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I saw some strange behavior in one of my Leucomelas froglets that I obtained a two weeks ago. It's healthy, active and normally climbs everywhere, eats with every meal, and is pretty fat.
Image of the frog in question can be found here:
www.dendroboard.com
My frogs, this one included, are usually active when the lights first come on and a few hours before lights out. But while this froglet was out and about the morning this behavior happened, the evening of the incident it hasn't really done much but sit in one place hiding between the vriesea. When it finally came out of hiding and saw me looking at, it did what I can only describe as a weird sputtering motion wherein it'd kick its back legs as though it were trying to jump but it got nowhere. Like the vriesea's leaf was too slippery for it to get a grip on or something (the leaf looked dry to my eyes). It did this at least twice.
Video of a similar behavior to what I've seen but they're obviously not my frogs:
Video Link
My frog's behavior was also no where near as extreme as in the video, only happening twice or so. And it was more kicky than just jerky. So more like the behavior at 1 second to 3. 15 seconds to 16. And 22 seconds.
After that it did a few small hops and disappeared for the rest of that evening. It was quite weird of it to be stressed out just because it saw me because normally when I'd stick my hand into the vivarium, right over its head, it'd just sit there and do nothing. I've also taken quite a few photos up close (as per the images linked above). Two days after the incident it's gone back to behaving normally: active as ever and I haven't seen it done that again. But of course I'm still worried about it happening even once.
Some explanations that I could conjure up to explain its behavior:
I believe this behavior to be frog-specific as it's only happened to one of them and I've basically been observing these frogs all day since then.
1. What species ? How long have you had the frog(s) and where did you acquire them ?
Leucomelas "Fine Spot" that I've had for two weeks now. I got them from a local breeder
2. What are your temperatures (day and night - highs and lows) and how do you measure those temperatures? Does the vivarium have any supplemental heating, and if so, what type?
My frogs are kept at about 77f all day long because I use my AC. I measure it using a temp gun and an acurite thermometer/hygrometer. There is no supplemental heating.
3. What lighting is on the enclosure (brand, type, wattage) and does the lighting add heat to the vivarium?
Chihiros WRGB Slim II, turned on at 50% brightness. The amount of heat it adds should be minimal since I have a small fan blowing heat away from it.
4. What is the Humidity like (percentage or guesstimate)? What type of water are you using? What is your misting procedure (automated or hand mister, how long and how often)?
According to the Acurite, it's high 70s to low 80s. In terms of how fast the leaves of plants dry, approximately 1-2 hours after watering if I have my fans on through the entire process. I'm using RO water. I mist twice a day for 30 seconds each. Once half an hour after the lights come on (9:30) and once at 3:30. I mist by hand since I'm currently working from home.
5. Describe your tank/enclosure and its lid or top, and give details about the ventilation (how many vents, where are they positioned, how large are they).
It's an 24x18x24 ExoTerra with a cork bark mosaic background (with moss added) and gravel as substrate. There's a generous layer of leaf litter. There are two vents, one at the back top and the front vents provided by the tank. The back vent is about 3 inches. The vent no longer have fans over them. Instead I now have a top-side front vent that is maybe half a centimeter wide at most. The part of the vent directly above my Marcgravia is covered up to prevent water loss for it. I have a fan blowing air over the top of the back vents to promote airflow and get leaves to dry in a reasonable amount of time.
6. What kind of food are you providing, how much and are you dusting it? What superfine powdered supplements (brand and exact product name) are you using and are they fresh (i.e. how long has the container been open, and how is it stored)?
I feed it Melanogasters on a daily basis. I dust with Repashy Calcium + that has been stored in the fridge. The supplement is freshly opened after I witnessed the incident since I feared it was caused by some calcium deficiency. I've also started spot feeding the frog in question since then. But even before spot feeding I've always made sure that it got at least 5 flies if not more as per Ed's froglet's basal metabolic need calculations.
