firebelly home reusable??

[kroberts009]

hi all, i have finally decided that i would like to upgrade my firebellies enclosure. when i first got them, we had a "grasp" and i was completely not ready for possible eggs literally a day after i got them. so i split them and put them in very large tote containers. with rocks covered in moss and a house formation made out of rocks. as well as fake plant in their water with COMPLETE tank changes each week.

now that its starting to get cold, i am interested in putting them back together, same type of set up, but in a larger container (probably a designer 5 gal (for just the two)) complete with filter and probably a small heater. really hooking it up and giving them a proper home. that is much easier to maintain.

so my question is... that since the firebellies are going to be taking over (the current cricket container)... will putting the crickets into the large firebelly totes be at all damaging to the crickets in the long run. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, the crickets are being fed to firebellies, leopard geckos, and lol a very spoiled little red eared slider. I DO NOT WANT firebelly toxin possibly injuring any of my animals.

so in your opinion, if i scrub the heck out of the containers with a 10percent bleach/90 percent water solution, do you think the crickets will be safe enough to feed to all of the other animals? ide really appreciate input, as ide like to do this over the weekend

[FrogFriend]

My own personal opinion, I really refrain from bleach around animals. I don't even use it as a cleaning product in my house. I use more natural cleaning aids, most of which can be found around the house. White vinegar and water solution (about the same ration as your bleach to water) does the same job and vinegar is non-toxin. If you have the earth safe soap, you can add a tiny drop of that to your water:vinegar solution as well. Another good, non-toxic and natural, way to clean is to put ice in the bottom of the tank with some salt and then you cut up lemons, squeeze the juice into the container over the ice and salt mixture. This works great for cleaning glass, not so good for plastic! The ice and salt mixture act as an abrasive and the lemon acts as a cleaner. Also, you can sprinkle in a little bit of baking soda on first- the alkaline quality will help to absorb the toxins AND this is a great combination if your aquarium glass get foggy from calcium build up. I have cleaned my quarantine tank like this for quite awhile now and recently started using my quarantine tank as a cricket keeper and my crickets are doing great! In fact, my loss ratio, since I have converted them over to this tank, is a lot better! Before half my crickets were dying and now only one or two. It's also because of the habitat that I have for the crickets too, even they have a sweet living condition! I hope this helps.

[kroberts009]

My own personal opinion, I really refrain from bleach around animals. I don't even use it as a cleaning product in my house. I use more natural cleaning aids, most of which can be found around the house. White vinegar and water solution (about the same ration as your bleach to water) does the same job and vinegar is non-toxin. If you have the earth safe soap, you can add a tiny drop of that to your water:vinegar solution as well. Another good, non-toxic and natural, way to clean is to put ice in the bottom of the tank with some salt and then you cut up lemons, squeeze the juice into the container over the ice and salt mixture. This works great for cleaning glass, not so good for plastic! The ice and salt mixture act as an abrasive and the lemon acts as a cleaner. Also, you can sprinkle in a little bit of baking soda on first- the alkaline quality will help to absorb the toxins AND this is a great combination if your aquarium glass get foggy from calcium build up. I have cleaned my quarantine tank like this for quite awhile now and recently started using my quarantine tank as a cricket keeper and my crickets are doing great! In fact, my loss ratio, since I have converted them over to this tank, is a lot better! Before half my crickets were dying and now only one or two. It's also because of the habitat that I have for the crickets too, even they have a sweet living condition! I hope this helps.

thats amazing advice! because to be honest, i hate bleach too! it irritates my skin (if it touches at all), and i generally avoid using it in the home. i thought perhaps that would be my only chance, since i recalled reading it somewhere else previously. looks like vinegar and water with a small sprit of baking soda might be my way to go!

i am really looking forward to getting them into a more toad friendly enclosure. dont get me wrong, they have been doing great with what they currently have. but lol weekly changes get to be alot when your doing it on 2 leos, a boa, 2 birds, and 2 firebellys. lol... thank god the turlte tank self cleans really well.

now i have some additional confidence in the switch. looking forward to hitting the pet store!

