Red eyed Tree Frog setup questions

[ViperJr]

so throwing some extra insects in before going out of town would be fine? Red eyes only eat what they need to eat and will not eat everything in site right away?

Yes. In the long run, you might not want to add an extreme amount of feeders every time, but occasionally, I don't see the problem.

So you think just a nice size waterfall would be fine and no need for a water bowl then?

Indeed. A waterfall is just a bowl with a pump

I've narrowed my choice of terrariums down to two. The Exo Terra 24"x18"x24" and the 24"x18"x36". I like the extra height on the X Tall model but i'm tossing around the matter that for 1 frog that size of a terrarium may be overkill and that the 24" may be a better suited size for 1 and maybe a 2nd a ways down the line. I can't seem to find the full kit offered in those sizes either but i found at petsolutions they at least include a rock 3d background with each one. $179 for the 24" and $249 for the 36" no tax free shipping. I'd really like a 3d background on not just the back but one of the sidewalls as well but that would most likely require me DIYing one and I'm not ready to tackle that adventure yet with a first time go at this. I'll probably cover one of the outsides of a side wall with some of that black poster stuff people use on fish tanks and attach to the outside of the side wall.

First of all, the smaller size is not "better suited" for fewer frogs. They will not benefit from living in a smaller enclosure. However, the 24"x18"x24" is quite a nice size and it'll be a nice size even with 3, or even 4. I would say it's just a matter of how much you actually can spend. The larger (taller) is of course better, but the smaller is still good enough to make a proper home.

The more and more i look around at videos and pictures of peoples setups it makes we want to go with live plants >< . But i have some questions about this. I'm going to not only want a couple different ground plants going on but some vines and leafy type plants as well on the side walls. Now with the fake stuff i know you can just suction cup them to the glass, how would i go about doing live plants on the sidewalls since they obviously need to be potted. I want to try and cover alot of the sidewalls with vegetation of some sort. My thumb is not very green when it comes to plants so if i use live plants i need stuff that is very easy to care for (the less i have to worry about them the better). For plants on the substrate level do you jsut plant them in the substrate or put them in those mini pots and hide the pot in the substrate?

Ok, I feel like I should elaborate on pothos-plant a little more, since you do not seem to grasp it's true power. They are the all-round terrarium super-plant. They can be potted in substrate (soil, moss, coco husk, whatever), directly in water, or just without actual potting. They can absorb water through their leaves, and therefore can live and grow practically anywhere. I have two planted pothos, and one purely epiphytic pothos (not planted in any way), which both get their water solely from the ReptiFogger and the ambient humidity. On top of this, they are are extreme climbers, using sticky roots to secure itself to it's surroundings (be it the background, the substrate, other plants, the glass, vines, etc.) and the just continues to climb on. In addition to this, they grow like crazy. Like, crazy crazy. I've actually measured a grow-rate of 3 centimeters for a single stem over a 18 hour period. That was of course extreme, but I promise you it will grow a lot and fast. It's also very easy to just put it where you want it and wait for a week or two, since it'll fasten itself there. Then you can just point it at another direction.

Here's an example of how you can plant a pot and still get it higher up in the tank:
I silicone a cocofiber pot to one side of the tank. However, I almost never water it. It get's what it needs through the ambient humidity.


And here's a picture of what the roots looks like, which it'll use to secure themselves when climbing:



When talking about plants that actually needs to be planted, you can either do it in a pot and hide it, or directly in the substrate. I prefer to use a hidden pot, but it's pretty much up to you and how your enclosure looks like. Here's a picture of I did it:
Hidden pot:


And the same pot when the substrate is removed:


If you want to cover an entire wall with plants, I suggest creeping fig (Ficus pumila). The leaves themselves does not support an adult red-eye, but it can cover an entire wall like a wallpaper, which looks really nice. This could be planted in the substrate (or pot) below the wall and it'll most likely begin to climb its way up. I'm not sure if these can survive solely on a fogger though. I'm using them in my Theloderma corticale enclosure, which uses a misting system.

Also do the red eye need complete darkness to sleep?

I have answered this two times already:

They are extreme night-dwellers, and needs a very dark surrounding at night. Otherwise, they might not get up at all.


Red-eyes are, like I said, purely nocturnal, and for most people, they will only wake up when it's completely dark in their enclosure. Some say that a blue light-bulb do not disturb the frogs, but others do, so it's up to the specific frogs if they are disturb by it or not.

Thinking if i can get some decent money out of it all, may just go with the 36" but I just keep thinking with 12 more inches for the frog to explore gives him even more room to hide out where he won't be visible alot.

There is one nice aspect to keeping these frogs. The more hiding space you give it, the more you'll actually see it. When a lot of foliage, leaves, branches etc. are present, they will feel secure and hidden, therefore exploring more and being more visible. It might sound strange, but trying to hide them will almost always result in actually seeing them more.

food some nice videos on making a rock wall. I may try this and possibly build out some areas that i can stick a tiny potted plant into, and probably make it L shaped to cover a side wall as well. Would the materials he uses in this video be fine for a red eye?

Rock Wall background tutorial for reptile cage - YouTube

I don't know exactly what kind of materials he uses, but styrofoam is frog-safe, yes. When painting, acrylic can be used without being dangerous to the frogs (just make sure it's completely dried before putting the frogs in. Like, a week or two, minimum). When it comes to silicone, there's some kind that you definitely want to keep away from. From what I've read, "GE silicone II" is the most commonly used for this in the hobby, but please make sure to get that verified before using it. I might be wrong.


Lastly, let me show you how much pothos actually grows...

A little more than one year ago, long before any frogs actually lived there:


Over a year later, and it's even been through 2 dry periods (breeding attempts), killing some of the leaves. Also,m the dieffenbachia on the left was changed, because... well.

[J Teezy]

all right all sounds good.

What size is that terrarium you have there with the pothos in it? Also i'd imagine when it grows alot it's easily trimmed if you want to trim it.

I'm thinking I'm going to make a my own background for this project because I had an awesome idea. Since these are tree frogs, I'm going to try and make a background with a tree's lower half with branches coming out and maybe put a plant pot or two in some of the branches

[J Teezy]

anyone know what kind of plant this is (the red one)

[Sunshine]

looks like a red cryptanthus. Very pretty!!

[J Teezy]

looks like a red cryptanthus. Very pretty!!

are those ok for red eyes

[Sunshine]

It is not poisonous if that is what you are worried about. I don't know how well they handle being trampled so I would wait for input from someone more experienced.