| Product: |
Frogs |
| Date: |
29/10/06 (970 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Brilliant for people planning to start keeping amphibians
Disadvantages: Can be a little expensive and you do have to keep live insects for the food
I'm going for an individual frog species otherwise I could be here all day. The frog species I am focusing on in this reveiw is the Whites Tree Frog. I once did a study on these during my time as a student in numerous animal management practices. I will give a rather breif reveiw considering how much there is to know, I also have health sheets of recordings I have done over time studying two whites tree frogs and information gathered which is not included. If you do want anymore information give me an email on sh02020998@hotmail.com and I'm always there! Right, lets get started!
Whites tree frog Welfare
It is normal to house the Whites tree frog in pairs as they appear to get on well together and work well together as a pair, showing positive behaviour patterns as a result of being given company as opposed to being on their own. Because of this a reasonably big vivarium is preferable to the smaller one for the frog. I put information in this report based on the idea of two Whites tree frogs’ being housed together as I think this is the situation I would be most likely to use if I was to house my own.
It is nice for visitors to see whites tree frogs housed together as this is nicer than seeing a frog on its own. Also visitors can see the frogs together and their behaviour together which makes the viewing experience more interesting and has a more vast array of things to watch within it. It is important however, to check the compatibility of the two frogs and ensure there is no fighting before housing them together for the public to see as the public can be disturbed if there are animals fighting.
The vivarium should be made from glass, there are other forms available, but generally the most positive behaviour occurs from the frogs which are kept in a well ventilated glass vivarium. It has been known that some people have housed these frogs in a basic plastic packed lunch box with holes in which is not ideal at all and can be detrimental to the frogs health as the temperature gradient can’t be monitored correctly and the size is too small as well as it being a generally stuffy environment. The vivarium should be quite tall as the frog loves to jump; the best vivarium and most practical should be around 30cms length and width and around 50cms depth. Checking that there is clear angles to view the frogs is important to ensure the public can clearly see them and watch them.
The best substrate for the frog is water based in at least a quarter of the vivarium and soil or peat at the other end. This can be difficult to clean out, but is most similar to the natural environment of being at a lake in the wild. Sand is sometimes used by people, but is not recommended as it is fine granules, which obviously when combined with wet feet can mean the feet get the sand stuck to them.
The temperature in the vivarium should be between 25’c and 30’c and it needs a very high humidity. At least 20 sprays a day are essential to provide similar to the natural tropical humidity for the Whites tree frog. A temperature gradient is not needed for the frog as it should be warm throughout; they are a naturally tropical frog and live in the normal environment which is very warm, continually. However the high temperature and high humidity which is needed causes a lot of these frogs to be brought and then die soon after purchase or problems are seen as a result of poor humidity. A 100 Watt bulb should be used as with the snake to provide the correct temperature. Again, it is essential that the bulb is covered and protected to prevent burning.
UV lighting is normally used. It is important to cover this with a glass shield with the frogs because they will jump and work their ways up to the top of the tank and the light could cause harm to them as it can get very hot as well as the brightness of it when up close.
Some parts of furniture are brought mainly for decoration, but can also be really nice for the frogs. Things like water features and fountains can be very pleasing on the eye as well as giving water to the frog and providing them with similar to their natural environment. The problem with this is the inner mechanisms. The frog can’t be told not to put its foot inside holes in the fountain and problems can occur from this. For this reason a basic still water dish is a good idea, preferably a deep one to allow the frogs to move around in it. Hides are also useful, rocks with holes in them or wood with holes in can be used and are a nice idea for the frog.
The furniture used should look attractive to visitors so that they are drawn to looking at the cage. It should not block the view of the frogs as the people have come to see them, but there should be suitable enrichment that the public can see the frog is well looked after and see some of the things the frog needs.
It is important that the accommodation is kept clean to prevent the harbouring of bacteria’s which can cause the frogs to become infected or suffer fro a disease. This is also important to the public as they like to see a clean environment and there should be no foul smells coming from the enclosure.
The gecko must have all vaccinations and medications up to date and the cage must be fully secure to prevent the gecko from escaping and possibly harming itself or alarming the public in any way.
Whites Tree Frog Behaviour
The Whites tree frog tends to be quite lively and within a vivarium will regularly climb up the walls using the suction pads on its feet. The Whites tree frog will often try to jump out of your hands and jump away when being handled. Lively behaviour is to be expected of this animal and the frog should be moving a lot within the environment.
