07-10-2013, 03:12 AM
Hello everyone, I'm new to this board, and I signed up because I'm having an issue with one of my three children (frog!) I will use the questionnaire format to be most thorough and concise.
1.How long have you had the frog(s) and where did you acquire them ?
I have 3 D. azureus, all are females. I have had them for over a year. I got them as captive bred froglets in the US. I live in Taiwan now, and I brought the girls with me. They handled the trip like champs. (It is legal to bring amphibians into Taiwan.)
2. What are your Temperatures -Day and Night - Highs and lows ? Are you lights too hot ?
We have a sub-tropical climate here, and temps stay around 26-30 as a high and 24-26 as a low. My lights are not too hot.
3. What is the Humidity like ? - Percentage or guesstimate. What type of Water are you using ? Describe your tank/enclosure and it's lid or top.
I have a glass tank, about 10 gallon floor space, but a lot of vertical height too. My substrate is spaghnum, plus some clay balls under that to collect water. There is a pipe at the bottom under all that to drain excess water. There are lots of plants and leaf litter. I use filtered drinking water. I keep the tank quite humid. It is always around 80-90%. Everything is sealed except for a small screened vent at the top.
4. What kind of food are you providing, how much and are you dusting it ? What superfine powdered supplements are you using and are they fresh ?
I use wingless D. melanogaster FFs. They had been eating like monsters, and two still are, but one has stopped eating. I feed daily about 150 flies, dusted on alternating days with Rept-cal calcium and Herptivite. It still has a year before expiring.
5. Any other animals in the enclosure currently or recently ?
I have sowbugs inside, they live in the substrate and mind their own business. Occasionally the frogs eat a tiny one.
6. Any type of behaviour you would consider 'odd' ?
Well, I'm naive I guess. I had kept all three girls in the tank together, and everything was peaceful until last week. There are two larger females, called Darkie and Little Moon. The smaller one is Spotty. They had always eaten together with no problem, even slept tucked together under leaves. But I recently discovered that Little Moon has been quite bossy, stepping on others, and licking them. I checked online... (which I should have done from the start, I know!) ...and learned that 3 girls together is a no-no for this species.
So here's how it went. I noticed last week that Spotty was "taking naps" in the tank. She would lie on her belly and close her eyes. I was sick myself last week so I didn't look into the issue further, my fault. Yesterday, I finally understood the extent of the issue. She would not go to eat. They are all fat, including Spotty, so I don't think she will starve to death quickly. But she was clearly depressed and stressed out. I immediately set up a second tank and moved her into there at once.
Today, when I fed everyone, she would not eat. She did eat 3-4, but then stopped and closed her eyes. She would typically keep eating for quite a while in the past. I also noticed Little Moon was licking Darkie in the other tank during feeding, although Darkie continued eating regardless. They are nearly equal in size, but Spotty is significantly smaller. All of them are visibly healthy, no injury or damage whatsoever.
My guess is everyone hit sexual maturity and the happy family went to hell!
So, my most urgent question is- how do I help Spotty? At the moment, I am leaving her alone to chill out, keeping her hydrated, providing food, but nothing more. Everything is quiet in the house, no loud noises anywhere. Anything else I can do?
Also, is Darkie in danger of the same situation? I don't have a third tank, so I'm not sure what I would do! My husband and I adore our frogs, and we hate to separate them, but we will of course if that is what is needed.
7. Have you handled or touched the frogs recently ?
We never touch the frogs. They are strictly look-only companion animals. They are quite bold though and sometimes jump on our hand during feeding!
Thank you very much for your help. If pictures are really needed I will post them later, but I just wanted to get this posted ASAP.
1.How long have you had the frog(s) and where did you acquire them ?
I have 3 D. azureus, all are females. I have had them for over a year. I got them as captive bred froglets in the US. I live in Taiwan now, and I brought the girls with me. They handled the trip like champs. (It is legal to bring amphibians into Taiwan.)
2. What are your Temperatures -Day and Night - Highs and lows ? Are you lights too hot ?
We have a sub-tropical climate here, and temps stay around 26-30 as a high and 24-26 as a low. My lights are not too hot.
3. What is the Humidity like ? - Percentage or guesstimate. What type of Water are you using ? Describe your tank/enclosure and it's lid or top.
I have a glass tank, about 10 gallon floor space, but a lot of vertical height too. My substrate is spaghnum, plus some clay balls under that to collect water. There is a pipe at the bottom under all that to drain excess water. There are lots of plants and leaf litter. I use filtered drinking water. I keep the tank quite humid. It is always around 80-90%. Everything is sealed except for a small screened vent at the top.
4. What kind of food are you providing, how much and are you dusting it ? What superfine powdered supplements are you using and are they fresh ?
I use wingless D. melanogaster FFs. They had been eating like monsters, and two still are, but one has stopped eating. I feed daily about 150 flies, dusted on alternating days with Rept-cal calcium and Herptivite. It still has a year before expiring.
5. Any other animals in the enclosure currently or recently ?
I have sowbugs inside, they live in the substrate and mind their own business. Occasionally the frogs eat a tiny one.
6. Any type of behaviour you would consider 'odd' ?
Well, I'm naive I guess. I had kept all three girls in the tank together, and everything was peaceful until last week. There are two larger females, called Darkie and Little Moon. The smaller one is Spotty. They had always eaten together with no problem, even slept tucked together under leaves. But I recently discovered that Little Moon has been quite bossy, stepping on others, and licking them. I checked online... (which I should have done from the start, I know!) ...and learned that 3 girls together is a no-no for this species.
So here's how it went. I noticed last week that Spotty was "taking naps" in the tank. She would lie on her belly and close her eyes. I was sick myself last week so I didn't look into the issue further, my fault. Yesterday, I finally understood the extent of the issue. She would not go to eat. They are all fat, including Spotty, so I don't think she will starve to death quickly. But she was clearly depressed and stressed out. I immediately set up a second tank and moved her into there at once.
Today, when I fed everyone, she would not eat. She did eat 3-4, but then stopped and closed her eyes. She would typically keep eating for quite a while in the past. I also noticed Little Moon was licking Darkie in the other tank during feeding, although Darkie continued eating regardless. They are nearly equal in size, but Spotty is significantly smaller. All of them are visibly healthy, no injury or damage whatsoever.
My guess is everyone hit sexual maturity and the happy family went to hell!
So, my most urgent question is- how do I help Spotty? At the moment, I am leaving her alone to chill out, keeping her hydrated, providing food, but nothing more. Everything is quiet in the house, no loud noises anywhere. Anything else I can do?
Also, is Darkie in danger of the same situation? I don't have a third tank, so I'm not sure what I would do! My husband and I adore our frogs, and we hate to separate them, but we will of course if that is what is needed.
7. Have you handled or touched the frogs recently ?
We never touch the frogs. They are strictly look-only companion animals. They are quite bold though and sometimes jump on our hand during feeding!
Thank you very much for your help. If pictures are really needed I will post them later, but I just wanted to get this posted ASAP.