Lighting

[ClosedBook]

Hi all, this is my first post on this forum. I have been looking around and trying to find detailed information on lighting for White' tree frogs. I just bought a 18"x18"x24" Exo Terra. I will be getting two White's at the reptile expo in Long Island on March 21st and want to set up their enclosure ahead of time. I have two questions. One: If I opt to put live plants into the tank what lighting would you recommend? This includes heat lights. Two: If I stick with artificial plants what watt light would be sufficient? I live in NYC so it has been cold but my room gets to around 70 degrees at night. I have poison dart frogs in the same room and they are fine with the temps. I have live plants in that tank and I use a 15w fluorescent and the plants are growing well. Thanks in advance.

[John]

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Well done for wanting to set up in advance - so many people don't do that, so it's refreshing to hear you are planning.

Since you have an exoterra, I'd recommend getting the 18" Exo terra light top and putting two 6500 or 6700 K bulbs in it (natural light colour and ideal for plants). Since you say it's 70 F at night, two 20 or ~25 watt CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs would be able to heat it and light it during the day.

[Kurt]

Welcome aboard. I think John has you covered quite well.