I would like to arrange a better habitat for my pacman frog. I'm planning on getting one of the front-opening terrariums, preferably 18"x24"x12", and adding more live plants to provide better cover. (I'm also considering an 18" height to allow for taller plants. I would have to upgrade heating and possibly lighting, perhaps substantially.) Since I'm still pretty new to amphibian care, I have a few questions.
Would isopods and/or springtails be a good addition? The plants will be in net pots, dead leaves will be removed promptly, and I plan to change out 1/3 to 1/2 of the ground coconut coir substrate every two weeks in addition to spot cleaning. I don't mind if they don't really have much of a purpose (I assume they're too small to be considered good food), but they sound incredibly nifty.
Is there a good list of easy to grow plants suitable for pacman enclosures somewhere? When I find suggested plants, they tend to vary a lot in terms of necessary care. I am able to grow Spathiphyllum wallisii, but don't have much luck with most plants. Other than this nearly indestructible "peace lily", I would really like something that will climb up the back.
Isopods and springtails would be a waste. they will live in the substrate that you are going to be changing bi-weekly, meaning you'll be getting rid of them as well.
Bullet proof plants that you can use are pothos, vining philodendrons, ficus pumilia(creeping fig) and a few others, but those should be a good start for your research
Plan accordingly for changing substrates as well, using plants in pots is a great idea, but if you have a pot in the substrate and the plant attaches and climbs the walls, you are going to be frustrated changing substrates around a pot you can't really move. Just food for thought on that one.
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
Good points, thanks. I was actually planning on putting the climbers in planters that attach to the walls (riparium planters, to be precise).
I will start looking up the plants you listed. I've learned my lesson about not just buying pretty plants after killing selaginella off twice now!
The riparium planters are cool. But bottomless, and most plants are going to want to keep some moisture in their pots. The riparium planters are designed to allow the roots to grow down into the water. You getting them from Devin at riparium supply?
Selaginella can be a tricky plant to grow. Most people try to grow it like a moss, not realizing it's a fern. I keep a species that is mostly epiphytic that is near impossible to kill lol
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
The planters do have bottoms, with narrow slits to allow drainage. I bought a bunch from Riparium Supply and have begun giving them away since I kept growing fuzzy white mold (water level was much too high). I thought I'd try to use at least a few of them.
I found both pothos and philodendron available at NE Herp, stamped as difficult to kill, so I'll probably start there. Perhaps instead of a proper vining plant, I'll see if I can convince some of the moss they sell to attach to the background. This way, it won't be something I'll want to remove for cleaning, it won't be in an area where froggy can eat it by accident, and if it all dies off, I'll still have something covering the back. Always have a backup plan, I say.
This is pretty exciting. Thanks again for all the input.
No problem. Devin has great stuff. A good majority of plants in my steampunk tank came from riparium supply.
Keep us updated on your progress. And for what it's worth, you can get pothos or philos from most big box stores. No need to order them from ne herp.
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
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