Green Tree Frogs

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Working at the hospital I’ve come across a lot of lost pets and wildlife, this one afternoon this little creature came in that I'd never seen in clinic before. A frog!
 

He was found in a toilet bowl in a city office. Now I know that our area is not the place these little guys are just hanging around, unlike tropical Queensland. He was bought in, in pretty good condition in a moist plastic container. I thought well let’s take this little one home and get him set up.

About Green Tree frogs
The Green tree frog is one of the largest frogs found in Australia growing up to 10cms long. They come in a variety of green shades, from Olive yellow to lime green. A white or pale-yellow line also runs from the jaw to the groin and the abdominal is white or yellow. The toe pads are large for their relative size.

Where are they found?
The Green Tree Frog is one of the most widespread Australian frogs. It lives in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.

They like tropical conditions and after rain, the Tree frog will emerge. You may find them in your house, your water tank, your drainpipe, toilet, pool or even a mailbox trying to find a moist cool place.

Fun facts

• Green tree frogs love downpipes and tanks during the mating season in spring and summer. These locations act like microphones to increase the volume of their low croak to attract a partner. They can live for 16 years.
• Green Tree Frogs are excellent night hunting predators.
• My little guy loves his evening meal generally feeding them 3 to 4 times a week.
• His favourites are crickets and mill worms.

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We have a terrarium all set up for him. Height is important as they like to climb up rather than having a long tank. He has a shallow water bowl/bath as frogs actually don't like to swim in the evenings and instead he sits over his water on his stick. I’ve placed proper terrarium plants in the tank to help with oxygen and moisture. There is a separate food bowl mostly for the Mill worms so he doesn’t just lose them in the substrate. As far as flooring goes that was a bit of a trial at first. He had fake grass in the bottom that was ok but hard to clean. Then I used pet litter like recycled paper but that was too absorbent and stuck to him, and it didn’t smell great. So, I’ve now placed small aquarium rocks, hoping these are easy to clean.

Lastly, I purchased a humidifier to help keep a humid environment as it is important that they don’t dry out. So far, he seems to be a happy little frog.

Written by Leanne Bowen, Head Nurse.