7. Any other animals in the enclosure currently or recently? Tankmates / other frogs ?
It's in there with 3 other frogs. All fine spots from the same breeder. Three of the frogs are 3-4 months OOW. One of the frogs is 7-8 months OOW and approximately twice the size as the three other frogs. Regarding the bigger frog, I have observed no obvious signs of aggression (wrestling). Sometimes what looks like intimidation may have occurred wherein the frogs stare each other down, but nothing ever comes out of it. They just hop away and go on their own separate ways. The frogs also come together to eat at the same spot just fine. Other than Dwarf whites, tropical spring tails, miscellaneous mites, small white worms (not nemertean), and fungus gnats, there are no organisms that I know of.
8. Any type of behavior you would consider 'odd' ?
This is detailed above
9. Have you handled or touched the frogs recently ? Any cleansers, paint, perfumes, bug sprays etc near the tank ?
I have never touched the frog. The only chemical I use near the tank is rubbing alcohol. The only contact I've ever had with my frogs is indirect. I'm currently covering up one of my more troublesome plants with some saran wrap and I have to re-cover it with every misting. The frogs sometimes comes in contact with it. But before touching the saran wrap I've always made sure that I wash my hands with soap and then thoroughly rinse off all soap residue before drying my hands (bone dry) with paper towels (one time use).
10. Take pictures of EVERYTHING -- the frogs, the enclosure, the vents. Take numerous pics of everything - that will be of great help.
![Plant Wood Botany Trunk Terrestrial plant]()
![Natural environment Plant Wood Terrestrial plant Organism]()
Leaf litter an hour and a half after misting:
![Brown Plant Leaf Wood Groundcover]()
The leaf where things happened:
![Plant Botany Organism Terrestrial plant Vegetation]()
Vents
![Hood Bumper Automotive lighting Rectangle Wood]()
More images, slightly out of date, can be found here:
www.dendroboard.com
This is a different frog from the one in that thread.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Image of the frog in question can be found here:
Leucomelas Froglet Too Fat?
I've had this Leucomelas froglet (3-4 months OOW) for about a week now and unfortunately only just now noticed that the froglet looks quite overweight while I was snapping some photos. To my amateur eyes, it only really seems grossly overweight from a side profile while from any other angle it...
www.dendroboard.com
My frogs, this one included, are usually active when the lights first come on and a few hours before lights out. But while this froglet was out and about the morning this behavior happened, the evening of the incident it hasn't really done much but sit in one place hiding between the vriesea. When it finally came out of hiding and saw me looking at, it did what I can only describe as a weird sputtering motion wherein it'd kick its back legs as though it were trying to jump but it got nowhere. Like the vriesea's leaf was too slippery for it to get a grip on or something (the leaf looked dry to my eyes). It did this at least twice.
Video of a similar behavior to what I've seen but they're obviously not my frogs:
Video Link
My frog's behavior was also no where near as extreme as in the video, only happening twice or so. And it was more kicky than just jerky. So more like the behavior at 1 second to 3. 15 seconds to 16. And 22 seconds.
After that it did a few small hops and disappeared for the rest of that evening. It was quite weird of it to be stressed out just because it saw me because normally when I'd stick my hand into the vivarium, right over its head, it'd just sit there and do nothing. I've also taken quite a few photos up close (as per the images linked above). Two days after the incident it's gone back to behaving normally: active as ever and I haven't seen it done that again. But of course I'm still worried about it happening even once.
Some explanations that I could conjure up to explain its behavior:
- My parents were visiting on that day and they did get a good look at the frog and their voices could be heard by the frog. But I've found that the frogs don't particularly mind noise so that's probably not it. This doesn't happen when I play a video the speakers.
- I added a new plant on that day and two days prior, but even when the plants were added two days ago the frog behaved as it normally does. I'd also used that as an excuse to add more leaf litter.
I believe this behavior to be frog-specific as it's only happened to one of them and I've basically been observing these frogs all day since then.
1. What species ? How long have you had the frog(s) and where did you acquire them ?
Leucomelas "Fine Spot" that I've had for two weeks now. I got them from a local breeder
2. What are your temperatures (day and night - highs and lows) and how do you measure those temperatures? Does the vivarium have any supplemental heating, and if so, what type?
