White's Tree Frog Care Sheet

The White's Tree Frog, aka Dumpy Tree Frog, makes a great frog for beginners if you are looking for a pet frog that can be handled on occasion. These frogs not only tolerate some handling, but will actually become accustomed to it. As with most frogs, their skin is rather delicate, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly prior to handling and again afterwards.

Though the White's Tree Frog can be inactive for long periods of time, perfectly content with sitting like a bump on a log so to speak, come feeding time, they can be quite amusing, when chasing their prey around their enclosure.

Housing Your White's Tree Frog

The White's Tree Frog typical adult size is between 4-5 inches so they do require a fairly large enclosure. They will do fine in a horizontal tank but would be much happier in a vertical tank, as they do love to climb. If you are planning on having only one frog, a ten gallon tank would be suitable, but consider a Fifteen Gallon Tall tank instead. This will give the frog the extra height for climbing, without taking up anymore space. Because of the size of these frogs, you should allow a minimum of 5 gallons of space per frog if housing multiple frogs.

Temperature and Lighting

The White's Tree Frog temperature should be 75-85 degrees, with 80 degrees being optimal for daytime, then allowing the temperature to drop to the mid 70's for nighttime. This will simulate a more natural environment. The simplest way to achieve this would be to place a Heat Mat on an exterior side of the tank or a low watt light bulb.

Many people will tell you these frogs do not require any special lighting but, it is my belief that all amphibians will benefit from UVB exposure. I would suggest using a low wattage UVB Bulb on a 12 hour cycle, meaning 12 hours on, 12 hours off. If you choose to use a UVB bulb, depending on the bulb you choose, you may be able to eliminate the need for a heat mat. Using a Timer is a good option for achieving the proper lighting cycle.

Substrate

When choosing a substrate for the enclosure, you should use a fine particle substrate such as, Fine Coconut Fiber or Fine Particle Soil. This will eliminate any impaction problems should the frog accidently ingest it when feeding. These frogs can get a bit aggressive when hunting their prey, so you want to give them a soft substrate to land on so, it's not a good idea to line the bottom of their enclosure with gravel or rocks of any kind.

Humidity and Water

Humidity should be kept no lower than 50%. This can be achieved my misting the enclosure a couple of times a day and supplying a shallow water dish. If the humidity drops too low, having a water dish in the enclosure will give the frogs a place to go if the humidity does drop. The water should be no deeper than the frogs shoulders and should be changed and the bowl cleaned daily. Only use spring water or de-chlorinated tap water using a product like Reptisafe.

Furnishing

The White's Tree Frog loves to climb so be sure to supply plenty of Logs and Plants. If you plan on using live plants, be sure they are sturdy enough to handle the weight of the frogs otherwise, they will not hold up and you will find yourself replacing them.

These frogs are fairly bold and should not require any actual hides. If they feel the need for some privacy, they would prefer to hide amongst the leaves of the plants. It's better to use the floor space for logs or Cork Rounds for climbing.

Diet

The main diet of the White's Tree Frog should consist of crickets and earth worms. To vary their diet, you can offer wax worms, super worms and meal worms occasionally. Young frogs should be fed every other day and adults 2-3 times per week. Only feed what the frog can eat in 10-15 minutes and remove any uneaten prey after that time frame. This will help keep the enclosure cleaner and you won't have to worry about the uneaten insects annoying your frog by crawling on it or biting it.

In Conclusion

In captivity, these frogs generally live 7-10 years, so be prepared for a long term commitment if you choose to bring one home as a pet. Remember to have all of your supplies before hand and set your enclosure up prior to bring home your frog. This will ensure you have your temperatures and humidity correct and it will help your frog adapt to its new environment for easily.