Baby tomato frog behavior

[tomatogirl]

The tank only has one 21" plain old fluorescent on it for 12H/d. The water can get below 70F with the heat pad off. The frog stays in the area underneath the incandescent, but that may be because it's got more plants for cover than the "water" side. I work from home today, about 6 feet from the tank, so I just turned off both sources of heat and will keep an eye on the temp/humidity and see what happens. Thanks for your help! The frog seems to be doing fine for now, for what it's worth.

[tomatogirl]

Thanks for all the info. I replaced the heat pad with a smaller one after just unplugging the old heat pad and seeing the temp get in the 60'sF. Now it's about 70-72 most of the time in the water, between 72-76 in the air. Still don't have the temp dip thing mastered just yet (it was 12F this morning, so I decided maybe it's not the right time to start playing with it, being it's close enough to an outside wall to worry me). Will it hurt him not to have the 7-10 degree dip long term?

All in all, he seems great. I can't find information anywhere on how fast these little buggers grow, but I can tell mine is bigger since I got him 10 days ago. His belly is starting to turn white and he has spots on his throat that I think are normal given what I've read about him. He's now about as big around as a GBP 50p coin (smaller than silver dollar, larger than a quarter). No idea when he'll get more red than yellow-orange-brown. Very shy mostly, but a pretty voracious appetite. Been looking at pics and descriptions of the two species available in the pet trade and I think he's a D. guineti and not a D. insularis but this is a guess.

How often should I rinse off the moss he chills in? I went and spot checked for some poop on Friday, but I imagine he does a lot of his business burrowed and hidden. He hangs in the same places mostly, so I was thinking this weekend I'd take off the top layer of coco fiber and moss from his favorite spots and rinse it out really well or replace it. Suggestions?

I don't mean to be high-maintenance-- I don't have any herpy friends and pet stores, IME, always underrepresent the maintenance of the critters they sell so people will take them home. (Much to the detriment of the critter, in many cases.) Thanks for all your help and patience.

[cvaughan]

Hello everyone! I am new here, but stumbled upon your thread while looking for some info on my baby tomato!! I was so excited to see someone as concerned as I was!

I have a few questions, but I'll start with the habitat. My tomato (named Roma) was an impluse buy at a reptile show this past weekend so we bought one of those smallish plastic containers with the brightly colored lid so that we could get the little guy home. We will not be able to get ahold of a larger tank for about a week (15 gal.) and I am worried that he will be miserable in the container he's in now. He has a a log to hide under, a water dish and that "Bed a Beast" stuff, which is kind of a dirt and peat moss mixture.

He has also gotten so fat!!! I keep reading about impaction, but I'm not sure if he's just eating too much or what.

If anyone has any advice for a new tomato owner, let me know please!! Thank you!