Tree Frog caresheet

Reproduced by kind permission of:-
PORTSMOUTH REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN SOCIETY
39 WYKEHAM FIELD WICKHAM, HANTS ENGLAND PO17 5AD

CAPTIVE CARE SHEET SPECIES: Tree Frogs
Various, with emphasis on European and US temperate types.

Tree frogs tend to capture the hearts of all who see them. Young and old alike. The are often pretty, having both nice colours and or characteristic expressions. They are generally quite small 0.5 - 2 inches, sociable - several species can be kept in total harmony. But for me the best of all is that age-old fascination; the little devils stick to glass.

HOUSING: Keeping tree frogs is not really much more involved than the tank of tropical fish which every fifth household seems to contain. Their requirements run pretty well parallel in that both need a source of warmth with a thermostat to regulate it. Both are enhanced and happier with the provision of living plants in their tank and both lend great scope for the hobbyist with even the least amount of artistic flair. The major difference is that one swims around behind glass and the other sticks to it. Really it is that simple! Why haven't more living rooms got these enchanting, endearing little occupants? If you dare to be different, here's a guide to show you how. Two options exist as regards the tank. You may buy a 15" tank with lesser width and infinite length. Alternately you may just order a tall tank from a local "fish shop". Whatever you see lying down can also be made standing on end at a fraction the cost of plate glass and it carries a 5 year guarantee. Personally I made by big tank from old windows but now find buying professionally made tanks more viable. I find it very difficult to think of tree frogs in terms of ratios of cubic inch allowances. Once you have decided what size tank will fit in amongst your furniture then common sense should guide you. Lest you think I am ducking the issue, as so many books seem to do, I'll say that if I had an 18" high by 12" square tank I would feel perfectly happy to house a couple of tree frogs in it. Even three. As it is, I have my 26" high 17" square tank and keep five or six frogs at a time in there with absolutely no problems. Maybe the secret is that each species has it's own preferred perch? Up the bush, lower in the bush, up in a corner. They even hunt food in different parts of the tank. Nature or tacit agreement. So having got your tall tank home, give it about an inch of washed pea shingle (you wash out the dust, no matter what the shop may tell you) and cover that with two to four inches of untreated compost mixed 50/50 with sharps and peat. Now you can give vent to the pent up interior decorator cum Living artist within you by setting out two or three houseplants and one or two attractive branches. Remember these plants will flourish in here and neither you nor the frogs will like a situation resembling a Himalayan rhododendron forest. The heat is supplied by a standard 60 watt light bulb attached to a standard 'green tube' aquarium thermostat. These bog standard on/off types will serve the purpose. If you can afford one however, please treat your frogs to one of the new 'fancy' stats which regulate the lamp so things gradually change rather than shatter the night with sudden illumination. Fluorescent street lights are up to you. You'll certainly see more of your frogs on a hot summer night if you have one, but I suggest the light from your own room should be sufficient without being glaring within the tank. The lid is best purpose made. I use drop in ply lids with sliding glass hatches. The groove side sawn from a length of tongue and groove makes a great doorframe. As my big tank is so deep, I also had a professional glazier cut a four-inch hole in the bottom side before I put the tank together. Good ventilation is essential and I have a mesh strip along the front and rear of my lid. All lids, hatches must fit almost air tight to prevent the escape of food items, if not the residents. Cork bark vs. Cork tiles as a back drop feature? I've always shied away from cork bark as I have visions of everything disappearing behind it, seldom to be seen again. Cork tiles then were my choice and I stuck them to one side and the back of the tank. Crickets can skitter up and down the tiles but tree frogs can't. Perhaps just the backplate may have been a better idea? The bush I referred to is a weeping fig (Ficus benjaminica) and I can think of no better plant for your tank's main feature.

It holds even the largest tree frogs and thrives in such an environment. Various Ivy's, Tradascanthia are also a possibility. I'll let you use your imagination. Be sure to mist the tank thoroughly mornings and evenings. Feed your stock as soon as you've misted in the evening.

DIET: Flies and crickets are the mainstay of my frogs' diet. Both are available commercially throughout the year. Flies are provided simply by buying a small tub of maggots from your local fishing bait shop and leaving them in bran for a few days until the pupate. That done, toss some pupae into the tank and forget them. Shortly they will hatch and promptly be snapped up by the frogs. Crickets may simply be tipped into the tank and left to it. They may even breed in the substrate and this is a bonus for all concerned. Don't worry too much about a few micros skittering about on top of the lid. As it should be sunken onto the usual glass lips of the tank they can't climb off, can barely jump off and prefer to find their way back into the warmth anyway. One minor problem flies and crickets share is water. You should provide a shallow bowl of water for your frogs to have a soak in but insects seem drawn to this. Flies even more so than crickets and if you put in too many pupae you will observe the black tank/black water syndrome. One day, the tank swarming with flies, the next the water choked with drowned flies. You have to fish them out, Urgh! You have been warned.

BREEDING: Unfortunately, it does appear to be rather widely recognised that most temperate/Northern Tree frogs will not breed in what should, for the purpose, be considered a small terrarium. Like a great many toads, it seems those who proudly announce their captive breeding success have in fact managed it (hardly the most appropriate term I feel) by allowing a small colony the freedom of a warm greenhouse or conservatory with an equally suitable large and warm pond surrounded by vegetation. Indeed, I once tried to locate a captive breeder of Green Toads (Bufo viridis) in the hope that such a maestro of captive management may give me the answer to a pressing query I had concerning this breed. However, on route, I was informed by an associate of this chap; "His toads? Oh he has them running about in a great big greenhouse. They just get on with it and he hardly ever sees them". Oh. Still all is not lost, I'm convinced of that. Every time one of my frogs call I am reminded that it is a male looking for a mate. I'm still experimenting with my frogs yet, testing the water. But I have some very large sheets of Perspex here. And a dining room table. I've seen a nice little moulded plastic pond in the shops.... I wonder??

Suitability: Drawing as ever from my own personal experiences and first hand observations I could not hesitate to recommend to you the European and American Green Tree frogs (Hyla arborea & cinerea). While the European will dig in for 3 months to hibernate - despite your tanks 70-75F he wants his beauty sleep. The larger American will stick around to keep you amused. Good year round company may be provided by another commonly available chap, the Grey Tree frog (H. versicolor/chrysoselis). Barking Tree frogs are increasingly available, (H. gratiosa) but I cannot recommend these mysteriously delicate creatures to you as some books may. I keep a Whites Tree frog in my tank and wouldn't be without him. This rather large Australian is a tad removed from the main drive of this discourse but, well; If you like tree frogs you'll just die for a whites. (Litoria). Larger specimens shouldn't be chanced with smaller frogs, just in case. I intend to re house mine in a more whites orientated tank anyway - plainer with more solid, simplified decor. Again, the big Cuban tree frog may appeal to you but smaller frogs will definitely appeal to it! Tree frogs of the type discussed above range in price from about £10-£20 each (at the time of writing) so try not to go too mad all at once! Buy one or two, get to know them, learn some, then decide what else you simply must have. There's plenty to choose from and they all have plenty to offer. Tropical fish? Pah! DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!!

Steve Gaites 06/06/94

References :- Experience.

PRAS care sheet number 09

PRAS offers you this care sheet for your own information, should you wish to republish then please do not edit or reformat this sheet in any way and quote PRAS as the source.

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