# Reed Frog Care



## j0onahra3 (Sep 15, 2012)

Hello, everyone!

I know this is a dart frog forum, but I just wanted to see if anybody knew any specifics on reed frog care.
I just got some lime jello reed frogs from LLLreptile, and I'm sure they're a hyperolius species, but they don't really know for sure what subspecies they are.
A lot of people have been saying they're most likely argus reed frogs.

I'm pretty new to frogs, and I heard reed frogs were easy to keep.
I have these guys in a 10 gallon tank, and it looks like 1 of them likes to jump around, explore, and hunt for food right when it turns midnight.
But the other two keep sleeping.
So I'm not sure if it's because my room lights are on that they think it's still sometime in the afternoon?
I haven't seen them catch any crickets, and this morning, I found two of them dead, but uneaten.
Later tonight, I noticed one catch two pinheads but spit them back out.
I'm guessing they don't like the taste of the multivitamins and calcium supplements I dust on the crickets.

Basically, I'm wondering the general frequency of how often I should be dusting my crickets.
Should I dust them every time I feed them?
How often should I be feeding my frogs?
Is everyday too often?
I have a very small reed frog in this tank, and how big is too big of a cricket to feed it?
They seem to just chomp on the crickets, but never swallow them.
I'm also hearing mixed comments on them needing a UVB light to bask.
Is it an absolute necessity, or can they live without it?
Will a normal compact lightbulb produce enough heat for them to bask?

And this may be a dumb question, but can large crickets do damage to these frogs?

I'm sorry if these are so many questions.
I've read all the general basic cares for dart frogs on here, but I do think reed frogs are different.
Just wondering if there's any difference in care between the two.
If I need to be clear on certain things, do let me know.
Thanks!


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## Tzunu'un (Apr 15, 2014)

(This thread should probably have been in "other amphibians" and likely will get moved.)


I don't keep these but keep Starry Night reed frogs (Heterixalus alboguttatus).
All reed frogs are kept pretty similarly.

They could be juvenile argus (which are green) but they could be other species as well.



I guess you learned the hard way to really read,research, ask questions, and prepare before the frog purchase.

But let's get you on track and cover a few questions.

These are wild caught frogs, I would assume. 


Have you had them tested for parasites and chytrid? 

How long have you had them?

Did you have them in a small quarantine set up to make sure they are doing well and eating before they went into the larger viv

What are the conditions in the viv, viv design (and size) (temps/humidity, etc.) that you are keeping them in?

How large are the crickets you are feeding?.....I would go max at around 1/4" crickets...depends on how large the frogs are (so pinheads would be ok as well (smaller)).....Drosophila hydei will also be good.
Feeding 3x a week would be OK...but don't overfeed (see below).
They may go after the hydei if they aren't so interested in the crickets.
Too large of crickets or too many feeder insects can cause stress /harm.

What are you dusting with?
Perhaps it may be good to see if you can first get them eating without dusting if that seems to be a problem....at leasty it will confirm.
Once you see them eating then dusting can be resumed.


I don't use UVB on mine and they do fine, so it's probably not the cause for your problems. Basking spots can be created by having spots near the top of the viv that they can get closer to the lights. Lack of basking won't cause them to perish.

Lights should be 5000-6700K to mimic daylight.
here's a link with some good info:
New England Herpetoculture LLC - Vivarium Lighting 101

As far as lighting..they like it dark at night to be active and feel secure enough to come out....especially if they are already stressed from a new set up.
You could try covering up the viv with brown paper or keeping the lights low/off at night to get them to adjust.


I would check out some of the info on Josh's Frogs website and others on reed frog viv set up and care as it will be similar.
here are a few links:
Amphibian Care >> Reed Frog (Afrixalus, Heterixalus, and Hyperolius species)
http://www.amphibiancare.com/frogs/...olidae_reed_frog_captive_care_Edmonds2009.pdf
Tree Frog Care Archives - Josh's Frogs How-To Guides for Reptiles & Amphibians
Breeding Blue-back Reed Frogs

Have you contacted LLL to find out how they were caring for them , etc. ?
and to share your experiences with them?


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## j0onahra3 (Sep 15, 2012)

Replied on frog forums.


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