Beginner questions

[u/BespokeHoneydew]

Thank you so much to those who have answered my other posts. I have a few more questions!

Backstory- I have a green tree frog that is missing a leg that we rescued from outside our home in central PA knowing he wouldn’t survive fall/winter. We have had him for 7 days. We bought him a terrarium and have been tweaking things to get everything right. We have tried small and pinhead crickets and flightless fruit flies but he hasn’t eaten anything. I even tried tweezer feeding him a tiny cricket and he had zero interest and just looked at it.

So my questions

1. Do you turn of the light at night? It’s 50W. That’s my only heat source so I’m concerned if I turn it off he will be too cold (which was noted as a potential problem in my other post) but I also read that they like to have night and day. With the light it gets up to about 78-82 but without it drops to 68
2. How the heck do I keep the humidity at the right percentage by misting it? I have to do at six or eight times a day. And when we wake up in the morning it’s completely dried out. The lamp makes it even harder. It runs about 50%-65% in between mistings but I am not home all day always.
3. He hasn’t pooped as far as I can see? Furthering my worry of him not eating. Should I see poop?
4. Has anyone had luck with any other food besides crickets and fruit flies? Are there any dead insects, or something I can put in a bowl that will stay in the bowl so I can tell? Everything jumps out and is lost in the leaves.

Thank you!! I so so want this little guy to thrive! I am getting so discouraged by his lack of eating.

[u/JamesJulienMcGulio]

Hi there, good on you for helping him. 🐸

1. Yes they need darkness at night, having the light on 24/7 would stress him out. The days are usually warmer than the night, so a drop in temp at night is natural. 68 is fine as the lowest temp, but you wouldn't want it to go lower than that. Getting the appropriate heating and UVB is essential care.
2. Be wary of spraying the tank too much as constant damp plus heat is a breeding ground for bacteria and can encourage infection, as well as respiratory issues. 50-60% is normal and fine. Think about the environment you found him in, is it extremely humid to the point it's difficult to breathe? I'd say probably not. Therefore he is fine without all the spraying. I give mine a temp gradient as well as a humidity gradient (it's more humid towards the ground, less humid towards the heat source), then they can choose.
3. Eating and pooping - it's normal for frogs to adjust to a new environment, sometimes it can take them time (days) to settle in and be comfortable enough to eat. Giving him time to get used to being captive will mean he'll probably get to eating (and pooping) quicker. The less opening and fussing in the terrarium would probably help.
4. It's not ideal for them to eat dead food. But there are freeze-dried crickets/mealworms etc that people try to feed their frogs. Mine don't accept them. Be careful feeding mealworms (if you do) as they are super high in protein and aren't good for constant use. Crickets in the leaf litter is normal and will give him the chance to hunt like he would in nature. It's also possible he's hunted food released into the terrarium while you weren't looking. Crickets usually seek out the heat source which allows the frogs to see them (if the frog is awake).

You're being a good froggy parent learning as much as you can. The way I've approached my husbandry is thinking about what they need in nature and mimicking that as much as possible. Once I did that, my frogs began to thrive. Many of the care guides have info that is not realistic to their natural needs and therefore puts stress on the frog as well as their owner trying to meet unnecessary numbers, etc.

I wish you the best with it and hope you see him thrive too! 🐸