If you are fond of frogs, the American tree frog (Hyla cinerea) can be a good pet for you! But before you rush to buy one, make sure you know what you're doing! Do your research first!
The American tree frog is small in size, with a white stripe running down the sides. These specimens can grow up to 6 cm in length. Males croak, while females do not. Their sound sounds like a raspberry, although they don't always croak. They are powerful jumpers with strong legs. They need food and water. Make sure you check them every day. They eat 5-7 crickets every day when they are young and 6-7 every two days when they are adults.
Steps
Step 1. You need to get a 40-80 liter capacity enclosure with a combined coir / peat / terrarium fabric substrate
This guarantees more humidity. Their humidity must remain or fluctuate around 80%. Small drops of moisture are normal. Do not put the enclosure under a heating / cooling fan. The environment would dry out and could cause health problems for your frog.
Step 2. The container may have a lid for protection, but it must provide some ventilation and remember to maintain the relative humidity (RH)
No heat or light is needed. These frogs are nocturnal animals and live in cool temperatures. A general rule of thumb is that if your home has an ideal temperature (in general, the standard comfort zone is between 25-26 ° C), then it's okay for your frog too.
Step 3. Always use water treated with reverse osmosis or distilled water, as frogs have permeable skin, they drink water and breathe through their skin
Standard tap water, although chlorine-free, contains heavy metals and other contaminants that can harm small creatures.
Step 4. Provide them with a bowl of water and vaporize them every day
Once a month, be sure to thoroughly clean the container and thoroughly wash the items inside with hot water; let it cool before returning items to the enclosure. In addition, regular (daily) inspection and cleaning should be performed to remove faeces, fix damaged plants, and collect the leftovers of dead prey.
Step 5. Make sure you vary their nutrition
They don't just eat crickets in the wild. Feeding them only on these insects limits the nutrients they need, can shorten their life and can reduce their resistance to disease. Other valuable nutrients are small soft-bodied invertebrates:
- Crickets
- Cockroaches (small or medium …)
- Wax moths
- Occasionally small to medium-sized worms (earth worms or red maggots)
- Silkworms
- Small tobacco sphinxes
Step 6. Supplement your frog's diet by lightly coating their prey with calcium with powdered D3, multivitamins and minerals
These supplements are all readily commercially available, last a long time, and are not very expensive. Put the powder on the food of the young frogs every day and 3 times a week (approximately) for the adults.
Step 7. Real plants are beautiful in that they help maintain relative humidity, but they are difficult to clean from feces and could easily become soaked in water
Fake plants are better in this context because they come in many shapes and can always be removed from the container and cleaned completely.
Step 8. NEVER use chemicals when cleaning the enclosure
If there are even minute traces left, they can burn or even kill your frog.
Advice
- If you want to determine the sex of your frog, you can observe some aspects: the male is usually more active, and sometimes "chirps" during the night. You should consult a vet if you absolutely need to know its gender.
- Before you buy frogs, check out the specimens at different pet stores. Look for those that have bright eyes, and that have a dark emerald green color. Avoid those with brown spots, dull or dry skin.
- These frogs must have water and something to climb and / or squat on.
- To find suitable accessories to put in your frog's enclosure, you can search the best pet stores.
- American tree frogs don't need love and affection. They are animals to be observed and do not like to be handled. Their skin is very delicate and the oils on our skin can sometimes damage them.
- Zoo Store, Zoolandia, Zooplanet and others are all great shops to buy containers, food and other accessories at a good price.
- If you are a fussy eater, this may not be the pet for you, as it eats live insects!
Warnings
- Be careful if you sleep in the same room with your frogs; males "croak" very loudly at night, and may wake you up. Frogs can also croak when they hear the noise of the vacuum cleaner, running water, lawn mower and even some TV commercials.
- This passion is not very cheap! Be prepared to spend a lot of money.
- Avoid touching the frogs as much as possible. You would cause them a lot of stress and their skin is very sensitive. Residual oils, lotions and soaps on your skin are poisonous to frogs. They also get very nervous, so be careful!
- Never put lizards in the enclosure with a frog because the two animals have completely different needs.
- Always wet your hands with dechlorinated water (water from bottles on the market), if you absolutely have to hold them, because if you have dry, oily, or dirty hands and press them against the frogs, you could cause injuries.
- DO NOT combine frogs of different species, as some are dangerous to each other. It could also be very stressful for them. Besides, they are also cannibals, and a small frog could be the lunch of a bigger one. Not to mention that they also have different care needs.
- Never use soap or chemicals to clean the container. Frogs easily absorb chemicals through their skin.
- Always buy captive-bred frogs, not wild-caught frogs, as they can transmit disease, suffer from stress and may be very old. Do not try to put poison oak and poison ivy in the enclosure.
