I have an African bullfrog that is about two years old. I currently keep her in a large clear rubbermaid tub with lots of coco fiber and a water dish large enough for her to soak in. I'm wanting to redo the whole setup, probably in a much larger rubbermaid (because they are very cheap and effective when you have dozens of other creatures to care for). After reconsidering the frog's natural habitat I would like to attempt to make a "marshy" or boggy setup for the frog. I will list a few ideas below - any input would be much appreciated!
- More water than land, perhaps a muddy mix of both?
- Filtration. I have a few large aquarium canister filters that I could setup to filter the water. I was thinking of the possibility of having one large container (habitat) with small holes in the bottom, sitting in another large container filled with a few inches of water that could be circulated through the filter several times per hour. Obviously there would need to be something similar to a false bottom in place to keep the soil from moving entirely out of the main enclosure and into the water reservoir.
- Live grasses. I have grown lots of plants indoors and have much experience with growing under fluorescent lights. I'm assuming that pesticide free grasses such as "organic" wheat grass would be safe to have around the frog. This variety specifically grows several inches in a day and can make a nice overgrown marsh look that I would be going for.
- Substrate - do I need to use coco fiber or coco coir? Would a loose gravel and rock free soil work safely for the frog?
- Other live plants: I have lots of creeping fig. I have this in my pacman frog enclosure and it literally took over. It looks awesome. Having this creep up the side would help make the place look overgrown and even more awesome - what do you all think of a fast growing plant like that?
- Cleaning - if I could figure out the right substrate and one that is priced right I would be more than happy to completely clean out and re-scape once a month. I think with the supplementation of spot cleaning and strong water filter a once a month large scale cleaning would suffice...
I would just love to see my frog nestled in a little muddy puddle surrounded by lots of plant coverage - what do you guys think?
After a bit of thinking and going over ideas and complications of each, I'm leaning towards making my own ABG mix which would allow plant growth right into the soil. I could still make a proper drainage layer with the ability to siphon out excess water. Any thoughts on making this work for a big frog? This could allow for plant growth on the substrate as well as up and along the faux rock walls. Keeping the tub's lid on would keep things nice and humid (obviously the lid would be clear to allow light through and I would have ventilation in various areas).
Not exactly a good idea. Boggy is not good, unless you want a bacteria and much more explosion. Life plants? Hahaha.... Now imagine... 7-8" froggy on any plant... Imagining? Yeah, that's right, one of them has no chance.
Sorry, I'll be back with more detailed answer, what you want to do in not impossible, but really hard to do without sacrificing a heath of a frog, especially on a long run.
Save one animal and it doesn't change the world, but it surely changes the world for that one animal!
Lija,
thanks for the response. I've pretty much ruled out the boggy swamp conditions after much further thought. Really it should be either entirely water or only slightly moist soil not an inbetween. However, I like plants and I have a green thumb (I have a few planted aquariums) and salamander tanks. As far as the frog hulk smashing any plants, the plants will mainly be growing up the side of the wall with a few hardy ones in the corners.
What salamander species are you keeping?
Last time my kid (8") tried to get closer to the glass he killed his silk plant, killed completely, he kinda smashed it to the glass and sat on it lol you can put plants into hanging pots, smth like magniturals... Unless he thinks he is tree frog, plants should be fine. Im thinking may be pothos.
Save one animal and it doesn't change the world, but it surely changes the world for that one animal!
I have live plants but i have a large enclosure and feed my frog in a separate tub. He doesn't do much in his enclosure so the plant is still alive 😊 🐸
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