[FrogFriend]

Yeah, I have been hearing from a lot of friends that they have been having reactions to cleaning supplies bought in stores. A friend of mine even ended up in the emergency room from an allergic reaction to cleaning with bleach! So I am a big advocate of the natural! Besides, most of the things you need are already in the home! I also understand about cleaning so many tanks! My fire-bellies are in a 10 gallon tank which I skim every few days and do cleaning about once every 1-2 weeks, besidens them, like I said, I have my crickets in a small (1-2 gallon maybe) tank and I regularly have to clean out there food that I feed them as well as the stuff I put at the bottom to help decrease the cricket smell! Then I also have another two 10 gallon tanks, a 30 gallon and a 50 gallon. On top of that I have 3 kitty litter boxes to keep clean- so I hear ya on wanting to keep maintenance at a minimum. Let me know how it goes and what you think!

[kroberts009]

hi there, well... since i made the firebellys a new home today, (with filter and heater) and finally put them back together (they were seperated since a day after we got them... i didnt need 80 frogs within the first few weeks we bought them... LOL) anyways... they have been right next to each other since they got put in their new home. theyve remained out of water, hiding under the "house" we built for them out of rocks. not going to feed until tomorrow. i dont want to bother them too much. TOTALLY OFF TOPIC, but the metal sceen lid no longer closes all the way due to the cords from the heater and the filter, think i can drill a hole through the top and put the cords through? not to worry, i have the sides completely covered until i find a better solution. hoping the new system works out well for them! (diagonal cut 5 gal)

tiny (the very tiny res) is in a 10gal with filter and sucker fish, that gets changed every few weeks
whisper the common boa is in a 10gal (hes still young) and gets changed weekly
the leopard geckos with no names (one hoards and the other hogs.. so they were seperated) are both in sep. 5 gals changed weekly
not to mention the 2 birds! changed once or twice a week.
crickets themselves are now in an extra-large plastic tote. which get fully cleaned out every 2 weeks with touch ups in between

and whats crazy, is i still want a few new species or duplicates of current ones... its like an addiction that never ends!

the cleaning appears to have gone well! thanks for your help!

[FrogFriend]

Hahaha! I know what you mean by an addiction that never ends. We have enough as it is and I still think about getting more. And what's worse is that I am a sucker for a stray, rescues and special needs critters. I have two special needs kitties and recently one of my special needs kittens died from his complications. So I REALLY have to watch myself. LOL! I really want a Great Dane, but at this point in time it is just not a possibility. So then I think, well, frogs and toads don't take up room like that, and I am learning about all kinds of new frogs that I had never even heard of! But for now, at least, I am being good and saying we have enough and I come on here and look at pictures of other people's frogs/toads and listen to their stories and that suffices! If I were to do anything, I think I would upgrade my FBT tank to something larger and pimp it out more! :P

[kroberts009]

Hahaha! I know what you mean by an addiction that never ends. We have enough as it is and I still think about getting more. And what's worse is that I am a sucker for a stray, rescues and special needs critters. I have two special needs kitties and recently one of my special needs kittens died from his complications. So I REALLY have to watch myself. LOL! I really want a Great Dane, but at this point in time it is just not a possibility. So then I think, well, frogs and toads don't take up room like that, and I am learning about all kinds of new frogs that I had never even heard of! But for now, at least, I am being good and saying we have enough and I come on here and look at pictures of other people's frogs/toads and listen to their stories and that suffices! If I were to do anything, I think I would upgrade my FBT tank to something larger and pimp it out more! :P

we wont be getting any 4 legged friends until we move out of the apartment and get a nice yard for them! which kind of saves grandpa for the time being, because all of our critters stay in a cage/enclosure.

the firebellies got their new home... and appear to be happy that they are back together now. literally the day after i brought them home. we had attempted mating grasps, and i wasnt looked forward to 80 frogs the week after i bought them. lol...

interested in a panther/jacksons/veild chameleon (havent decided which one i want yet), a few boa morphs, maybe another leopard gecko, and some tree frogs. (greens)

[FrogFriend]

I have wanted a chameleon FOREVER!! I would also love to get some tree frogs- especially red-eyed tree frog, but I am learning about so many more that I would love to get also. All in time I think! When you decide to get your chameleon let me know which one you got and why you decided on that one.

