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Care of your
White's Treefrog
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:
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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.
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Find a local veterinarian who is
knowledgeable about reptiles and amphibians before
any problems arise!
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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.
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Enjoy your White's Treefrog! These
are fantastic and rewarding
pets.
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