (like Reptisafe brand)! The sides of the cage and all the plants (real and fake) should be gently scrubbed with some plain water at least once a week. Tree frogs must have plants to climb on. It is their instinct to get as high up as possible and to hide on leaves and in crevices of trees. White's Tree Frogs are large and feel most comfortable on thick, sturdy branches. There should be at least one large branch in your White's tank which reaches from the floor to the top. You can buy many very realistic fake tree limbs at pet stores or real tree limbs can be cut to the right size and used for climbing, but they must be sterilized first. Most things you bring in from the outdoors have some kind of mite or other insect or even a disease growing on them. Freezing small limbs for at least 48 hours before putting them in your animal's home is a good way to kill anything that might harm your pet. If limbs are too big to fit in your freezer you can soak them in a large tub of hot water for 24 hours. Make sure you tie something heavy onto the branch so that it is fully submerged in the water for the entire time period. Let it dry significantly before putting it in with your animal(s). Some good live plants you could put in a tank with your frogs would be small ferns, bromeliads, small palm plants, ficus, aloe, or philodendron. Like all living plants, these must be watered regularly. Many very realistic plastic and silk plants can be purchased at your local pet store. Most of these have suction cups attached so that you can easily attach them to the side of your glass tank. Pet stores have begun to sell many great products for climbing animals. You may want to buy some of these products, such as fake bendable vines or nets with suction-cups. All climbing apparatus (including live plants) must be cleaned with some tap water every week or so, or when feces or shedding skin gets on them. High humidity is vital for most amphibians. It keeps their skin moist so that it does not rip and so it can easily cling to surfaces. It also supplies the amphibian with water. White's Tree Frogs are from a fairly humid place, so the humidity in their cage should be no lower than 60% but not higher than 80% (too much humidity causes mold to grow). This can be done by spraying the tank down with fresh warm water every few hours or by purchasing a humidity device such as a misting system, a small water fall, or an ultrasonic fogger. Most of these are fairly inexpensive and do a great job of keeping humidity high in the tank. A glass tank holds humidity a million times better than a screen or mesh one. Do not use wood chips or gravel of any size in any tree frog enclosure. Gravel and wood/coconut chips are easily swallowed when frogs reach for food items and when a piece of gravel or a wood/coconut chip gets in the frog's intestines it will impact (or lodge) there. This is an extremely painful way for any animal to die and no surgery can be done on a small frog. You will just have to let him die. Gravel and other substrate impactions are very common in tree frogs which belong to new owners because pet stores do not tell people about impactions. Dirt can have deadly pesticides or herbicides in it or even small rocks, mites, or harmful insects. If you use topsoil, please make sure it is the cheap stuff with no herbicides, pesticides, Miracle Grow, rocks, etc in it. Instead of gravel, wood chips, dirt, or sand, large polished stones (sometimes referred to as river rock) make a great substrate for a tree frog cage. These rocks should be smooth and at least 1 inch in length. They are usually found in bags in pet stores near the gravel. A 1 inch layer on the bottom of the tank would be sufficient. Coconut bark fiber is also an excellent substrate for tree frogs. This substrate is made from grinding coconut 'shells' into fine strands. It is just like dirt except it holds moisture better (great for humidity) and does not have any harmful chemicals or bugs in it. You can also put about an inch of polished river rock in the bottom of the tank with an inch of coconut bark fiber on to of it. This is what I have done in my tree frog tank so that excess water can pool around the rocks instead of the dirt where mold may grow. Terrarium moss and sphagnum moss are great ways to make tree frogs feel at home. Just keep it moist (not soaking wet!) and your frogs will love to sit in it. If you notice your frogs eating the moss, you should remove it. Diet: White's Tree Frogs are insectivorous. This means they eat only small invertebrates like insects. A captive adult White's Tree Frog should be fed no more than a dozen (12) large crickets per week. These crickets should not be longer than 3/4 of an inch each. Crickets which are too big can cause the same type of bowel impactions that gravel, sand, or wood/coconut chips can cause when swallowed. One day each week 3 or 4 crickets should be dusted with powdered reptile vitamins. The easiest way to do this is to put the crickets in a small food saver along with just a pinch of the powdered vitamins. Shake the container lightly for a minute or so and then dump the crickets in the frog's cage. Pour the excess powdered vitamins back into the vitamin jar so you don't waste it. Only 3 or 4 crickets should be released into your frog's cage every over day or so, therefore you may want to purchase a small plastic cage to keep crickets in. You should always make sure plenty of cricket food and water is available to the crickets. Small pieces of fruit may also be given to the crickets. White's Tree Frogs will also eat mealworms, but they must be cut into 1/4 inch pieces before feeding them to the frogs. Mealworms should just be a snack and each frog should only get one per week. Mealworms do not have a lot of nutritional value. You can also purchase flightless fruit flies for your frog, but they are very small. Crickets should be your frog's main food item. Although all White's Tree Frogs are rather chubby, it is relatively easy to determine whether one is over-weight or not. Directly above the frog's visible ear drum is a flap of skin called a tympanic ridge. This ridge should be visible, but should not over-lap more than half of the ear drum. If you can not see the ridge at all, then the animal is under-fed. If more than half of the ear drum is covered by the ridge, then the frog is too fat! Sexing: Adult males have brown patches of skin on the underside of their wrists. These patches are a bit sticky and help the males hold firmly to the females during mating. Males are also significantly smaller than females. Females will croak when disturbed, but males will croak any time. Handling: White's Tree Frogs typically do not mind being handled by humans for short periods of time, but they are excellent jumpers and can escape quickly, so be careful! Do not handle them for more than 10 minutes at a time. They should not be handled more than 2 days a week, either, because it really stresses them out (believe it or not). Before and after handling your frog you should wash your hands well with soap and water and spray your frog off with some some dechlorinated water from a spray bottle.
Thanks! Did you type that whole thing by yourself? Wow. What about baby whites? Would I be able to raise one myself, or should I just buy an adult? Where would a good place to buy the frogs from be? And how much money would it cost me to get started? I know I will be spending about 100 dollars on the terrarrium with shipping and all This one Thanks again, you seem very knowledgable! I have been interested in owning some kind of reptile or amphibian for quite some time now, and White's tree frogs seem to be the way to go!
baby white's are easy - you wouldn't have to get an adult. i can't think of any reputable frog breeders right off hand, but if you go to your local reptile show you should be able to find a healthy one. $100 on a white's terrarium is a bit steep. i didn't spend more than $60 on my first setup, i don't think.
Oh, thanks. I think I will start looking at garage sales and in the paper for a tank. Another question. About how many crickets for a baby should I be putting in the tank weekly?
yes. the care requirements are EXACTLY the same - *except* green tree frogs (AKA american green tree frogs) are smaller and can live in smaller tanks. one adult green could live in a 10 gallon. napolean - for a baby white's i think i'd put 3 or 4 medium-sized crickets in there twice a week. don't forget the white's obesity rule: Although all White's Tree Frogs are rather chubby, it is relatively easy to determine whether one is over-weight or not. Directly above the frog's visible ear drum is a flap of skin called a tympanic ridge. This ridge should be visible, but should not over-lap more than half of the ear drum. If you can not see the ridge at all, then the animal is under-fed. If more than half of the ear drum is covered by the ridge, then the frog is too fat!
i wouldn't use a lot of moss - and keep the little bit you use moist all the time. it should be fine, though.
