Mossy frog died...

[Rangers2]

I recently purchased a mossy tree frog at reptile show. It lasted about 2 weeks, was eating small crickets and sadly found it floating in water area today.

I set up a 12x12x18 terrarium 3 months ago, I tried to make it bioactive by adding pothos, lucky bamboo, and another tropical plant(think dracaena), I added pill bugs also.

I had land(ecoearth) and had the hydroballs as drainage, a reptifilter pumped up water which flowed into a small water dish 4x3 inch by almost 2 inch deep. This was tilted slightly to overflow into gravel to flow to drainage layer and keep water moving.

Humidity was around 80% and air temp ranged from 70 to 76.

Did I do anything wrong, or did I get unlucky? Maybe a sick frog..he was eating though.

Any other types of frog I can put in there that's easier? Red eye, or maybe a dumpy..
Thanks

 

[elena]

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong, unless you forgot to dechlorinate the water. You didn't mention that, but I assume if you did enough research to set it up properly, you wouldn't fall down on that. Red-Eyes can be delicate, definitely important to get captive bred animals, the older the better. Dumpy/White's tree frogs are pretty much bullet proof. Although many WC dumpies adjust well to captivity, I still recommend purchasing captive bred frogs. One change you will have to make to your set-up for either of these tree frogs is 6-8 degree increase in temperature during the day. Appropriate daytime temperatures for a dumpy is 76-85, never exceeding 89. A nighttime temperature drop is appropriate, but don't let it go below 65.

I recommend Josh's Frogs as a source for either of these tree frog species and for a new mossy frog if you decide to try again. I've gotten a lot of great tree frogs from them of a variety of species, and all of their frogs are captive bred. Here is a link:

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/animals-for-sale/tree-frogs.html

 

[Socratic Monologue]

I'm not sure that size viv is appropriate for either of the two alternate species you're considering. It doesn't sound ideal for the mossy frog either, not that the viv size was directly implicated in your frog's death.

Vivs that are on the way small end of an animals' range are challenging to set up right to give a range of humidity and heat options for the inhabitants.

 

[Rangers2]

The guy at expo said it would work for 1 single frog or crested gecko which is why I set it up. Temp and humidity were stable , I wrote down morning and evening temps and humidity levels for weeks to make sure they were stable.

 

[Rangers2]

Yes I did dechlorinate thenwater, and I misted with distilled water, thanks for adding that.
And yes I will only buy captive bred frogs, I'm not trying to take wild animals from their habitat. I am leaning towards a dumpy frog because they are pretty hardy, this is actually my 6byear old daughters terrarium, I felt terrible for her because I made her wait a month to set up tank and explain the importance of having a habitat mimic their own. And then it died, yikes!
Side note, we went to expo, I would have bet money that she would have chosen a red eyed tree frog or darts because of colors, but no she chooses a mossy, haa.

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong, unless you forgot to dechlorinate the water. You didn't mention that, but I assume if you did enough research to set it up properly, you wouldn't fall down on that. Red-Eyes can be delicate, definitely important to get captive bred animals, the older the better. Dumpy/White's tree frogs are pretty much bullet proof. Although many WC dumpies adjust well to captivity, I still recommend purchasing captive bred frogs. One change you will have to make to your set-up for either of these tree frogs is 6-8 degree increase in temperature during the day. Appropriate daytime temperatures for a dumpy is 76-85, never exceeding 89. A nighttime temperature drop is appropriate, but don't let it go below 65.

I recommend Josh's Frogs as a source for either of these tree frog species and for a new mossy frog if you decide to try again. I've gotten a lot of great tree frogs from them of a variety of species, and all of their frogs are captive bred. Here is a link:

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/animals-for-sale/tree-frogs.html

 

[Socratic Monologue]

Dale, "the guy at the expo" (someone trying to sell an animal, I'm guessing) gave you information that contradicts every care sheet I found in a quick web search. (That size viv is marginal for a crested gecko, too.)

I don't know what the 'bioactive' people are doing these days (I keep darts, but dart keepers try to stay off bandwagons), but recycling drainage water in a viv isn't a great idea (the drainage water is wastewater). If I were you, I'd consider rethinking the design of your viv. Since you can't rule out whether your frog died from a pathogen, I'd be very hesitant to simply jam another frog in there, anyway.

You'll have infinitely better results by researching a species, and then setting up an enclosure tailored to the needs of that particular species. A dart frog enclosure is nothing at all like a white's tree frog enclosure, for example, and showing up to an expo and buying whatever catches your eye there (choosing on the basis of color isn't at all a good way to choose a captive) isn't a recipe for success.

Good luck! Frogs are interesting captives.

 

[Rangers2]

I did not show up for a color that catches my eye, as I stated earlier I had the tank setup for almost a month to make sure plants were growing and to monitor temp and humidity. I do agree the guy was selling me a frog to move inventory but I spoke with him about parameters for this particular frog and they matched my setup.
I would have not bought darts because I know they are more work and indont feel like breeding fruit flies.
I also read and understand the water part, I was adding new water (dechlorinated) every week. So yes I am also good at using the google machine, haha.

Side note, I have a 36x18x24 terrarium that is running perfectly with blue dumpys or whites, whatever u want to call them. I was given this smaller enclosure and wanted to use it to teach my child how to care for a small animal.

Side side note, I have a 150g African cichlid aquarium and smaller grow out tanks in my house. I have been a private breeder for over 15 years, I care for the animals first. I am new to this forum, but I dont want to come off as a newbie to keeping animals.
Thanks again for all the info guys.

Dale, "the guy at the expo" (someone trying to sell an animal, I'm guessing) gave you information that contradicts every care sheet I found in a quick web search. (That size viv is marginal for a crested gecko, too.)

I don't know what the 'bioactive' people are doing these days (I keep darts, but dart keepers try to stay off bandwagons), but recycling drainage water in a viv isn't a great idea (the drainage water is wastewater). If I were you, I'd consider rethinking the design of your viv. Since you can't rule out whether your frog died from a pathogen, I'd be very hesitant to simply jam another frog in there, anyway.

You'll have infinitely better results by researching a species, and then setting up an enclosure tailored to the needs of that particular species. A dart frog enclosure is nothing at all like a white's tree frog enclosure, for example, and showing up to an expo and buying whatever catches your eye there (choosing on the basis of color isn't at all a good way to choose a captive) isn't a recipe for success.

Good luck! Frogs are interesting captives.