Care Sheet Project: White Lipped Tree Frog

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Please feel free to add!CARE SHEET FOR WHITE LIPPED TREE FROGSANIMAL NAME: Polypedates leucomystax (former Rhacophorax leucomystax)DESCRIPTION: A brown nocturnal tree frog with a white belly and sides and a white line on the upper lip. Darker markings in the form of lines or dots on the back. Horizontal pupils, golden eyes. The back feet are webbed.LIFESPAN / SIZE: In captivity these frogs are said to reach an age of 5 to 6 years. The females are about 4 inches long, the males about 2.SEX DIFFERENCES / SUITABILITY: The sexes differ in size and only the males call. It�s best to keep a pair together or one female and two males (they stimulate each other when calling).REPRODUCTION: You need to imitate the rainy season in the terrarium, best with help of a sprinkler. First reduce the humidity and don�t feed them for two weeks (or feed less), then feed them more often, raise the humidity and let it �rain� for a few days. The males will begin to call. Eventually the males will grab a female (this is called �amplexus�) and they will produce a foam nest on a branch or a plant stem above the water and lay their eggs inside. They produce about 200 eggs. They foam nest will dissolve after a few days and the tadpoles fall into the water. They can be raised together, about 50/70 tadpoles in a 20 gallon tank. If you have too many tadpoles in a tank, the stronger ones will emit a substance that impairs the growing of the smaller ones.WASTE: Not much, in a working tank it just disappears.CARE TIME: Cleaning out the water twice a week: 10 minutes / Feeding the frogs twice a week: 10 minutes / Cleaning the sides of the tank every month or whenever necessary: 30 minutes / Fedding the crickets or whatever the frogs get twice a week: 10 minutesFOOD: Crickets, grass hoppers, meal worms, flies, roaches, moths, spiders, wood lice. It�s important to give the food animals fresh vegetables or fruit, they will live longer and they are more nourishing (see the care sheet on crickets by Puxley).WATER: A big water bowl is necessary, best with a rock in the middle and some branches over it. You can also make the bottom of the tank part water, part land.VITAMINS / SUPPLEMENTS: A supplement that provides the frogs with vitamins and calcium is needed.TEMPERATURE: About 71- 62 degrees, a bit less in the night.HUMIDITY: 70 to 90 %HOUSING: : I prefer a terrarium to a tank for reptiles and amphibians, because the air circulation is better, you can access the terrarium from the front and not from above and it's much easier to control humidity and temperature, but I�ll use the term �tank�. For a pair of frogs you need a tank measuring at least 20 inches in length and width and 40 inches in height. SUBSTRATE: Forest bedding or something similar. Soil from a forest is also good, the micro organisms will create a little ecosystem inside the tank. You won�t need to change the substrate. I use moss to cover the earth because the female likes to sit on the ground and the moss prevents her from getting too dirty.LIGHTING: Under a spot the frogs can sunbathe if they want (they do sometimes, even if they are nocturnal) and it helps to heat the upper region of the tank.HEATING / COOLING: You can use an under tank heater or a heating cable, either attached to the bottom of the tank or to the back. If the temperature rises above 86 degrees the frogs will die very quickly. It�s better to switch heating and light of in very hot weather. A little fan (like those used to cool computers) put on the vents of the tank can lower the temperature quite efficiently.FURNITURE: Some big branches to sit on.SUITABLE PLANT: Everything that has big leaves, for example Spathiphyllum, and climbing plants (maybe attached to one of the branches).HANDLING: No.Frogs can overheat and die if held too long and they won�t get tame. They can be fed by hand or by tweezers (at least my female can, the male won�t come near my hand).ANIMAL COMPABILITY: Better not try. It�s tempting to co-house them with small lizards, but the lizards would get eaten by the females very soon (they are known to have eaten geckos as long as themselves).HABITS: I can only speak of my pair: the female is usually more active, jumps around in the tank and climbs the glass while the male sometimes dissapears for days. I wake him up before I feed them because otherwise she would eat everything.A picture of Sally, my femaleand of Linus, the male