Will this work?

[daltar08]

I have a 29 gallon and there are some benefits, more room to design a drainage system, you can put smaller tank inside to make the swimming area, here is a picture of mine.

[ejh805]

Daltar,

I'd seen your tank around the forums before I decided to post.
It looks very attractive and was actually planning on using it as somewhat of a model for mine until I got my 40 gal breeder.
Are those things at the bottom hydroton balls? What do they do exactly? And are they necessary? I may pick some up for the land 2/3rds of my 40 if the benefits are high enough.

There's just SO much to learn!!

[daltar08]

Yup those are the Hydro-balls I used 2 bags of those, then gravel above, followed by soft polymer window screen mesh, followed by coco fiber, drain tube going to the very bottom. they aid in draining as spheres do not stack very well at all they allow a good empty space for draining, keeping the soil from going bad faster.

[Namio]

It's nice to see so many folks have given you wonderful advices already. So forgive me if I'm being redundant.

Totally new here, and this seemed like a very informative place so I though it'd be worth it to join in.

First of all, welcome to our forum, Emily! Ask us anything, one of us will get your problem solved.

Also, am working on getting a little over 1/3rd of the tank set up to be aquatic. It will have a mini-filter. Until the frog gets larger, I'll be placing a lot of big rocks in the water so that it isn't far too deep for the little guy/gal.

I love terrariums that have water features in it. For large frog species, however, fancy water feature is more for aesthetic purposes (which is important to us) than practical purposes. The reason is that a large waterbowl for serve the purpose for hydration and number one and number two for the frog. Instead an elaborated water feature may back-fire on us because big frogs = big poops (sometimes really big stinky poops!) which will dirty up the water real fast and often. So you might regret later (when the frog have grown large). But for some folks having the tank to be aesthetic and appealing is a priority, so it is entirely up to the tank owner.

I'm working on deciding what kind (if any) live plants to put in there or if I should just stick with fakes.

Planting live plants can be problematic with these large frogs that dig up dirt. Often times they'll uproot any plants that are in the way to their arbitrary favorite burrowing spot. So strategic planting may needs to be considered. Or simply just use fake plants.

The one thing that's really stumping me is how to set up something for crickets. I'll be getting 200 of them when I order my Pixie.
Feeding those orange cube flukers cricket diet things. Do they work well? I'm also getting a shaker/dispenser so I can coat them with calcium and vitamin powder. How long should 200 crickets last with a baby pixie? And how many do they tend to eat within a 2-week time span?

Have you thought about using large nightcrawlers (big earthworms) as a staple diet? They are easy to store (just keep in a fridge), nutritious (no hard undigestible parts), long shelf-life (compare to adult crickets that are at the end of their life cycle), makes no noise, do not escape (if they do, so what?) or stink, and no need to gutload (although still need to dust with additional Calcium and Vitamin powder).
Large crawlers can be cut into smaller pieces for baby frogs. Until they grow big enough you can feed whole nightcrawlers then. If you get nightcrawlers from Walmart or fishing bait shops, make sure to purchase the dye-free crawlers.

The heating pad is going to be a 30-40 exoterra under-the tank type pad. I've read that some people choose to put it on the side of the tank instead of underneath. Which one is best? And why?

Exoterra under-tank heat pads tend to be weaker than Zoomed's UTH. Especially when you have a decent size tank like a 40 gallon you might want to consider using a more powerful UTH if not multiple of them in order to keep up with the temperature. Someone else already said this, but place the UTH on the side of the tank. These frogs naturally burrow downward into the substrate to escape heat, so if the heating pad is on the bottom it'll burn the frog instead of cooling it down.

I'm so sorry for all the questions!
But I'm super excited and it just can't be helped.

I do not blame you. If I were you I would be SUPER excited, too!!

[ejh805]

Haha yeah, the aquatic part of the terrarium is more for my enjoyment than the pixies. Although I'm sure s/he will like swimming and pooping in it. I upgraded to a Fluval U2 because of some recommendations I got. It has gotten better reviews and seems more efficient than the one I did have picked out.

Pretty sure I'll just be picking up some nice, cheap dollar store plants, so I won't be at a loss if some get destroyed. I may put a log in the tank and start a small colony of glowing mushrooms that I saw in a thread somewhere on this site. They're supposed to keep humidity up and slowly eat away at the log. Plus they'll look fantastic at night

I am also strongly considering making nightcrawlers my frogs staple. Although I've heard some people say that they have difficulty getting theirs to accept them on a regular basis. I'm not sure what the frog I'm getting has been fed on, so I will start out with crickets and slowly transition to worms if the pixie will take them.

In regards to the heater, my apartment normally stays between 75-83 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the time of day, so temps aren't a huge problem for me. I already purchased the Exo Terra, so I'm just gonna have to stick it out for now.

Now, another question (sorry if I'm gettin annoying, guys!) Mr/Ms Bullfrog's terrarium will be on a stand in the living room. I live with my boyfriend and he's a smoker. I know frogs absorb things through their skin easily, so will this be a major concern?? There's constant airflow throughout when we're home, so I don't think much will actually get a chance to reach him, but still I suppose it's something that could pose as an issue down the road. Does anyone have info on this?

Thanks again.
You're all very helpful!!
-Emily

[Lija]

passive smoking is an issue not just for frog, but for you too, but for a frog it is especially bad, airflow doesn't matter, if anyone is smoking in a house it will reach everything and everybody. may be your boyfriend can consider smoking outside for your and your frogs sake?

[ejh805]

Unfortunately, I doubt it.
It was difficult enough to get him to not smoke in our bedroom. That is where Duey, my ball python, stays.
Would moving her into the living room, and the frog into the bedroom be a better arrangement? Or should I just not get a frog?

[Lija]

sorry if I'm overstepping, but if I were in relationship when my boyfriend doesn't care about my health and smoke around me or our home, i would rethink if i need him in my life. Have you seen how smokers lungs looks like? passive smoking is worse.

[Namio]

Unfortunately, I doubt it.
It was difficult enough to get him to not smoke in our bedroom. That is where Duey, my ball python, stays.
Would moving her into the living room, and the frog into the bedroom be a better arrangement? Or should I just not get a frog?

Yea moving the animals to a smoke-free room/area would be a good idea. If he insists smoking indoor I would suggest getting an air purifier machine or something. Living in constant second-hand smoke is not good for you or him.

I'm not aware of any info on how long-term cigarette smoke exposure would affect amphibians but common sense tells me it can't be good. Amphibians have semi-permeable skin so they might be more sensitive to the smoke than us.

[ejh805]

Gonna get an air purifier if talking to him again about not smoking inside doesn't go anywhere. It honestly doesn't bother me, because he doesn't smoke so much that our apartment stinks (he has one of those ashtrays that sucks the smoke into it), and I knew about it long before we got together. I'm just concerned about the frog.

[ejh805]

As for humidity, do you think my frog would appreciate a fogger? I think it would look cool, but don't want to do it if it'd be impractical.

[Lija]

I have a fogger - it is the only way to keep humidity up.