Buying frogs online

[Cesiumsponge]

I did some research and with the unexpected aquisition of my greenhouse frog, I feel like I'm getting hooked into this whole deal :D . I believe I'm going to give a shot at raising frogs. Right now, I've settled on something simple, small, and easy-- White's Tree Frog. The only frogs at the petshop right now are pixies and pacmans, and both get a little bigger than I'd like with the info I've turned up. I'd also not deal with mice and rats down the road; don't call me a wimp for that :)

I feel the easiest way in the electronic age is order online. I think some people are wary of this, but all animals have to get shipped to the petstore anyhow, so I don't see how it's any more risky to ship directly to my house. Also I'm sure these places have DOA guarantees to some extent.

My only problem is I can find only two websites so far, one being www.reptilecity.com. I raised an eyebrow at this site, however. There is no actual address listed and some of the grammar was a bit incorrect. The second website I've found is www.rwreptiles.com. Does anyone have experience with these two places, or can they recommend a place that they've had good service with before? I'm looking forward as it's great fun thus far

[Rebecca]

Where are you located??

[eyespy]

I've not had experience with either site, but I have kept frogs since 1978 and have gotten my best service from www.reptiledepot.com when it comes to ordering live frogs. They seem to have the healthiest frogs that arrive with much less stress than some of the other retailers I've tried.

[Cesiumsponge]

I live up here in the corner of the US in Washington. Most of the breeders I noticed live in the Southeast of the nation (ie Florida). Thanks for the site, its quite a bit more organized! I still have to set up another terrerium. What are the detrimental effects of a tank that's a tad small? The caresheets I read suggest 10G, but a 5G tank isn't that much smaller (just a few inches).

It's also an arboreal frog, but tall tanks are pretty darn pricey (the only ones I've seen are octagon ones). Can I use a standard rectangular tank, but install more branches instead of just one? It would in effect give it a bit more places to crawl around on.

[Rebecca]

You can put the tank up on end so it's taller. And have a dish of water in the far corner so it's not going to spill outside the tank. If you do that though make sure you have a locking screen lid. I tried that and stupid me had a lid that just kinda snapped on, on one side. Well needless to say one tree frog jumped onto the lid and went flying right out on to me!!

[Cesiumsponge]

I experimented with setting it up on edge, but I don't feel safe with the two sides of exposed glass corner. I feel like eventually it'll weaken and crack because there isn't the plastic support around it. If I had an acrylic tank, that would be a different story because acrylic is bonded very strongly.

I went to a 10 gal instead and I'm setting it up. I've set up one long driftwood branch diagonal, ordered some tillandsia (air plants) which I'll nestle in some of the rock nooks and branch holes, some spanish moss (its the long spindly kind that usually hangs down and makes trees look creepy) to drape over the branches to create some nice damp cover to run through, and standard goodies (bowl, UTH, gauges).

I've also set up a covered ultrasonic fogger on the highest point of the tank and made a "river" with the substrate so the fog will pool in various areas of lower and lower elevation until it dissapears.

Hopefully it'll turn out the way I envision it. Any suggestions on lighting? Various caresheets I've read say things like: yes, no, UVB, full spectrums, nocturnal lights (night glows I think). The guy (rather a kid) at the petshop tried to tell me I need to buy an infrared basking light (!!). Certainly that would dry the frog up in no time...right?

[Rebecca]

I don't have whites but I'm pretty sure that you don't need a infrared basking light.

[Cesiumsponge]

Great! that simplifies things. Any idea how much light is needed for terrarium plants however? I've got a few tillandisas. The plants are going to need some degree of light while the nocturnal Whites won't like the lights. Also is live or sterilized moss best?

I grow some Strelitzia reginae, Pachypodium Namaquanum, Euphorbia Bupleurifolia and Musella lasiocarpa. Two are tropical and two are succulents, but they require direct sunlight or very light shade. Not sure how I'll go about this. I suppose if they don't get enough light, it's okay. The only side effect is the plants grow tall and spindly.

Any experiences on this?

[Rebecca]

For the plants get a uvb bulb and provide the frogs with dark places to hide. They have to deal with the sun in the wild right!! And just have the lamp on for 12hrs or from when you get up to when you go to bed. Just make sure it's the same time everyday (eg. 10am get up - 11pm bedtime), so it's a proper cycle. I know pretty much nothing else about plants, I try to keep them in the house and they just die!! I have NO green thumb. Also make sure the plants are not toxic to the frogs.