New habitat for my toad :D

[pj1298]

hey everyone
so i caught a american toad a few months ago and have been keeping him in a critter keeper cage for a while then upgraded him to a 6 gallon and now i got a new ten gallon for his final move. i haven't seen the tank yet because my mom got it for me yesterday and right now im at my dads and wont be going back home till tommorow. she said that she got it at the thrift store so i dont know if it came with anything else. so tommorow i will be setting it up. i just went to petsmart and got a bag of this Zoo Med™ Eco Earth® Loose Coconut Fiber Substrate - Reptile - Sale Category - PetSmart . on the front it says something about hydroballs that go under the coconut fiber Zoo Med HydroBalls Expanded Clay Terrarium Substrate - Sand - Substrate & Bedding - PetSmart . so do i get those and put them under it? i also want a pond type thing in their for him so how do i make that? something saying how to do that will be really helpful and also what type of screen mesh do i use? and if i bend the mesh and leave the open area for the pond how do i cover the mesh so the toad doesnt scratch himself? any tips on making the tank and a water fall and pond will be awesome

[John]

You don't need hydroballs unless you want a drainage layer. Do a search on here for "false bottom" or read Kurt's Red Eyed Tree Frog care article for an in-depth description of how that works.

As for a pond, if you use a drainage layer you can build a pond into that, but it's probably just easier to provide a water bowl. The toad won't use it much though.

The mesh you would use is the fiberglass window screen you can buy in rolls at the hardware store. It's soft - not abrasive. You usually put substrate on it.