[kroberts009]

in the past, i have had a 1.1 veilds and 1.1 jacksons.. of which i perfer the males as they have much more attitude lol
i had a set of pygmy leaf chameleons (approxiately 5 of them) but they are extrememly difficult
and then both the panther chameleons i got.... ended up dying of parasites shortly after purchase

so i am having extreme difficulty in making the choice of what it is that i really want. jacksons and veilds i can get out here locally, no problem. if i decide i want to get a panther, i will either have to order it or wait for a reptile show up in san antonio. but ill let you know if and when i have decided.

ALTHOUGH, chameleon adventures may be put on hold for a while. i was aware that my FBT's were male and female (why i seperated them in the first place) i walked in on some "grasping"... lol thats an interesting thing to watch... this may sound silly, but i didnt think it was mating season? maybe going from cold water with no heater, to a new setup with a heater has tricked them?

actually im slightly intrigued. his hind feet recenty got really waxy in color, and then basically shed. still slightly attached to his hind legs. LOL i didnt know his legs could be spread open that wide! new experience if you couldnt tell!

anyways chameleon owning might be put on hold if i end up with 80 firebellys. lol

[FrogFriend]

Yeah it could be that the heater tricked them. Mine mated ALL the time from April-Septish but there were NO babies that came out of it! So no worries about babies until you start to see eggs. Even with that you can always scoop them out and dispose of them. If you want to keep babies when they hatch you gotta get the toads out or they will be appetizers.

[kroberts009]

Yeah it could be that the heater tricked them. Mine mated ALL the time from April-Septish but there were NO babies that came out of it! So no worries about babies until you start to see eggs. Even with that you can always scoop them out and dispose of them. If you want to keep babies when they hatch you gotta get the toads out or they will be appetizers.

lol.. i thought that might happen. cannibals! insteresting how that works... if we get eggs we will let them hatch just to see what we come up with. it will be an interesting experience for the boys (david is 6, and jason is 3) lol far different then raising baby birds i would imagine! hahah thanks for your input!

[FrogFriend]

LOL! No problem. There are a couple of people on here that have bred their FBTs and have the experience. So if you either get babies or want babies, I would suggest contacting them. One is Alex Man (I think is the name- Alex for sure) the other is Marico C- (he's from Italy so it's an Italian name...sorry, I am bad at names). I had a scare today! One of my FBTs got out! I have no idea how, the screen was askew so maybe one of the cats or dog bumped it. I had no IDEA! I don't even know how long he was out! We finished dinner and I came into the living room and saw my cat very curious about something and then jump back. I glanced down and saw him on the ground just hanging out. Quite a distance! He had to climb the waterfall, squeeze between the screen and tank, over the side of the tank, off the cedar chest onto either the ground or the plant and then the ground...quite a bit of work for a little guy! My mom grabbed a bucket and filled water in it and we dipped him in their to clean him off. I checked him out and he didn't seem to have any injuries. Fortunately I think I found him before my cat decided to go at him. She was still in the curious stage, but she was looking for him later. She even knew he was back in the tank cause she looked around it too! But so far all seems good! Keeping my eye on him for a few days to make sure he's ok.

[kroberts009]

LOL! No problem. There are a couple of people on here that have bred their FBTs and have the experience. So if you either get babies or want babies, I would suggest contacting them. One is Alex Man (I think is the name- Alex for sure) the other is Marico C- (he's from Italy so it's an Italian name...sorry, I am bad at names). I had a scare today! One of my FBTs got out! I have no idea how, the screen was askew so maybe one of the cats or dog bumped it. I had no IDEA! I don't even know how long he was out! We finished dinner and I came into the living room and saw my cat very curious about something and then jump back. I glanced down and saw him on the ground just hanging out. Quite a distance! He had to climb the waterfall, squeeze between the screen and tank, over the side of the tank, off the cedar chest onto either the ground or the plant and then the ground...quite a bit of work for a little guy! My mom grabbed a bucket and filled water in it and we dipped him in their to clean him off. I checked him out and he didn't seem to have any injuries. Fortunately I think I found him before my cat decided to go at him. She was still in the curious stage, but she was looking for him later. She even knew he was back in the tank cause she looked around it too! But so far all seems good! Keeping my eye on him for a few days to make sure he's ok.

oh wow very scary! i am glad that you found him and that things appear to be ok at this current point of time. i can totally picture your cat just checking it out. like what is this, and will it fit in my mouth? animals are definitely amazing to watch, when you can "see the wheels spinning in their brains." definitely a far adventure for the little guy, he really wanted to go exploring.

