Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

[arielgasca420]

Hey everyone! I am in a very good mood because I will be purchasing a 40 gallon long terrarium soon and I want to turn it into a pyxie haven.
I have seen a lot of really cool designs on here with moss and driftwood. I do not think that moss would work for a pyxie since they like to bury themselves but I do plan on investing in some bormeliad, ferns, etc. So I just wanted to know if anyone had any links on how to get started with this project. I see a lot of large terrariums have clay balls on the bottom with mesh/screen across. If anyone has links on DIY or even pics & tips for inspiration I would gladly appreciate it. thanks for reading

[daltar08]

My Pyxie Frog Setup ( African Bullfrog ) - YouTube here is my 29 gallon

[arielgasca420]

HAHA he scared you pretty good. thanks for the video

[habeeb]

i heard its not good to use moss bc of impact reasons...not 100% on that but im pretty sure im correct...so i would stay away from moss and just use substrate

[arielgasca420]

I never said i was going to use moss

[habeeb]

I never said i was going to use moss

oops lol i just read the part bout u seeing lots of cool designs with moss and i thought u were thinking bout using that too lol

[Bruce]

This is an awesome build, I may try something like this when my guy is big enough

[arielgasca420]

This is an awesome build, I may try something like this when my guy is big enough

Thanks Bruce,
Its not a lavish background, but it beats spending the money on the cork bark or having a plain glass with wires showing through. I plan to put moss on the background to hide all the spots I missed with silicone. the silicone was such a hassle to use on the great stuff. I would suggest doing a double layer and use several sized paint brushes.

[morgan]

I would recommend very deep Eco earth. I would hate to see him dig his but down to the metal screen...ouch. I use filter cloth as my barrier. I personally don't use this method with my borrowers. Please let me/us know if this ever becomes an issue.

[arielgasca420]

the metal screen you can wipe your face on so I dont think he will have a problem with getting sores. its the kind of mesh top that is painted over. the eco earth is 5 inches deep. I am planning on putting another brick in there tonight but I ran out of eco earth yesterday. I may just use topsoil since I have a bag of it left over.

[arielgasca420]

Almost done. I put in all my plants; two types of croton, african violet, birds nest fern, tillandsia, and a regular fern (i bought it awhile ago)
now the only thing left is to make my moss milkshake, paint on and watch it grow into the background.

[arielgasca420]

Ok froggers, here is how to prepare a moss milkshake
#1 get beer. 12 oz

#2 1 cup of plain yogurt

#3 add moss. start with a handful

#4 blend until broken down and add more moss until you get it to look soupy

there is your paint moss.
I would suggest removing your background while you paint and watch grow. mist frequently to keep moist.
the contents of the yogurt and beer may be harmful to your frog until the moss is established, which is why i suggest taking your background out during this process. I will keep updates on the moss growing. It takes roughly 2 weeks

[arielgasca420]

I would recommend very deep Eco earth. I would hate to see him dig his but down to the metal screen...ouch. I use filter cloth as my barrier. I personally don't use this method with my borrowers. Please let me/us know if this ever becomes an issue.

so far my pyxi stays in his terra cotta pot and hasnt dug himself to the bottom of the metal mesh. I will be using cloth or tulle that has been recommended before. It turns out I will be needing the 10 gallon tank after all for a mantis I brought home and therefor will need the mesh lid i used in the pyxi tank :P
thanks for the good advice on the cloth morgan

[morgan]

Too bad your not closer, I could just give you a bunch of Kyoto moss. It grow in thick layers under all my bonsai trees.
You are using Pillow moss for your shake? That stuff will come right back to life with a good soaking....I wouldn't have mulched it imo. Look for Kyoto spores online; that's the stuff you want.

[arielgasca420]

Too bad your not closer, I could just give you a bunch of Kyoto moss. It grow in thick layers under all my bonsai trees.
You are using Pillow moss for your shake? That stuff will come right back to life with a good soaking....I wouldn't have mulched it imo. Look for Kyoto spores online; that's the stuff you want.

I did look for moss online and I am a little worried from online shopping. So many people get their identity stolen so I stay away as much as possible. I appreciate the suggestion though.
The only reason I wanted to do the milkshake is because I wanted the spores to take nicely on a large surface (17 inches high; 35 inches long). If I applied it the way it was than I wouldnt have much of the background to cover. plus I wanted to see if it would actually work so that I can start on some "green graffiti" on my backyard fence

[Timbo]

hey that moss shake can you do that with most any type of moss?

[deranged chipmunk]

Hey tim!! Long time man!! Yes, you can make a moss shake out of most mosses. It works especially well with aquatic ones.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[BrittsBugs]

Moss milkshake sounds super gross lol. But I would love to see the results. Tank setup looks very good. Gives me a few ideas on what I might do for my background setup for the waterfall tadpole tank. (Probably going to be the only tank with real plants)


-BrittsBugs
5 AUS White's
1 Hon Milk
1 SM Corn
1 BP
5 HC
1 CG
4 RB Newts
6 Betas
5 MHR

[Timbo]

Can you do it with stuff already in the tank? Or is there a safe way to do it while there are critters in the tank?


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[deranged chipmunk]

Yes, you can. Make your moss 'slushie' with distilled water. Blend it up, paint it wherever you like in the Viv and it will eventually take and grow.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela