Frog buried in moss

[bmlbytes]

I got my map treefrog yesterday. This is the first land frog I have owned. This morning I thought it had escaped, but after searching the vivarium, I found him buried in the moss.

I was wondering, is it normal for it to bury itself in the moss? I think it must do that to keep moist. If that is true, I must think that the frog thinks the air is too dry (which it is in a Minnesota winter). The tank is about 60% humidity at the top and 80% humidity at the bottom.

[Kurt]

Does the frog have a few places to hide in? Lots of foliage will help in this respect. Also mist once a day, preferably at night.

[bmlbytes]

Hes got some foliage. I had trouble finding live plants that would fit the biotope, so I grew them from seed. They are still small plants so they may not be very good hiding plants.

I have been misting him once a day with reverse osmosis water (I have it for certain fish I keep). He seems to like it. I also got a digital hygrometer and thermometer. With the heater on always the temperature has been between 75F at night and 80F during the day. The humidity is between 73% and 99%.

[John]

You want nice big leafed plants that will do well in a semi-tropical environment -there are some nice large-leafed Aroids available (check out dendroboard.com and its vendors for example).

I use distilled water to mist (not for water bowls though - you don't want the frog to sit in R/O or distilled water).

[Kurt]

You can also use artificial plants.

[bmlbytes]

Cool thanks for your help guys. Although your help has led to another question

Since my vivarium is a biotope, all the plants and animals have to be found together in nature. Any suggestion on plants found in the tropical rainforests of northern South America?

I may pick up some plastic plants, but they will be short term as I want to keep everything in the tank live.

Also I see a bunch of terrarium plants at PetCo, but they dont have them labeled. They just say either "Tropical Plant" or "Desert Plant". Any idea how to identify them? Maybe I should visit a plant nursery...

[Kurt]

You're welcome. Sorry can't help you with plants.