A hitch-hiker..

[SlipperFan]

This little guy must have come into my home via one of the plants that summered outside. He's been hiding in here since late September. Yesterday, I went down to my growing area, and I saw him sitting on a Phal leaf. Today, he was among my Phrags.

I think it's too cold out now to turn him loose -- I hope he can survive in here. Anybody know anything about keeping Tree Frogs inside for the Winter?

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I've kept treefrogs as pets...keep it in a securely closed tank with a damp substrate...not sphagnum, since after awhile it begins to promote diseases like red leg. Try damp gravel. Feed it crickets and mealworms. I used to enjoy taking my kids out for walks on early summer evenings to catch fireflies...we'd then feed them to the treefrogs and turn out the lights...and watch the frogs light up! I've never succeeded in keeping treefrogs alive more than a few years...but you would have no problem keeping it alive until it can be released again in the spring....take care, Eric

 

[practicallyostensible]

That's too cute. I've kept both Dendrobates and Red-Eyed Tree Frogs. If you want to keep him inside for winter he'll take small crickets. I make sure to gut-load mine before feeding them to the frogs (which entails keeping them for a few days and feeding them orange slices and flake banana and rice baby formula) or you can dust them with a calcium powder found in pet stores. If you want to put him in a container keep in mind that frogs like it clean, and I advocate paper towels as a substrate for first time herp keepers (also I've found that tree frogs love birds nest ferns in their tanks). If you need any specific feel free to PM me.

 

[Hien]

What good thought Dot,

You never know, one day the kind deed will be return in kind that the frog will help you out in a distant future life.

This little guy must have come into my home via one of the plants that summered outside. He's been hiding in here since late September. Yesterday, I went down to my growing area, and I saw him sitting on a Phal leaf. Today, he was among my Phrags.

I think it's too cold out now to turn him loose -- I hope he can survive in here. Anybody know anything about keeping Tree Frogs inside for the Winter?

 

[Hien]

Frogs in USA have better lives than some kids in other countries.
In our family, we use to say that some souls are lucky to be born as pets in this country:wink:

That's too cute. I've kept both Dendrobates and Red-Eyed Tree Frogs. If you want to keep him inside for winter he'll take small crickets. I make sure to gut-load mine before feeding them to the frogs (which entails keeping them for a few days and feeding them orange slices and flake banana and rice baby formula) or you can dust them with a calcium powder found in pet stores. If you want to put him in a container keep in mind that frogs like it clean, and I advocate paper towels as a substrate for first time herp keepers (also I've found that tree frogs love birds nest ferns in their tanks). If you need any specific feel free to PM me.

 

[NYEric]

Garlic sauce! :evil:

 

[Corbin]

Love it. Do you know aht kind of frog it is? I have never seen a tree frog like that.

 

[cdub]

It looks like Hyla versicolor. The Gray Tree Frog. It can change from pale gray to dark green, hence the name 'versicolor.' I kept one of these that I found in my yard as a pet in a simple enclosure and it did fine with crickets and such for food. Watch out though, if it's male, the nightly call is LOUD! Mine went right back outside after a few sleepless nights.

Remember, this is a native temperate species, and unlike tropical species, it is adapted to seasonality, and actually hybernates in the winter. It will probably do fine inside until spring, but may decline after long periods in captivity without its normal seasonal changes.

Cool orchid companion!

 

[Sangii]

if you know anybody with a GH nearby you light want to ask if they would accept it in the GH for the winter. I have tree frogs hibernating (actually still pretty active) in the GH every year and I do not need to feed them, they get whatever they can and are actually great to get rid of gnats

 

[Mrs. Paph]

Sweet, fireflies inside frogs! ....anyway, yeah, it looks similar to the treefrogs that hitch-hike on our family's Hobie Cat boats in MN (heck of a time to keep them from jumping overboard in the middle of the lake where a fish might eat them!) - They go a nice mottled grey on weathered tree trunks, but are usually bright green amoung leaves or on our boats! If you think it's too late for him to settle in and hybernate I think the above comments are right, feed him crickets or mealworms for the winter - though I spose if he tends to stick around and is visible on a regular basis I'd leave him loose w/ the orchids, he may find some of his own food that way, and you can leave him mealworms on occation!