My frogs are kept at about 77f all day long because I use my AC. I measure it using a temp gun and an acurite thermometer/hygrometer. There is no supplemental heating.
3. What lighting is on the enclosure (brand, type, wattage) and does the lighting add heat to the vivarium?
Chihiros WRGB Slim II, turned on at 50% brightness. The amount of heat it adds should be minimal since I have a small fan blowing heat away from it.
4. What is the Humidity like (percentage or guesstimate)? What type of water are you using? What is your misting procedure (automated or hand mister, how long and how often)?
According to the Acurite, it's high 70s to low 80s. In terms of how fast the leaves of plants dry, approximately 1-2 hours after watering if I have my fans on through the entire process. I'm using RO water. I mist twice a day for 30 seconds each. Once half an hour after the lights come on (9:30) and once at 3:30. I mist by hand since I'm currently working from home.
5. Describe your tank/enclosure and its lid or top, and give details about the ventilation (how many vents, where are they positioned, how large are they).
It's an 24x18x24 ExoTerra with a cork bark mosaic background (with moss added) and gravel as substrate. There's a generous layer of leaf litter. There are two vents, one at the back top and the front vents provided by the tank. The back vent is about 3 inches. The vent no longer have fans over them. Instead I now have a top-side front vent that is maybe half a centimeter wide at most. The part of the vent directly above my Marcgravia is covered up to prevent water loss for it. I have a fan blowing air over the top of the back vents to promote airflow and get leaves to dry in a reasonable amount of time.
6. What kind of food are you providing, how much and are you dusting it? What superfine powdered supplements (brand and exact product name) are you using and are they fresh (i.e. how long has the container been open, and how is it stored)?
I feed it Melanogasters on a daily basis. I dust with Repashy Calcium + that has been stored in the fridge. The supplement is freshly opened after I witnessed the incident since I feared it was caused by some calcium deficiency. I've also started spot feeding the frog in question since then. But even before spot feeding I've always made sure that it got at least 5 flies if not more as per Ed's froglet's basal metabolic need calculations.
7. Any other animals in the enclosure currently or recently? Tankmates / other frogs ?
It's in there with 3 other frogs. All fine spots from the same breeder. Three of the frogs are 3-4 months OOW. One of the frogs is 7-8 months OOW and approximately twice the size as the three other frogs. Regarding the bigger frog, I have observed no obvious signs of aggression (wrestling). Sometimes what looks like intimidation may have occurred wherein the frogs stare each other down, but nothing ever comes out of it. They just hop away and go on their own separate ways. The frogs also come together to eat at the same spot just fine. Other than Dwarf whites, tropical spring tails, miscellaneous mites, small white worms (not nemertean), and fungus gnats, there are no organisms that I know of.
8. Any type of behavior you would consider 'odd' ?
This is detailed above
9. Have you handled or touched the frogs recently ? Any cleansers, paint, perfumes, bug sprays etc near the tank ?
I have never touched the frog. The only chemical I use near the tank is rubbing alcohol. The only contact I've ever had with my frogs is indirect. I'm currently covering up one of my more troublesome plants with some saran wrap and I have to re-cover it with every misting. The frogs sometimes comes in contact with it. But before touching the saran wrap I've always made sure that I wash my hands with soap and then thoroughly rinse off all soap residue before drying my hands (bone dry) with paper towels (one time use).
10. Take pictures of EVERYTHING -- the frogs, the enclosure, the vents. Take numerous pics of everything - that will be of great help.
Leaf litter an hour and a half after misting:
The leaf where things happened:
Vents
More images, slightly out of date, can be found here:
Dark Grey spot(s) on my Leucomelas
I intend to take my frog to the vet, but unfortunately life has lined up in such a way that I'll have to wait until the weekends so I'd like some opinions on what to do in the meantime. The issue: yesterday I noticed a greyish spot on the frog's back, near one of its two back humps (I'm not...
www.dendroboard.com
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
