White's Treefrog (Litoria caerulea)

Care of your White's Treefrog

Care of your Leopard Gecko

General- White's treefrogs are large, easy going treefrogs that are the perfect choice for many who like some level of interaction with their frog. They tolerate handling fairly well as long as you are careful not to expose them to any harmful substances from your hands (soap, detergents, bug spray, etc.). Captive bred babies are readily available and are even being selectively bred for a blue color phase. The young frogs are very hardy and easy to care for. They do quite well on a diet of crickets of an appropriate size (usually about 1/8 to 1/4 inch). It is important to supply vitamins and minerals to your growing frog. This can be accomplished by “gut-loading” crickets by feeding them such items as orange slices, carrots, salad greens, fish flake food, or a commercially available cricket food prior to giving them to your frog. Additionally, the crickets can be dusted (coated in powder) with a quality commercial vitamin/mineral powder just before providing them to your frog to eat. Young frogs should be fed every other day or so to maintain a healthy growth rate. It is a good idea to vary the diet from time to time by offering some other insect prey such as waxworms, butterworms, moths or roaches. Remember to keep the prey size appropriate and use the worms sparingly, as they are mostly fatty or chitinous. I recommend keeping a medium sized water bowl available at all times, being sure to clean it regularly.

Adults- The adults are maintained in much the same way. Using a larger prey item feedings can be scaled back to two to three times a week. They don’t need vitamin supplementation quite as often either, maybe with every other to every third feeding. You can offer adult treefrogs an occasional pinkie mouse to vary the diet and supply a more complete diet.

General- The White's treefrog is native to Australia and New Guinea. They are most active at dusk and dawn, usually sleeping throughout most of the daytime hours. A 10-gallon tank will comfortably house an adult frog or even a pair of frogs. A vertical orientation to the tank will be appreciated by your frog, as they will enjoy climbing and perching in higher spaces. I recommend a smaller enclosure (such as a kritter keeper) for juveniles only because it makes it easier for them to capture prey in the smaller area and proper humidity levels may be easier for you to maintain. Paper towels make cleaning quick and easy and eliminates the possibility of ingesting any substrate material that may impede digestion and kill or injure the frog. The adults, however, can be kept on a large size gravel (pea gravel) substrate without problems. Add some rocks, branches, and hardy, sturdy plants to make an interesting landscape for your frog to explore. With the juvenile and adult frogs, it is important to keep them at lower humidity levels (just provide a large water bowl) to prevent toxic levels of ammonia buildup or outbreaks of "red leg", a bacterial infection in the bloodstream. Lighting is a matter of personal choice since the frogs don’t seem to care too much. I recommend coil bulbs or other flourescent lighting.

Other Helpful Info:

̃ Always buy a healthy captive bred animal and learn as much as you can from the source that you are buying it from, such as age, sex, what is it eating, etc.

̃ Find a local veterinarian who is knowledgeable about reptiles and amphibians before any problems arise!

̃ Buy a good book about White's Treefrogs or at least a book with a decent section about these animals and keep it on hand for reference. This care sheet contains only initial information to get you started and is by no means complete.

̃ Enjoy your White's Treefrog! These are fantastic and rewarding pets.


 
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