Classification
Order: anura
Family: rhacophoridae
Genus: theloderma
Species: theloderma stellatum
Habitat
This species is native to the eastern Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They prefer subtropical and tropical moist forests, both lowland and mountain.
Outward appearance
It is a relatively small frog. Adult specimens reach the length of 3 – 3.5 cm.
Hind feet are webbed. All fingers and toes have sucking pads. The back is brown, with black and red-orange blotches. The hind part of the frog, the thighs and legs are light, almost white. The back is covered with numerous small tubercles, but the sides are smooth. The belly is grayish, with black blotches and numerous blue dots.
Character
In the wild it is a completely arboreal species. They eat any insects that fit into their mouth, but prefer soft-shelled ones, like crickets, cockroaches, spiders etc. Larger specimens eat pinky mice and birdlings as well as small amphibians.
Maintenance care
Chantaburi warted treefrogs need a vertical tank at least 30х30х60 cm in size. You should have a lot of real plants there, preferably lianas: philodendron and pothos. Logs, driftwood, pieces of bark, coconut shells are strongly recommended as hiding places.
The ambient temperature has to be between 18 degrees at night and 28 degrees at daytime. The air humidity has to be around 80%.
You can put on the bottom a plastic mat that is easy to wash. It doesn’t matter what to use for substrate, it mostly depends on the plants you have. But it is best if the upper layer is soft and absorbent. Sometimes frogs don’t bother to make nests and lay eggs straight on the substrate.
Adult frogs don’t need extra light. Young frogs are active during the day too, so they will need a UB lamp, e.g. Repti Glo 2.0.
Feeding
Chantaburi warted treefrogs are fed mainly with crickets of adequate size and with cockroaches. All the food has to be dusted with calcium and vitamin powder for amphibians and reptiles.
Diseases
This species is prone to infections. Epizootic outbreaks that lead to the extinction of colonies occur if housing conditions change abruptly or under improper husbandry (unclean water, high temperature etc.). One of the early symptoms that help to diagnose the disease is the cloudiness of conjunctiva.
Average life span is 5-6 years.
Breeding
Chantaburi warted treefrogs become sexually mature at the age of 6 - 8 months.
In the wild the mating season lasts from March to November. Females lay eggs on the walls of tree hollows above the water. Every clutch has 8-11 eggs. Hatchlings come out in 8 – 12 days.