 

[Mrs. Paph]

Couldn't resist...I'm a fan of frogs...A baby tree frog, and birdsnest fungi, both from the great white north - MN

Hope your treefrog has a happy winter indoors - don't let him get too addicted to orchids:rollhappy:!

 

[SlipperFan]

Tell me more about mealworms. I have no experience with them. I know you can get them to feed to outdoor birds, but how to use them inside? Would I put them in a dish? Or set one in front of Mr. Tree Frog? Or...?

 

[paphioboy]

Dot, get him/her to say ''Aaaa..." and drop the mealworms one by one into his/her mouth...

Eric, how could you..! :sob:

 

[Heather]

Cool thread.

I've nothing to add here, but good luck with your froggy, Dot!

 

[cdub]

Tell me more about mealworms. I have no experience with them. I know you can get them to feed to outdoor birds, but how to use them inside? Would I put them in a dish? Or set one in front of Mr. Tree Frog? Or...?

You'll need live worms. The bird feed ones sometimes aren't. The dish works wonderfully if the worms are live and move just a bit. But I also put the worms in front of them when the frogs were feeling under-the-weather.

 

[NYEric]

Wax worms also.

 

[TheLorax]

SlipperFan's treefrog is either Hyla chrysoscelis or Hyla versicolor. Very difficult to distinguish between the two other than that H. versicolor has twice the chromosome number (H. versicolor is tetraploid and H. chrysoscelis is diploid) and has a slow trill with longer gaps between trills while chrysoscelis has a higher pitched and much faster trill with shorter gaps between trills.

I'm pretty sure the species that I find on my property is H. versicolor. At this time of year I find them toward the bottom of our firewood piles hunkering in for winter. I have to be real careful to search the firewood that is in contact with the ground because that's where they are most frequently found and I don't want to end up with sizzling treefrog in our fireplace. A few years ago, I didn't realize that our firewood piles were areas they gravitated to. Tossed a big old partially decomposing log in the fire and there it was. Jumped up and pulled the log out. Called a friend who is a herpetologist and he told us to take the whole log and put it back outside where it was to afford the frog the best chance of survival given they have little biological clocks inside of them that tell them when they need to sleep.

Other than that, we have kept them for a few weeks from time to time in warmer weather. Kids bring them in. We stick them in aquariums with logs and live plants and leaf debris and toss in pinhead crickets that are gut loaded. Gut loading is very important. We have bought those little rounds of jumbo mealie worms and the kids toss other insects in that they find to include wolf spiders from the house. Everything disappears so the treefrogs must be happy with their offerings. And, yes- you can hang red wigglers in front of their faces and they will eat them. Bad time of year to be trying to dig up red wigglers though.

Interestingly enough, Miss Paphiopedilum’s treefrog from Texas is also either Hyla chrysoscelis or Hyla versicolor in a green phase. Both of those treefrogs have a broad distribution range.

http://www.herpnet.net/Minnesota-Herpetology/frogs_toads/CopesGrayTree_frog.html

 

[Corbin]

"Miss Paphiopedilum’s treefrog from Texas"

I thought that looked like the frogs we had all over the sides of our house.

Miss Paphiopedilum, What part of Texas?

 

[Mrs. Paph]

The part of Texas in Minnesota! Sorry...just giving you a bad time :rollhappy: oke: I was sure I put that in the post I haven't been in Texas for very long, since July of this year, haven't found frogs here yet, but green anoles and cool geckos run wild...

 

[littlefrog]

Dot, you can turn her loose in my greenhouse if you want. She'd have a few tree frog friends.

I took one just like that to the Milwaukee show by accident. Reached in to show a plant to somebody and ... whoa!! Must have ridden along in the crates. He is now running free in the Mitchell Domes.