Complete newbie question: changing the paper towels

[Shanny]

I had moss in my old terrarium. Just make sure you get a kind that's not long and stringy because if they accidentally swallow it they can become impacted. I now have Eco earth with a small amount of moss lining the river going through my terrarium.

When I had all moss in my old set up I had to take it out periodically and either completely replace it or rinse it really well. I'm starting to find that the way I have it now works much better for me as far as upkeep and all. I do like the way moss smells in the terrarium though, it's got a fresh smell to it. I use 'frog moss' which I get from petco, it comes in a small box. Also the flunkers brand moss looks to be very similar to the frog moss and I've heard good stuff about that.

Idk if you can tell but here is a pic of when I first setup my current terrarium..




I have since added bamboo sticks horizontally across my tank with a fake vine of leaves I got from a craft store wrapped around the bamboo to my tank, which I have yet to take a pic of. The way I have it now may not look as nice to the human eye, but my frogs love it and now they've got so much more vertical space to climb rather than just climbing the glass. I may be able to take a pic of my current setup tmr and post it if you'd like.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.926767,-93.081269

[Taxi]

So do you need to change the eco-earth too? When I see these elaborate and beautiful setups people have, I wonder how they can take out the bottom without completely taking the entire thing apart!

[frognerd101]

Usually eco earth only needs to be cleaned every 5-6 months. If you have a live vivarium, the only thing you really have to do is remove dead crickets and feces and the tank will stay clean.

[Shanny]

Another way to lower how often you have to clean, is by adding live springtails to your substrate. I just recently ordered some from joshed frogs and put them in my terrarium. So far, so good. Springtails eat dead anything, be it crickets, dead leaves on the ground. They also eat feces and mold that has grown on some of the pieces of wood I have in my tank.

[Taxi]

OK, I will definitely go with eco-earth then I think, and springtails if I can find them. Right now I'm mostly worried that he's never going to eat anything...I've had him 4 days now, and not a nibble. He did eat while my sister-in-law had him, she says, so hopefully he's still OK. I would breathe a lot easier if he'd just eat something...