I was wondering how you would clean a WTF cage (i have a 16g tall). I was planning on using bed-a-beast for the flooring, how often would i have to clean the tank of droppings, and left over food :? ? Any information given would be appreciated.
A good rule I follow is "If you seen it, clean it." With White's there won't be leftover food, LoL, just be sure to not overfeed. Say 3-5 crickets(or whatever other insect) every other day for adults. Maybe once or twice a month, do a total break down cleaning. Clean the tank in the tub with some dish soap and warm water, as well as any cage furniture. The Bed-A-Beast is pretty easy to keep clean since the feces usually don't have much liquid associated with them(think Leopard Gecko poo without the urates). I spot clean the feces as well as a small area around the feces so as not to contaminate the whole enclosure with fecal material and bacteria. One thing I did with that brick of BAB was cut it in half with a small blade saw. That way I didn't have to soak the whole thing. Half of a brick filled my 20gallon tall about 2 inches. I keep the BAB dry, so as to not encourage bacteria growth, and also because Murphy(my frog) has a nice big waterbowl to soak in when he needs to. I don't want him to be constantly wet since it isn't always wet in Australia where they come from. Just mist twice a day, or you can put an airstone in the waterbowl connected to an airpump(made for fishtanks-5gallon pump should work great) to help create more humidity. Just curious, where are you getting an adult female White's? I haven't found them anywhere(except for the wild-caught Indonesian ones).
Thanks again for the info I was wondering, is the feces big, and when cleaning it would you also takeout the bed-a-beast :? About the frog, im just wanting a female, i havent yet found one to buy, im planning on getting a baby one. I also have some questions on the WTF, how do you tell between a male or female when young, if the males croak loud, and when they start croaking. I was also wondering about how much it would cost to set a tank up or how mush i should spend on it? I currently have an empty 16g tall tank with the ventilation holes (Is the 16g big enough for 1?) . Thanks again for all the info you've given me
No, the feces isn't big, but I would just take it out as well as a small surrounding area of bedding with it, just to be sure you got all of the bacteria out. Well, if you are planning on getting a baby, there is no way you can tell if it is a male or a female until it is at least a year or so old. Mine started making croaking noises a few months ago, but both males and females make noises when they are younger. Since you are getting a baby, use paper towels. Put a good thick layer down on the tank floor, and get them pretty wet with bottled water. I only use Ozarka for Murphy. The drinking water from WalMart or HEB will work too. No tap water though. Don't use any particulate substrate like Bed-A-Beast for babies as they can choke on it. Also, do not use a waterbowl for them until they get bigger, because they can drown. The wet papertowels are perfect until they get about 2-3 inches long. THEN you can offer a waterbowl, but stick to dry papertowels, until they are a little bigger. Get RepCal Calcium w/D3. This is all the supplements you will need. Get about a dozen to 2 dozen 1/4" crickets, gut load them with apples, carrots, oranges, oatmeal, cheerios, and any other veggies you think they would like. Get a plastic storage baggie, and sprinkle some RepCal in there to dust the crickets in. Place about 3-4 crickets in the bag, and Shake N' Bake them Make sure all of the crickets are coated with the calcium, and feed to the frog. You only need to dust the crickets once a week. Pick one day of the week and stick to that day. Feed about 4 crickets per day only. Any more and it will lead to obesity. Stick to crickets when the frog is a baby. I use a 60watt Full-Spectrum bulb, no UVB is needed, but they do benefit from the UVA emitted from the bulb. At night I use a 60watt moonlight bulb just to keep him warm. With babies you want to keep the cage furniture down to a bare minimum so they are able to find food. Wide wooden dowels propped in the tank work well. Those Fluker's Bend-A-Branch things work well too, and may look a little better. I don't know how waterproof they are though, mine are kept pretty dry. If you want a good breeder, email the woman at www.fairdinkumfrogfarm.com She breeds Australian White's in green, blue-green and turquoise. Mine is a blue-green with snowflakes on his rear-end If you have any other questions, let me know.
as like Satanic said I would clean up feces when you see them, and I would clean the cage with lysol wipes. They work well and disenfect everything, just be sure to rinse with water and dry afterwards.
