In progress
The frog whose biggest risk is being fed too well.
A White's tree frog is forgiving about almost everything except the two things people get wrong: humidity that never drops, and a frog quietly eaten into obesity. The printable manual for both is being written now.
- Built from the guides below
- Print or view, like the other 14
- No external links inside the PDF
Beastly Facts
Printable owner manual
White's Tree Frog
Care Package
- Housing, heat and humidity targets
- Feeding, and the obesity check
- Health triage and red flags
- Checklists, logs and routines
Edition 1.0 · in progress
Mockup, not the finished cover
What it will cover
Every line below is already researched and already on the site. The package is that work, reorganized into something you can print and keep by the enclosure.
The enclosure, sized for a climber
18 by 18 by 24 inches as the standard minimum for one adult, vertical because the species is arboreal, and 24x18x24 for a group of two to four.
Humidity that dips instead of sitting high
A 50 to 60% baseline with misting spikes to 70 to 80%, then allowed to fall back. Constant unbroken humidity is what invites the bacterial and red-leg problems.
The water that is safe to mist with
Dechlorinated tap or spring water only. Distilled and reverse osmosis water are not electrolyte balanced and can kill an amphibian outright.
Obesity read off the tympanum
This is the signature risk for a frog nicknamed dumpy. The line is fat visibly bulging over the eardrum and armpits, not general roundness.
Health triage worth having before you need it
Chytridiomycosis, red-leg syndrome, bacterial and skin infections, and metabolic bone disease, each with the husbandry pattern behind it.
The owner tools the series carries
Setup checklist, budget and shopping list, first 30 days, symptom quick reference, a pet-sitter sheet, and the daily and weekly routine.
Want to know when it is ready?
It goes out in The Critter Digest, the same newsletter the rest of the site uses. No separate list, and no extra email for signing up here.
Read it free in the meantime
Nothing in the package is being held back from the site. These are the guides it is built from, and they stay free whether you ever buy anything or not.
Cost
The frog at $20 to $60, a $200 to $400 setup, and $13 to $24 a month after that.
Tank setup
The 18x18x24 minimum, the temperature gradient, substrate, UVB, and safe water.
Feeding
What to offer, how often by size and age, gut loading, dusting, and the ridge test.
Handling
Why plain water beats soap, when gloves are safer, and how long a session runs.
Health issues
Obesity, chytridiomycosis, red-leg syndrome, and metabolic bone disease.
Enrichment
Layered planting, broad perches near the top, and the one rule for group housing.
Or start at the free White's Tree Frog care guide. The other fourteen packages are in the store.