Vivarium plants questions

[frognerd101]

Hey, it's Andrew

I am planning on building a really cool vivarium for my two tree frogs. They are a black eyed tree frog and a yellow eyed tree frog.

I have a 29 gallon setup they are in and I wanted to redesign my tank. I am interested in getting some plants, like bromeliads and others, from Lowes or Home Deopt. Does anyone know if they put any special kind of pesticide or chemical in the soil that might hurt my frogs. I will not risk their lives.


Also, does anyone know how to create a safe backround for my frogs that looks real. I was thinking about a clay backround, but I don't know where to start. I want the backround to be done quickly, so I don't have to keep my frogs in their quarantine tank for a long time.

Thank you everyone for your help!!!

[AReaHerps]

I'm very interested to read responses.
I want to do something similar.
Sent from my Android using the Tapatalk Forum App! It's awesome!

[KingCam]

I am interested in getting some plants, like bromeliads and others, from Lowes or Home Deopt. Does anyone know if they put any special kind of pesticide or chemical in the soil that might hurt my frogs. I will not risk their lives.

Almost every plant you buy in a retail store is going to have chemicals in the soil. It's best to wash the soil out of the roots and re-plant in organic soil. It's also good to wash the leaves in case they have been sprayed with anything.

Also, does anyone know how to create a safe backround for my frogs that looks real. I was thinking about a clay backround, but I don't know where to start. I want the backround to be done quickly, so I don't have to keep my frogs in their quarantine tank for a long time.

Coat the back of the tank with black silicone and immediately (very firmly) press coco fiber or peat moss into it before it starts to dry. It's basically like the foam backgrounds without the foam. It'll just be a flat wall of "dirt."

Another super simple way to make a nice looking background is to use the vinyl adhesive tiles from home depot. They stick right on!

[BadKat]

Any commercially grown plant will have fertilizers and/or pestcides that can be harmful to your frogs. From what I've read here, it takes about six weeks to prepare them for introducing them into a Vivarium.

My suggestion, (this is what I plan to do) is find someone that has a lot of houseplants, chances are they have rooted cuttings sitting in a glass of water somewhere. (Make sure they haven't treated the water)

Philodendron and pothos are both houseplants that are hardy, easily propogated and suitable for terrariums. I don't know anything about Brom propagation, but I will be reading up in the near future.

[BadKat]

Propagating Bromeliads — How to Propagate Bromeliads

Here is a little article on propagating Broms, I don't know how to link yet cuz I'm a f'noob. :-)

[frognerd101]

Thank you everyone for your help. I think that I am just going to stick to buying Bromeliads from my dealer who sells me all my frogs. That seems to be the safest way.

Also, does anyone know where to get the black silicon mentioned above. Can I get it at home depot or should I get it somewhere else?

Again, thank you all for your help.

[KingCam]

Thank you everyone for your help. I think that I am just going to stick to buying Bromeliads from my dealer who sells me all my frogs. That seems to be the safest way.

Also, does anyone know where to get the black silicon mentioned above. Can I get it at home depot or should I get it somewhere else?

Again, thank you all for your help.

Home depot should have it.

[AReaHerps]

The only concern I would have is how to easily clean the somewhat permanent background? How would you clean it? Would it better to simply buy a piece of plastic sheeting which you could just cut to fit so you can clean or replace it? I'm guessing we could build backgrounds multi-dimensional as well by adhering moss and other items?

[KingCam]

The only concern I would have is how to easily clean the somewhat permanent background? How would you clean it? Would it better to simply buy a piece of plastic sheeting which you could just cut to fit so you can clean or replace it? I'm guessing we could build backgrounds multi-dimensional as well by adhering moss and other items?

You would clean it by turning up the water heater in your house and then spray it with water hot enough to kill bacteria. The water that comes out of my kitchen sink is hot enough to cook meat, no joke. I like to use scalding water to sanitize things because I think it's less risky than using chemicals.

You could probably attach some thin bark, but the silicone won't support a ton of weight. If you want to make a 3D background use Great Stuff Expanding Foam. There are serveral tutorials on this forum for such a project, I'd urge you to use the search feature.

[frognerd101]

The method that I was going to try was adding springtails. These tiny insects love to eat fecal matter and dead plant and insect matter, so they should keep my background clean.