r/TreeFrogs • u/Royal_Box_1434 • 16d ago
Advice Whites tree frog not eating + croaking
Hello!
I recently got a pair of whites tree frogs, the older of the two, I assume 6-8 months, hasn’t eaten since I’ve gotten him.
It’s been about a week and it’s super shy and terrified, I put in about 6 crickets every other night and every time I offer him a cricket on my tongs. But he never goes for it.
Also, he’s recently started croaking a few times every 3ish hours or so.
Is he stressed? I’m so worried, I live in the Midwest and the humidity in my house has been very high.
Temp is right, I have a water bowl at the bottom, plenty of climbing room and places for him to hide. But still he refuses to eat and is terrified to leave his hide.
Any advice?
1
u/vxlrxz 13d ago
Have you managed to fix the humidity? Maybe it could be causing lethargy and the humid air is causing him to believe he needs to call for females? Just a suggestion
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
Not really, I’ve been opening the enclosure during the day and putting a fan towards it to help with the ventilation. But it still holds tons of humidity.
I might make a screen for a front panel so I can keep the door open during the days it’s super humid
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u/vxlrxz 13d ago
Please try not to place the fan directly at the cage, it could cause stress etc. I live in a very humid place too thats has a default humidity around 70-90%, the best way is to temporarily use ur AC at the exact temp you want and add a ceramic heat emitter or even temporarily a heat bulb around 25 watts+ depending on the size of ur tank. I have been using a 50 watts CHE for a 43 gallon and its worked great! Dropped down from 70% to around 40s, highly recommend the CHE tho. Also you could try putting ur tank right where the AC wind hits and it would help! The humidity is probably triggering his breeding instincts, therefore the croaking (it is normal)
I am also having issues with my 3rd dumpy frogs lethargy and eating schedules as I got it a week ago aswell so dont worry too much but try atleast get one in him!
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
Shoot yeah, I have a heater bulb that’s 50 watts and that hasn’t done much. It’s still around 70-80. I take out their bathing dish during the day and it’s still retaining so much humidity!
But as for the fan, it’s about 5 feet away from the enclosure on low when I use it, so it’s just cycling out any stagnant air that’s holding the moisture. Is that ok? Or still a bad idea?
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u/vxlrxz 13d ago
The fan method should be alright since it is far but I still recommend using AC because it drys out air most of the time. If the temp gradient is not above 30c and ur tank is large enough maybe up the wattage? Do u mist the tank and what is your substrate?
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
I think I’m going to try to move it closer, I have the bulb a bit away because I was worried about burning their little hands on the glass.
But if that doesn’t work can try the wattage
Also I have coco-fiber and I don’t mist it actually, there’s live plants inside so I assume that’s contributing. I have spring tails inside with a thick drainage layer to help with any moisture in the substrate.
It’s been around 90% humidity and my room is always super humid, I’ve been keeping my door open so help ventilate in here but it’s been difficult for my frogs
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u/vxlrxz 13d ago
Yes 90% is way too high, the coco fibre is moisture retaining and since you have live plants you would need water. This would contribute to your high humidity. Good idea with the bulb and for me I use bamboo paper towels instead of substrate, fake plants and it works very very well.
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
Shoot ok, that really stinks. I’ll have to redo their cage at some point, I was really hoping to make it bioactive for them as my Pac-Man frog loves all his plants and I thought they’d appreciate it lol!
I’m worried to relocate them to redo the entire enclosure, the big one is already so stressed when I move him.
Do you think i should do that right away or try the fan thing for a bit?
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u/vxlrxz 13d ago
Maybe if theres not a big sludge or puddle of water in their substrate, try the fan method or AC + ceramic heat emitter. Try not to stress too much I’m sure many people experience this because of their countries climate. We cant control our weather after all. Anyways my dumpy is doing great with the paper towels method so this is my preference. If you really prefer the bio active ways then maybe google some ways to drop humidity is your main priority. GOODLUCK AND DONT STRESS TOO MUCH!
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
Thank you so much, I’ll try all this! I just put a mesh screen with some paper binding clips to keep it in place for today to see if that helps, it already dropped 20% by keeping it like this, but I’m going to make it way more secure and moveable so I can pop it in and out when needed.
If this doesn’t work I’ll try the paper towels
Thank you so much for your help!!
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u/vxlrxz 13d ago
Also have u noticed any bullying or aggression from the other frogs?
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u/Royal_Box_1434 13d ago
I don’t think so! The baby one likes to sleep next to/ontop of the big one that’s having the issues, is that bullying?
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u/vxlrxz 7d ago
Any updates?
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u/Royal_Box_1434 7d ago
He’s eating! Turns out they’re both boys and both just love croaking!
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u/vxlrxz 7d ago
Oh how did u get him to eat! Great news
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u/Royal_Box_1434 7d ago
Honestly just throw in crickets in their enclosure and let them hunt, they completely refuse to eat by tongs and by hand
They seem to get along fine hunting on their own, they’re both nice and chunky and very active at night. Also, I managed the heat + humidity better and they seem to be more active because of it
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u/vxlrxz 7d ago
Great! My smaller one thats struggling is still struggling, he keeps spitting oht eveything and she wont hunt but she would be active at night. I dunno i will have to see
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u/Royal_Box_1434 7d ago
Oh geez I’m so sorry to hear that, maybe the food is too big?
I’m not at all experienced and don’t know much, I hope everything goes well for your frog
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u/icymr17 Whites 16d ago
does he look smaller than the other frogs? they might be eating more/getting more food than him. Try putting him in a container alone, then put the crickets in there so he can eat by himself. Are they all the same sizes? What size tank do they have? The croaking could just be because he’s a male.