The whites tree frog is mainly diurnal and so if the frog is sleeping awake a lot during the day this is entirely normal behaviour. Providing the tree frog is at the right temperature with the right amount of food is being provided then the whites tree frog should be quite active within its environment and should socialise well with the other frog in the environment.
Abnormal behaviour which could be shown in the whites tree frog includes becoming lethargic during daylight hours and making lots of loud noises. The frogs will generally lose activity which it would normally show and become withdrawn and not want to socialise with the other frog.
There may sometimes be signs of aggression shown by the whites tree frog towards people and towards other tree frogs which are kept in the environment with it. This can be shown by the mouth opening and sucking on the other frog for up to a minute or doing the same to a human. This does not hurt, but is a warning signal from the frog.
To prevent abnormal behaviour the whites tree from should be provided with numerous levels for enrichment within the accommodation as well as logs and a shallow water hole for the frogs to spend time in as they will spend a lot of time in or by water In the wild. This should be shallow as the whites tree frog is not a great swimmer. Branches, additional substrate and an area which the frog can use to climb and jump from.
Feeding Whites Tree Frog
Size and weight: The Whites Tree frog grows up to four inches in size from head to the end of the back. They can also be as small as two inches. They are quite circular so the diameter is a similar size to the length of the body. They weigh somewhere between 40g and 55g on average as an ideal weight. The male is slightly bigger than the female, but this makes the difference of an average of only one gram, so it is not something which would be used to tell the difference between the sexes!
Food type and preparation: Crickets provide a stable diet for the Whites tree frog and are the most popular choice for most owners. For variety, cockroaches, beetles and earthworms can be introduced as part of the diet. The crickets should be kept together in a small tank which does not need heating; a basic plastic carrier will be suitable. They should have sliced fruit put into the tank in small pieces. Tap water must be left to sit for 24 hours prior to use and is offered in a shallow water dish. The dish should be cleaned and water should be changed every other day. Frogs should never be overfed as they can become obese very quickly. Young frogs are fed a cricket every day, small frogs are fed two small crickets every two days and large frogs should be fed two large crickets every three days.
Feeding behaviour: The frog will flick its tongue out to capture its food and munch on it. The crickets, if not eaten should be left in the vivarium until they are dead. The frog will keep eating naturally until it can’t eat any more and in captivity it will become obese very quickly as it does not have to work hard too catch its food and can’t burn the food off very easily. For this reason the food is limited, the frog’s natural behaviour would keep eating to the stage of obesity, so we have to intervene and limit food amounts to prevent this.
Supplementation: Live food is needed to suit the frog’s natural diet. To improve nutritional content, crickets should be dusted immediately prior to use. This is done by adding a pinch of vitamin/calcium powder to a sandwich bag and shaking the crickets in that to coat them with powder. Use the calcium and vitamin powder once or twice a week and calcium-only powder for all other feedings. Giving access to a dish containing a small amount of calcium only powder may be beneficial- this allows the frog to regulate its own intake of calcium.
Stock tasks: The only stock tasks are to feed the crickets by putting in some fruit and veg and to clean out their own tank at least once a week.
Storage of foods: The crickets are kept in a tank as mentioned before and should be put in with twigs, branches, leaves and soil to help with their environmental enrichment.
Disposal of waste: Any debris, dead crickets and faeces should be removed from the tank on a daily basis. Bedding used as kitchen roll can be placed in the toilet area and removed and replaced as soon as it is soiled. Any soiled kitchen paper or sand should be removed and put into a common bin, if crickets become infected with any disease, or keep dying naturally, the whole lot should be disposed of in a sharps bin and none fed to the frogs.
Breeding Whites Tree Frog
The adult is sized up to 5cm, but is normally smaller and the female is commonly larger than the male. During the breeding season, during the evening and at night the Whites tree frog will be heard to make a rapid “Krack, Krack, Krack” which go at about 6 noises per second. This call varies in speed depending on progress made by the male and responses made by the female.
The Whites Tree frog breeds in a number of places. This will usually be done in still waters. These waters should be exposed to the sun and there should be lots of nearby vegetation for the frog. The tree frogs begin to go to the nesting grounds around April time and can be still arriving at around June. The male will call the females to them, but they may save this energy and use younger or smaller frogs to do this for them.
The female lays 200-1,400 eggs in clumps which are spread around the living environment. There can be 50 different clumps of eggs which are laid in an egg in one night and it can be what one person has done or a group of people.
The eggs take around 2-3 weeks to hatch into chicks. The young when first born are about 1-2cm long and can live up to 20 years in captivity.
Summary: Well worth getting the Whites tree frog, they are beautiful and amazing
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