Care for Green Tree Frogs

If you're interested in frogs, the American Green Tree Frog may be a good pet for you!

But before you get in that car, make sure you know what you're doing! The Green Tree Frog is a medium sized tree frog with a white stripe running down its sides. Females are 2 1/2 to 3 inches long while males are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. Males also croak, and this can sound like a duck's quack. They are powerful leapers with strong legs.

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Steps

 * 1)  Buy a ten gallon tank for two frogs, a 15 gallon tank for three frogs.  Make sure your tank is tall rather than wide, since these frogs climb. Also make sure your tank has a tight fitting lid. You should have some fake plants (real plants can be used too, but are harder to keep clean. WARNING: Some live plants are toxic to the Green Tree Frog!). Make sure your frogs have  things to climb! If they don't, they will stick to the glass in the tank, leaving little frog-prints.
 * 2) Use an all-natural substrate (the stuff that lines the bottom of the tank) such as cedar bark, coconut bark or something along those lines. Get something that is broken up into small pieces, so the frogs don't eat it or become impaled by it. Bark, pebbles, and paper towels can be used as substrate.
 * 3) Make sure the water in your dish is less than an inch deep. The name 'Tree Frog' doesn't necessarily refer to frogs living in trees, but also aqua-dwelling frogs. Many Tree frogs CAN swim, but prefer to perch on moist areas. This is why they are commonly found around ponds or swamps. Make sure the water in the dish is dechlorinated by leaving a container of water out at least 24 hours. Chlorine in tap water can kill some frogs and must be left to evaporate.   A small water dish is standard, as these frogs like to bathe and soak in water (they can breathe and drink through their skin!)
 * 4) Keep the temperature between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure your frogs have a heating pad off to one side in the tank. Bottom mount heaters are recommended by some. Put it off to one side (away from the water dish) so your frogs aren't constantly being fried. A small heater should be placed under the terrarium to insure that the temperature stays above 76 degrees Fahrenheit. A florescent light can be used during the day. UVA/UVB lighting is not needed although it doesn't hurt to use it anyway. Do not use the UVA/UVB light more than 10 hours a day.
 * 5) Maintain humidity. Green Tree Frogs naturally live in a moist environment and like humidity no lower than 65%. You can use a spray bottle to spray the cage and keep humidity up. Automatic humidifiers can be used as well, although I choose just to use a spray bottle. If you are interested in a humidifier, most pet stores sell them at a price of 35 to 55 dollars. Be careful not to keep humidity too high all the time, because it can cause harmful bacteria to grow.
 * 6) Put your frog on a healthy diet. Like most other tree frogs, Green Tree Frogs eat insects. Their favorites are crickets and mealworms. Both can be purchased at almost any local pet store. Only give your frogs mealworms occasionally. (WARNING: Only feed your frogs SMALL crickets and mealworms, medium and large are to big for them to handle.)Use a cricket keeper to house the crickets. Place the food in the cage when the frogs are awake, preferably at night because they are nocturnal. I reach into the cricket keeper and grab the crickets with my fingers, but if you do not wish to do so, tweezers are effective in picking up crickets as well. You can just drop crickets in the cage and let the tree frogs hunt for them, or place then in a bowl or container where the frogs are sure to get them. If you have more than one frog in the same terrarium, keep in mind that the frogs are competitive when it comes to food, so some may get more crickets than others.

Tips

 * Pet Supplies PLUS, PetSmart, Petland Discounts, and PetCo are all good places to buy tanks, food, and other supplies at discounted prices.
 * Before buying frogs, check out the specimens at multiple pet stores. Look for frogs that have bright eyes, and are a light to dark emerald green color. Avoid frogs with brown spots, dull skin, or dry skin.
 * For tank supplies: Exo-Terra, ZooMed, Four Paws, Rep-Cal, and T-rex
 * If you are squeamish, this may not be the pet for you, since American Green Tree Frogs eat live meal-worms and small crickets! The food should be dusted with a calcium supplement once a week. Give your frogs 3 worms/crickets each, and clean up any uneaten food shortly after.
 * If you would like to determine the gender of your frogs, here are a few tips: the male is usually more active, and the males also "chirp" at night. You may want to consult a veterinarian if you are in desperate need of knowing their gender.

Warnings

 * Avoid handling frogs as much as possible. The oils on your skin can give them illnesses. They are also very jumpy, so be careful!
 * Never use soap when cleaning the tank. Frogs can get a disease.
 * This stuff doesn't come cheap! Be prepared to spend a lot of money.
 * If you see Green Tree Frogs priced at $15 or more, DO NOT BUY THEM! That is a ripoff; they usually go for about $8-$10.
 * Beware if you are sleeping as the same room as your frogs; the males "chirp" very loudly at night, and it will wake you up. Frogs may also chirp at vacuum cleaners, running water, lawnmowers, and certain TV commercials.
 * If you put it in the same tank as a grey tree frog sometimes the grey tree frog eats all of the bugs and starves your green tree frog.
 * Buy captive bred (CB) frogs at all times, not wild caught (WC) frogs that are likely to carry disease, will suffer from stress and could be very old. Do not attempt to put poision oak and ivy in tank.
 * Always wet your hands before you go to hold them because if you have dry hands and you hold one it can dry them out and their hands.

Things You'll Need

 * Frog
 * glass tank
 * Substrate
 * Artificial/Real plants
 * Meal-worms and/or baby crickets
 * Spray bottle

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Care for Fire Belly Toads
 * How to Catch a Frog
 * How to Care for a Hibernating Frog
 * How to Care for a Red Eyed Tree Frog
 * How to Tell if Your Tree Frog Is Male or Female
 * How to Create Aquariums So Lizards and Fish Can Coexist

Sources and Citations

 * http://www.petsmart.com/
 * http://www.petlanddiscounts.com/
 * http:///www.petco.com/
 * http://www.repticzone.com/
 * http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/