Gtf

[dee4]

Just curious, I picked up 4 GTF's for my daughter 2 days ago, they are only young about the size of 50cent pieces.
The 1st night they were fine, they even ate. The next day there were 3 that had changed colour to an almost brown with still hints of green around the outside frame of the body. The other stayed green which makes me think not to much is a miss.
Not knowing much about them I figured it is stress in the forms of humidity, temps & change in enviroment.
They have a UV light, heating in the water in the form of an aquarium heater running around 26 to 28 degreesC, gravel for land and plants for their climbing. The 3 also seem to spend a fair bit of the time submerged in the water.

Does this seem normal and just a settling period or do you think there is something wrong with them?

 

[Adam]

This is VERY normal!! Mine change colour all the time. I only feed them every second or 3rd day as this is plenty in captivity. Post a pic of your enclosure if you can or look through the posts on GTF's and see how it compares. Nothing to worry about by the sounds of it.

 

[meshe1969]

The frogs sites down at the moment but Deborah from the Cairns Frog Hospital was talking about this as a possible problem and what it can mean. A picture would help a lot, as it is unusual for a Green Tree Frog to go brown unless you mean a olive type brown. Gerry from the Amphibian Research Center says that they change there colour to alter the amounts of UV absorption as well. So basically it could be fine and normal or it can be an indication of a problem. Please post a picture if you can and I will try and get further advice for you if it appears to be a problem. WLgtf tend to go more brown than a gtf.

 

[Adam]

Strage you should say that meshe, my gtf's will change colour all the time and they have the same access to the uv light. One might be brown while the others are green. THIS IS COMMON FOR GTF'S.

 

[dee4]

I suppose it is an olive type of colour, they don't seen as bad today. As the day goes on they are nearly back to normal colour with only 1 still with less green.The pic with 2 you can sort of see the colouration diffence, they were both worse than these.

 

[Adam]

This is a VERY typical thing for them to do. Just one of the many reasons to own these magnificent creatures!!!!!

 

[Adam]

Cool pics by the way!!!!

 

[meshe1969]

OK Olive brown is o.k for these guys, can you check the air temp in the tank? Oh and you mentioned you have gravel, Is it big enough and or do you feed them on it? I'm not suggesting that it is currently a problem but it isn't recommended to use small gravel as it can cause problems if swallowed.
Ann

 

[dee4]

Thanks Guys. It's something my daughter and I will be doing so I just wanted to make sure that it doesn't just stop because of a simple little mistake.
Oh, and yes it is on stones more so than gravel. I do feed them on it but the stones are mouch to large.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[meshe1969]

You will love having these guys!! They are fascinating. Oh and make sure your enclosure is secure! They are incredible escape artists! lol
Ann

 

[dee4]

We already had 2 of them escape the 1st day. :lol: Hadn't got far before their rescue. We were out making the lid a tighter fit and just had the normal glass lid on it. :lol:
They certainly are fascinating little buggers.

 

[meshe1969]

The frog server has been fixed, you will find everything PLUS on there about frogs. I highly recommended having a browse around when you have time.
Ann

 

[dee4]

Are you talking about the the site in you sig?

 

[meshe1969]

Yep, www.frogs.org.au and www.frogs.org.au/community

 

[Jakee]

Do yoo need a heat source with frogs ????

 

[Magpie]

Depends on the area and the frog Repz, I keep GTF's here with no heating.

 

[Jakee]

What about red ere ?

 

[Adam]

As long as they have a warm spot, they need it to help digest their food, on smaller tanks I have a heat matt that is under the water dish and also cover 1/3 of their floor area so the water is warm and they have a nice warm spot to lay after they pig out. Hope this helps.

 

[Owzi]

Do yoo need a heat source with frogs ????

I would say if you're in Sydney you should have some heat for them as they are tropical frogs. In melb we have an aquarium heater in the water (which covers the bottom of the enclosure) and that keeps the whole tank warm. They are happy there & have just bred again.

 

[Adam]

That's the way Owzi!!!! Mine are doing the same thing now!!!!!!