BigBossPants Posted November 5, 2010 Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 What is available (legally) in the way of frogs in nz? I want a skink but cant afford one, so am settling for frogs lol. The green/gold bells dont really do anything for me, what else is available? What kind of space do they require and do they need heating or uv lighting? Also, can frogs in general be conditioned to accept prepared food or do they all require live foods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted November 5, 2010 Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 southern bell,golden bell and whistling tree frogs are about it,not counting the albino bells which are a nice yellow colour.they have to have live food as a rule but you maybe able to get them to accept something moving on the end of a stick etc?no heating required in fact cooling maybe more of an issue in summer indoors?A 3ft or 4ft tank would do for one or two,uv is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 The albino ones sound cool, any idea where to get them? The enclosure I am looking at is about a 2ft cube, too small for 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted November 5, 2010 Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 The albino ones sound cool, any idea where to get them? Do you have a spare couple of hundred dollars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 Aww! Looks like its gonna have to be the bells. Maybe I should suck it up and get a blue tongue after all lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilenutt Posted November 5, 2010 Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 there is nothing wrong with a blue tongue and they are not that expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2010 Its more the cost of heating and lighting that is prohibitive for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 a 100w basking bulb on for24 hours a day will cost only about 4 dollars a week. thats 24 hours. blue tongues even bearded dragons will only need 8 to 12 hours of heat a day, summer, probbly less. invst in a thermostat and get a ceramic emiter, you will get return on investment with in 12 months in terms of power saving. a small reptile bulb will cost only 2 dollars a week to run if its on 10 hours a day. the cost of running a reptile tank is cheap. in fact, reptiles are cheaper to keep than fish. except maybe turtles - they need heated water, even then, its on ly 22 to 25 degrees of water turtles need. i think you are overestimating the cost of reptile keeping, i reckon go for it, you will enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 Oh wow thanks henward thats less than I thought. Might have to investigate further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 Live food can be expensive for keeping lizards but not so bad if you breed your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 bt is good, veges, dog food, snails, slugs. cheap and free. beardies need live insects, but mealworms are good to breed, crix and locusts too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 IIRC henward is the man to talk to about exotic frogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativelover Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 thats the cost for once it is setup but how much does it ruthly cost to setup? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason22 Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 thats the cost for once it is setup but how much does it ruthly cost to setup? thanks it depends no what insect you want mealworms are cheep as to set up all you need is a few plastic bins. locusts and crix need some sort of heating so they are abit more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 Is it possible to breed flies? For frogs, not lizards... I have mealworms already so thats a bonus Im torn between the bluey and beardie, they are so neat in different ways! The perils of dating a reptile nut I suppose lol. Still think I might keep frogs as well, if I cant get exotic ones I think Id like whistling trees, mainly because they climb... What kind of cost is involved in setting up a reptile enclosure? I work full time and have cats if that makes a difference to the enclosure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 19, 2010 Report Share Posted November 19, 2010 All the available frogs in NZ are ausies and Litoria (tree frogs) even the albinos. They are not true aquatics and only need a little water until they decide to breed. You can buy (and I use) fly traps off trademe. You can also breed flies but I get enough to feed twenty odd frogs from a trap. Others may have had more luck but I have lost a couple of frogs from impaction when feeding mealworms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason22 Posted November 20, 2010 Report Share Posted November 20, 2010 i find mealworms are very time consuming to feed to frog as you have to hand feed them and there is alway a few frogs that will not accept food frog a large tooth pic. i would recommend a fly trap, you will catch heaps more than you will ever need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBossPants Posted November 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2010 Fly traps sound like the best option then, how about over winter? Are there enough flies around? Or do most people feed cultured insects during this time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 20, 2010 Report Share Posted November 20, 2010 If you organise it right your frogs are brumating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted November 21, 2010 Report Share Posted November 21, 2010 mealworms arnt great feeders overall, but are readily available and cheapish. Ive done reasonably extensive tests on frogs and they seem to cope fine on them. just feed before 2pm so the herp has time to digest them before sundown, and make sure ample daytime temps. i find it best to feed crickets and locusts as the staple, flies and mealworms 2/3times a week. given live food in nz is expensive, best to breed your own crickets and locusts if you have the time and patience. mealworms i buy in along with flies as theyre cheapish so i dont see the need to breed them. + flies breeding/traps can be smelly, mealworms (more so the bran) can trigger allergies like hayfever if your prone to that sort of thing.. i find mealworms are very time consuming to feed to frog as you have to hand feed them and there is alway a few frogs that will not accept food frog a large tooth pic. no need to hand feed, just chuck them in (not in the water obviously) or in a bowl that the mealworms cant climb out of. i have glued the above plastic bowl to an ice cream container lid in the past so they dont tip it over, thats the flash version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason22 Posted November 21, 2010 Report Share Posted November 21, 2010 yer i tried that it worked for a few frogs but some wouldn't go into the bowl, i guess if i tried for longer they would get used to it but i started breeding locusts so didn't bother. still i am quite new to frog keeping so am still learning. the fly traps are good if you can place it a way from the house. i found that easiest way to get the flies out of the trap is to put the whole thing inside of a plastic bag (excluding the rotting meal) and then into the freezer for a few minutes and all the flies will go to sleep. then you just need to tip them into a jar and place in the enclosure. within a few minutes the enclosure will be buzzing with a lot of very annoyed flies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted November 21, 2010 Report Share Posted November 21, 2010 they should find them, the mealworms dont move alot but if the frogs are hungry they will cotton on sooner or later. that above frog in pic hadnt seen a mealworm until a couple of days ago, i just left that bowl in there and sure enough theyre just about all gone today. Theyve had some crickets in between time to. good idea re flies. i see the guy selling them has a pic of the whole trap collapsed in the frog tank. Not a bad idea either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason22 Posted November 21, 2010 Report Share Posted November 21, 2010 yer at first i put the whole trap in the enclosure but after a few day the trap is covered in flay poo and stinks of rotting meat so i didn't want the frogs jumping all over it, can't be healthy. and with chilled flies you can put the right amount in with out heeps dieing in the water. but i have not used it this spring, just been using locusts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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