Substrate and lighting???

[frankypooh]

I'm currently using coconut fiber as my bottom floor for my red eyed tree frog. But they don't seem to like it very much it keeps sticking to them and they are constantly rubbing it off. What else do you guys recommend I put instead of the coconut fiber or something I can put over it???


And for my 12x12x18 terrarium, I would like to add a light cycle and heat. Would you recommend a hood or the clamp lamps?? And what intensity do I want the wattages on my bulbs, and what kind do I use???

Is it better to use a under tank heater??

[HerpDerp]

You could use live moss to cover the coco fiber. It will create a nice, natural feel to the enclosure and it will help maintain humidity.

For my tank I use both a hood and a clamp lamp for my heat/light. I have a Fluckers clamp lamp with a dimmer that I use a ceramic heat emitter in. I keep it all the way up during the day and dim it to half power at night to cool it off a bit. For lighting I use a 6500k plant bulb and a 100w equivalent CFL. The reason I use a CFL is because it gives on minimal heat. I let my CHE do that work. But before I had this set up I was just using a 100w incandescent in the dimmer and dimming it for a couple hours at night and then turning it off completely overnight. This gave off a lot of heat and kept my 18x18x24 at about 78 during the day. My apartment doesn't get that cold at night so the tank never dropped below 68 degrees at night. But I have white's tree frogs and if I'm not mistaken they can tolerate a wider range of temps than red eyes? I really wouldn't recommend UTHs though. They tend to not work very well and burn out quickly. For a lot of people what to use is just personal preference. You just need to figure out what is the best fit for your tank and your frog.

[UncleChester]

What else do you guys recommend I put instead of the coconut fiber or something I can put over it???

Leaf litter will also do the trick. You can find some online, places that carry Dart Frogs will often have stock. I collect my own Magnolia leaves for this purpose, they turn pretty colours and take some time to disintegrate in the vivarium (if you collect, make sure it's from a chemical free area).