Gauge for frog obesity?

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knifegill

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
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My treefrog is looking pretty wide and I'm wondering about amphibian obesity. How fat is too fat and how long do treefrogs actually live on average, anyway?
 
Is this a White Tree Frog, I hear they can get very plump. My African Clawed Frog female has been very plump for 4 years now, so far no problem. I've heard they can live 10+ years easily, mine is 5+ years old.
 
cuban tree frogs are extremely fat considering they are a tree frog species. what are you feeding this beast?
 
I feed it one or two crickets every day, occasionally dusting one with a homemade calcium, D3 powder. I've asked several people about the risks of such a boring diet, but the answer always comes back, "Just crickets. That's all." Mealworms are too fatty and I'm afraid of the pesticides outdoors. The species of frog I have is common in the Pacific northwest, and is known for its Chorus-like ribbit. That's all I can tell you. He's less than a year old and I raised him from a tadpole (before I knew what species he was). He's about as thick as my thumb and probably an inch and a half long. Thick legs on him, too. Anyway, if it's okay for my frog to be fat, I won't worry about it. Any resources I could look at?
 
I dont think the fat is a major issue. I mean you might lose 2-3 years if it was skinnier, but Id rather have mine a little big then just normal. I see it as if they get sick and dont eat for awhile they wont die in days if they have some meat on them. I also dont think theres any studies on obesity on frogs so its all heresay really.
 
packer43064;3445916; said:
Is this a White Tree Frog, I hear they can get very plump. My African Clawed Frog female has been very plump for 4 years now, so far no problem. I've heard they can live 10+ years easily, mine is 5+ years old.


Is yours the dwarf type or the bigger type?.

The bigger type gets huge. I had no idea they got that big till saw some recently. Impressively big they get.
 
swede;3445921; said:
cuban tree frogs are extremely fat considering they are a tree frog species. what are you feeding this beast?

I am surprised that CTF can even survive in the wild much less thrive and expand their areas.

The adult females as you know are like Sumo wrestlers . They are built like large fat baseballs and as slow as snails. I can't fathom them catching anything .

You can easily catch them by hand and at night bats pick them off the walls yet the species thrives.
 
knifegill;3445754; said:
My treefrog is looking pretty wide and I'm wondering about amphibian obesity. How fat is too fat and how long do treefrogs actually live on average, anyway?


Can you post a pic?
 
Louie;3446721; said:
I am surprised that CTF can even survive in the wild much less thrive and expand their areas.

The adult females as you know are like Sumo wrestlers . They are built like large fat baseballs and as slow as snails. I can't fathom them catching anything .

You can easily catch them by hand and at night bats pick them off the walls yet the species thrives.
i know. some of them looks like pacman frogs that i have seen! they seem like sloths of the frog world but i guess they do alright since they are actually destroying the native frog species...... but back to the original question asked..... i can't give you much insight into diet for your frog, however i would assume as with any captive kept amphibians, it is a good idea to give variety to them. in the wild, they have variety in their diet (crickets, worms, different insects) so one would assume it would make them healthier if you switch it up a bit
 
My african clawed frogs are supposed to get big, but its been five years and they are only 2 inches. Getting back to the subject, if you feed it to much fatty foods it will eventually get cloudy eyes. I had a fire bellied toad that got cloudy eyes from eating all crickets and mealworms. He was like a little ping pong ball because he ate so much and was so fat. I had to feed him by hand after he whent blind. He lived for like 2 years after going blind.
 
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