No Lysol wipes for a frog... Frogs can soak up any kind of chemical through their skin, and can ultimately be poisoned. I usually just clean with water and a light soap whenever I do a full-blown cleaning. Usually I just wipe down with hot water, and be done with it. Lysol doesn't kill everything(maybe a cold virus, but not everything). It is not wise to use any chemicals when cleaning a frog's enclosure. I'm not even comfortable using bleach with the frog. Now with the snake and other critters, it works great, but not for the frog. There are just too many risks.
THanks for the information, youve been a great help. I think im going to cheeck into the breeder, im thinking about getting a green/blue
So for a baby one i would just use some wet paper towels, and mabye a bend-a-branch, and thats all ill need until its older? How would they drink water, and i will still need a thermomiter and humiditer gauge, and keep the decoration to a minimum right?
I didn't use any sort of temp/humidity gauge. In a 10gallon tank, I used a 60watt full spectrum bulb and a 60watt night bulb. I stayed with the same wattage when I moved up to an 18gallon tall, as well as a 20gallon tall. Keep it on the opposite side of the frog's hiding place. A hiding place can consist of a small bunch of leaves, a clay pot bottom with a hole knocked out of the side and placed upside down, a regular clay pot(small one, with part of the side knocked out, or a half log hide. The papertowels don't have to have standing water, but they have to be wet enough to drip if you pick it up. I did about 4 layers or so when Murphy was a baby. Use bottled water or the purified drinking water from HEB or somewhere. Don't use they Repti-Safe water purifier crap, it is just that, crap. I wouldn't trust it to be ingested by a frog or any animal... If you wanted to use a thermometer, get a good digital from WalMart for $7.99. It will measure two temps, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. Definately keep the decorations to a minimum, it helps them find food, and the crickets have less places to hide. With the papertowels being wet, the crickets can't get underneath and hide. You only have to dust the crickets once a week, but you will have to feed everyday. They don't really drink water, it absorbs through their skin and they keep hydrated that way. Be sure to mist the baby at least 2 times a day, preferably more. You can get a big mister bottle at WalMart for about 95 cents. Mist with bottled or purified water also. Spray the frog, the walls and the papertowels for at least 20-30 seconds. Since they are from Australia, they should be Captive Bred and Born since exportation isn't allowed in Australia anymore. If you get an Indonesian(generally brown to an olive green) White's, they will most likely be wild-caught and not as healthy. So anyway, try to look for an Australian since they are generally prettier(Usually green to a blue/green) and healthier If you get it from a breeder, the frog will cost about $20 or so for a baby. If you can, go to a reptile expo and see what kind of deals you can find. You can look on www.kingsnake.com and then click on Events for expos in your area. That way you won't have to pay shipping and you can see the frogs up close and talk to the breeder in person. I think that is about it, but if you have any other questions about what supplements to use(RepCal Calcium w/D3 only once per week) or anything that I didn't cover, just ask
Thanks for the information Also i was wanting to know about how big of a tank would you need to house to adult whites, (1 female, and 1 male)?
White's are difficult to breed in captivity, and that is putting it lightly. You can house two same-size females or males in the same enclosure though. I would use at least a 30gallon tank, probably a 40g.
Thanks for the info. I checked out the reptile shows and im really close to Shelbyville so im definetly going to check the shows out Have you ever been to one, and about how much money would it cost to get in :?
Yep, I've been to a few. They are really fun, and the people are always interesting They are usually around $4-$6 to get in, although the one in Dallas I'm going to in July is going to cost $10. It's a HUGE one though, Bob Clark will be there :-D The smaller ones are cheaper to get into though, but they have the small-time breeders who (sometimes) like to take time to really talk with you about their animals. You'll have fun though
I was wanting to know if it was ok just to use a a regular aquarium lid, instead of a screen lid :? It has a cover over the light so the frog wont get fried. Is this ok or should i use a screen lid?