thanks for the tips. i have commente on mario's post before, about his golden firebellys a few threads below. if i end up seeing any eggs i will contact him to ask some questions

[FrogFriend]

Yeah, she was definitely interested in him, but wasn't sure if it was something to mess with. Glad that she didn't- I usually find things in the house from her. We live in the desert and have a doggie door- needless to say, sometimes things make it in. Honestly though I am surprised at how rare that is! I am just glad it wasn't my kitten that found him cuz she would have played with him and probably ate him. She's my huntress! When I got him back into the tank poor little thing you could see his heart just pounding away and his little throat huffing away! But later that night I heard him barking and saw that he was trying to mate with one of the girls, so I am sure he is fine! But I too like to watch those wheels spin! Yeah, I have commented on M. posts before, asked questions and he's really nice. Keep me posted!

[kroberts009]

Yeah, she was definitely interested in him, but wasn't sure if it was something to mess with. Glad that she didn't- I usually find things in the house from her. We live in the desert and have a doggie door- needless to say, sometimes things make it in. Honestly though I am surprised at how rare that is! I am just glad it wasn't my kitten that found him cuz she would have played with him and probably ate him. She's my huntress! When I got him back into the tank poor little thing you could see his heart just pounding away and his little throat huffing away! But later that night I heard him barking and saw that he was trying to mate with one of the girls, so I am sure he is fine! But I too like to watch those wheels spin! Yeah, I have commented on M. posts before, asked questions and he's really nice. Keep me posted!

cats bringing dead or sometimes not so dead animals into your home are gifts for you. haha ill never forget the time our cat dropped a bird and the bird took off. our cat was soo angry we let it get away.

its honestly interesting to see cats at work. a while back i hada small group (about 4 of them) that literally took turns throwing a single mouse around from cat to cat. rather quickly not allowing me to take it away with the broom. its amazing how quickly they can toy around with each other.

so far today i have noticed 2 grasps. i will just have to wait and see what happens. but if i find eggs... ill definitely let you know

[FrogFriend]

Yeah, I have had many a gift in my life but some of the critters come in on their own! LOL! At the beginning of the year we had our front door open to let in this really nice breeze (we also have a security door). It was the evening and we had just sat down to watch a movie. I happened to notice something in the corner of my eye, when I glanced over I saw a snake making it's way inside. I startled saying, "There's a snake in the house" My mom asked if I was kidding and when I said I wasn't her next question was it is a rattler? Or poisonus? Well, I don't know! So we both jumped up and started taking action to get it out of the house. We realized he made his way through the space between the security door and the door jam. We were shocked that neither cat nor sighthound saw him! LOL!

I was checking on my toads today too. Saw both males grasping females and the females weren't squeezing their way out of the grasp. I guess we both may be coming into babies! LOL!!

[kroberts009]

Yeah, I have had many a gift in my life but some of the critters come in on their own! LOL! At the beginning of the year we had our front door open to let in this really nice breeze (we also have a security door). It was the evening and we had just sat down to watch a movie. I happened to notice something in the corner of my eye, when I glanced over I saw a snake making it's way inside. I startled saying, "There's a snake in the house" My mom asked if I was kidding and when I said I wasn't her next question was it is a rattler? Or poisonus? Well, I don't know! So we both jumped up and started taking action to get it out of the house. We realized he made his way through the space between the security door and the door jam. We were shocked that neither cat nor sighthound saw him! LOL!

I was checking on my toads today too. Saw both males grasping females and the females weren't squeezing their way out of the grasp. I guess we both may be coming into babies! LOL!!

yeah, i think a random snake coming into my house (especially since i have small children) would be my fear of not being able to identify what it was, and if it was poisonus or not! we love our pet snake though! haha big difference in knowing what something is for sure, and taking a guess!

haha TIS THE SEASON i guess! congrats by the way! i hope your excited about the possability of babies if it happens

i have to admit, i am a lot happier about my 2 FB's overall "attitudes" now.. they got a tank cleaning yesterday and my male was king of his domain sitting high on the top of his rock formation. they compete in hunting, and ive noticed this week, i even have croaking going on... which never happened before. guess they really are happier together and no one should ever own just one