Lots of questions....

[Calmwaters]

Hello everyone I have lots of questions about my new pets I am going to start with a few that I think are the most important. First I have a Zoomed undertank heater that is rated for a 30 gallon tank which is the size of thier tank, but this morning when I got up the tank tempature was down to around 69 which I think is to low for my new friends am I correct? If so what can I do to keep the heat up at night? The hood is a flouresant bulb set up that was used on the tank when it housed fish. Next I plan on replaceing the fake plants with real ones are there any plants that are dangerous that I should avoid? I read on one of the other post that is possiable to just plant them in the substrate and then get bugs that work as a clean up crew is that correct as well? What should I use as a substrate if I go this route? I have used organic miracle grow potting soil before in my planted tanks for fish would this be ok with perhaps a layer of Eco Earth on top? Thank you all for your help.
ETA: Also one of my little guys is always brown, the other seems to change depending possiable on the temp when its warmer she/he is green but this morning was brown. When I got her at the pet store she was green, turned brown on the way home and while I was setting up the tank, then last night was green again. Is that normal? Maybe I should just name her Rainbow. LOL

[HerpDerp]

From reading your profile I see you're talking about white's tree frogs? What are the dimensions of your tank? If I'm remembering correctly 30 gallon tanks are longer than they are tall? Tree frogs need a lot of vertical space to climb and be happy. A temperature drop to 69 degrees at night is okay. I personally prefer to keep mine above 70 degrees at all times. Here is a care sheet with some good detail if you haven't already read it:
Frog Forum - White's Tree Frog Care - Litoria caerulea

As far as the UTH is concerned, you'll never get it to heat the tank up properly. IMO they're junk. I had two rated for 10 gallons in my 10 gallon temp tank PLUS an incandescent bulb and all that together got the tank to around 78 degrees during the day. I recommend a ceramic heat emitter used in a clamp lamp with a dimmer. During the day I let it go full force and it keeps my tank just below 80 degrees near the bottom (hotter towards the top if they want to bask). At night I put it at half power so it stays at about 72 degrees.

I highly recommend pothos and bromiliads in your terrarium. Pothos will quickly explode if given the right conditions. Using a plant bulb really sped up growth for mine. Snake plants are great too because they are nice and sturdy and can hold up a WTF no problem. If you construct a false bottom for your tank (highly recommend visiting the vivarium subforum for help) then excess water can drain to the bottom, preventing bacteria build up in the substrate. If done properly you can go months without changing substrate. Some people like to use potting soil with a thick top layer of coco fiber for their plants, but I just do straight coco fiber with no soil. There is very little nutrients in coco fiber so I just use dirty water from the water dish to water my plants and give them some nutrients. So far so good on that! Old fish tank water would work well for this too since it's full of nitrates! When you do buy new plants make sure you take them out of the soil they were potted in and thoroughly rinse the roots and leaves and then rinse again with dechlorinated water. Some people also like to give their plants a grow out phase where they grow them outside of the terrarium for a month or so to let chemicals and fertilizers leave the plants. I did this with some of my plants but with others I just washed them well and had no ill effects.

WTFs like to change color. Lower temps can cause them to darken as can high humidity. One of mine, Glurmo, is almost always dark gray. He only brightens up to a very dark olive green when he first wakes up. Lrrr is usually bright green until feeding time. He always turns brown while eating and then brightens up again. And of course when he's soaking in his water dish he gets brown again because of the cold water. You eventually learn your frog's "color habits" and know when the color is normal for them and when it is not. A normally bright green frog that is suddenly brown all the time can be a sign of stress or illness. But some frogs just like to be that color!

Sorry if this is long! I hope it helps some . Feel free to ask away!

[Calmwaters]

Thank you for your reply. The tank is 30x19x12, so yes it is longer than it is tall, I know they prefer high tanks but for now its what I have for them I can replace it at a later date if need be I just have to find a good deal on one. ;-) Should I replace the aquarium hood with a screen hood? It seems thats what most of the setups have on here. I will look into how to build the false bottom that you are talking about as well as the plants. During the day the tank was at around 75 with the UTH and the bulb in the fixture right now is a bulb for plant growth that I used when the tank was used for fish as I have real plants in all my aquariums and I am hoping it will be a good plant light for the plants you mention. I also have a 20 gallon long tank that housed corn snakes before that I am wondering if it would be ok to use for some type of frog that likes longer tanks anyideas on that?

[kueluck]

Amanda, FYI, Repticon is in Charlotte this coming weekend if you have the $$ for new supplies. Repticon Charlotte Page

[Calmwaters]

Thank you Gail I will have to see what I can come up with.