# 18 day vacation, will i need a frog sitter?



## shibbyplustax (Feb 28, 2011)

Ok so im going to costa rica the 28th of december for 18 days and im wondering if my frogs can last that long on their own. 

I am experimenting with in tank cultures with a small hole so flies escape gradually. I am waiting for a boom before i put them in the tank and see how long they will last. Also all my tanks are seeded with springs and isos and all hooked up to a mistking for automated misting.

I have clay substrate in 2 of my tanks but the other 2 do not so i am unsure of how these flies will get dusted with calcium/vitamins. 

My plan is to have my girlfriend's sister stop by and feed them but she is unreliable so i dont plan on her being there everyday. I figured i would try to treat this as if no one would be caring for them at all.
Think it could be done?
any suggestions?



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## mrzoggs (May 27, 2012)

maybe another frogger in your area?


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## BR5 (Dec 7, 2009)

I agree with zoggs; if I'm gone over 4 days I hire someone to stay at my house and frog sit. I do have a complete mistking system and all that but I can't control power outages, culture crashes etc. I wouldn't be able to enjoy my time off worrying about my frogs. Find a fellow frogger to stop by every 4-5 days to make sure everythings okay.

Brian


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## Ripley71 (May 14, 2011)

I was gone for about 18 days in the summer & left my frogs w/ an unexperienced frog sitter. I did not have a mistking set up at the time & had just bloomed fruit fries in each tank. I told my sitter to come in every other day to mist, but I'm not sure if they did or not. I was kinda worried but they all were alive when I returned. They were without supplements for that time but they were definately fed. The cultures still had a few flies but not much. 

That was my experience, but it seems like you have a better setup w/ the mistking. They were alive but would probably do it differently next time.


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## mrzoggs (May 27, 2012)

Im sure there are people on DB that wouldnt mind stopping by and checking over your frogs. I know people that have baby sat others frogs in my area. I have friends on here that I wouldnt mind checking up on their frogs for them. Maybe try in the New York section of the forum. Northeast? i guess. I always see a lot of froggers from new york posting on here. Good luck


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I don't have experience with mistking systems, but, is there cause for concern if the mistking malfunctions while you are gone? Is there a finite resevoir of water and, if it runs dry, can be hazardous; over heating, fire hazard? I dunno, just wondering. 

IMO, you should have someone stop by every few days to check on them and the tanks. Hopefully, even an unreliable person would be able to do that a few times while you're gone. 

Another option is to move your frogs to someone's house, temporarily. My house is filled with other peoples frogs, atm.


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## bobrez (Sep 10, 2011)

Found a good trick for flies, put coffee filters in your culture let them fill with 
maggots and put filter in w/frogs 
Last a good 10 days


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## bobrez (Sep 10, 2011)

frogface said:


> I don't have experience with mistking systems, but, is there cause for concern if the mistking malfunctions while you are gone? Is there a finite resevoir of water and, if it runs dry, can be hazardous; over heating, fire hazard? I dunno, just wondering.
> 
> IMO, you should have someone stop by every few days to check on them and the tanks. Hopefully, even an unreliable person would be able to do that a few times while you're gone.
> 
> Another option is to move your frogs to someone's house, temporarily. My house is filled with other peoples frogs, atm.


Agreed, you could put emm all in vented shoeboxes. and get emm somewhere to get cared for

18 days = BAD


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

I've gone out of town for a week before without anyone to stop by and take care of my frogs. It was fine. My campana auratus may have done better without me there (very shy frogs) as there were eggs when I returned. There is sufficient microfauna in all my vivs and they all were fed heavily and watered heavily before I left. That would be the longest I would go though. I know a few froggers now in the area that I would trust to take care of my frogs while I'm gone so its not as much an issue.


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## Steve88W (Jan 21, 2011)

I took a three week vacation last summer without a hitch.

1. Make sure you can depend on someone to at least check on your frogs 3 times a week and teach them how to respond to feedings, making cultures, emergencies, etc.

2. I made small cultures 10 days prior to leaving in cups like this







(they lasted a long time) I poked holes big enough for flies to escape but keep the frogs out.

3. I have a small amount of ventilation just to make sure cultures don't gas the frogs

4. Have a trusted back-up friend check on your frog sitter's efforts.

Two months before I left, I upped the feeding a bit to fatten them up and slowly misted less until once per 2 days. It worked for me but I only had 8 tanks to worry about. I suspect that you can get away with a once-a-week frog sitter visit if you're using in-tank cultures but I would be worried about a full 18 days.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

That mini-culture idea is brilliant! I'm going to make some just because.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Steve88W said:


> I took a three week vacation last summer without a hitch.
> 
> 1. Make sure you can depend on someone to at least check on your frogs 3 times a week and teach them how to respond to feedings, making cultures, emergencies, etc.
> 
> ...


How many flies did you start with? And was there enough surface area for the maggots to pupate into flies?


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## shibbyplustax (Feb 28, 2011)

Yes i had a very similar idea, i am currently experimenting using the tadpole rearing cups to make small cultures to put in the tank while im away. 

I am not sure i would feel comfortable having someone i dont really know come and take care of them as it is my parents house and would never hear the end of it if something happened. If it was someone i atleast hung out with a few times before maybe id feel comfortable but i have found 0 frogger friends on long island.

My girlfriends sister should definitely be able to stop by atleast twice a week i just woulnt trust her to come everyday to feed. I figured she could check once every couple of days and feed with calcium and vitamin supplements but if a few days go by the in tank cultures should do their job. Another thing to worry about would be over feeding if i have a culture in the tank and someone feeding but i will try and go over that with them.

My misting system has no way over overheating even when dry. i tested it and with my schedule the water resevoir lasts about 3 weeks before needing to be refilled. Each tank is drilled for drainage so if the timer failed the tanks would not fill up.

Its good to hear other peoples experiences, it is making me feel less anxious about it. Overall i think i have a good plan together but i will do some more testing to be sure.

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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I wouldn't even think twice about leaving them for two weeks.... I would just ask that the tank for the misting container be filled and the waste water tank be disinfected (or simply swapped out and I'd deal with it when I got home) and dumped. I doubt I'd even be concerned about 18 days for most frogs (particularly if they are in well seeded tanks). I find fruit flies as much as 5-7 days later still in the tanks if I stir up the leaf litter.... 

Some comments 


Ed


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## Steve88W (Jan 21, 2011)

varanoid said:


> How many flies did you start with? And was there enough surface area for the maggots to pupate into flies?


Sorry for the late response...
I started with maybe 20 flies and left enough of a hole to allow the maggots and flies to escape. (think hole punch size near the edge) I tilted the culture so that it would encourage the bugs out a certain direction but I doubt it really did much. I found that the flies left a lot of eggs quickly and several stayed in the culture to stay close to their food source. I have no idea if any flies were actually produced but the maggot growth was excellent.

Moisture was the real concern but my frog sitter was pretty mist happy.
(almost flooded my tanks....)


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