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Thread: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

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    Default Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Hello Frog Forum! First off I wanted to thank all of you readers and posters for all of the great advice I've been taking advantage of! I got my african bullfrog about 4 months ago in December, and as a first time frog owner, the information I've learned on the Frog Forum has been invaluable! So thanks! Let me share what Kermit is like and his enclosure so that you can better answer a few questions for me! Kermit is 4 months old, weighs 100 grams, and lives in a 10 gallon glass terrarium landscaped in eco-earth with an arching, grass like plastic plant for a place to hide, and a shallow but wide repti-rock water feature on one side of the terrarium. It has a screen lid on top and is glass on the sides and bottom. I heat the terrarium with a 50 watt ceramic infrared heat emitter, and that keeps the terrarium anywhere from 75-88 degrees depending on the time of day. When it gets cold, I supplement the heat with a mini UTH mounted to the side of the terrarium. His humidity fluctuates and it's something I'm trying to get a better control of (see my question below) but most of the time its at about 75% to 80% but sometimes gets high at 90% if i partially cover the top of the screen with saran wrap. He eats a staple diet of large commercially farmed crickets purchased at Petco as needed. For every feeding, the crickets are dusted with either calcium supplement powder or Reptivite to supplement the vitamin D. He eats about 12 to 18 crickets in a feeding depending on how hungry he is. He poops regularly and there has been no recognizable changes in shape, color, or consistency of his poop. So now that you guys know whats going on, here's my questions if you have time: 1. at a recent visit to the vet, he recommended that I supplement the heat emitter with UVB during the day so that he gets more vitamin D through exposure. For a frog of Kermit's age and size (4 mos/100g) what is the appropriate wattage? 2. If I am using a UVB supplement, do I continue with the vitamins too? or will he get vitamin D overdose or something? 3. I'm having a humidity issue. I live in California and the air is naturally dry. I mist 3 times a day or more to keep the humidity high, and if the heater is on in the house I cover with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in since it gets even drier in winter months. Recently though, I've been having issues with mold growing in the terrarium. When I clean it and put new eco-earth in the terrarium, I moisten it according to the instructions, not soaking wet and no water "running off". But I can't keep the humidity under control. If I mist frequently enough to keep the humidity at above 80%, the next day there will be white fuzzy mold growing and I will have to throw away the dirt, clean the terrarium and plants, and put the frog back in with new dirt and landscaping features. I tried one of those wooden half-logs and it got mold growing near the base in about 2 days and I had to clean AGAIN! One time i decided that maybe if I started with dry eco earth and kept misting to keep humidity up it would be less likely to mold right away. But that kicked Kermit into a pre-aestivation and since I was worried about him I moistened the terrarium again and woke him up according to what you guys have all posted about that. So any suggestions about how to leverage this humidity to mold issue? I'm afraid I'm stressing the frog with the consistent cleaning and humidity management issues! Thanks! And here's some attached photos of Kermit!
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  3. #2
    100+ Post Member DeeDub's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Welcome!!

    Kermit looks awesome! OK a couple pointers. You don't need UVB. Your vet is mistaken. They can tox out on vitamins...not likely from a UVB light. You only need to supplement with GOOD calcium about 2 to 3 times a week. Vitamins once a week. Repashy calcium plus w/d3 is a great supplement for calcium and vitamins. I dust regularly with Miner-all (calcium w/d3) from sticky tongue farms. And once a week with repashy calcium plus. This when they are little $hits. I supplement my adult once or twice a week.

    As for the white mold growth. Sounds like you have a lot? The mold is not really anything to worry about. It will die and disappear in a couple days after you see it. I just spot clean it out of my pens...no need to change all the substrate unless the soil smells bad. Just turn the soil to aerate it every couple days.

    Finally, vary his/her diet. Add nightcrawlers. They are good protein, low fat, and they LOVE them! You can give mice/fowl as another variation to diet, but I recommend once a month at the most. Roaches are another great feeder that they love. WAY BETTER than crickets in every way.

    Humidity ideas. Cover 85 percent of his tank with saran wrapped cardboard cut to fit. Don't sacrifice your ventilation though. Add a water feature. Relative humidity is not as important with a nice deeper water feature. Again your frog will love this.

    Hope this helps.


    -----------------
    Thanks
    DW
    ........................................
    Thanks
    DW

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    Default Re: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Hi DeeDub! Thanks for the suggestions! The mold wasn't a lot, just spots here and there. I was just worried about the infection potential and I'm generally paranoid about making sure Kermit is herring the best possible care. Is there a reputable supplier of night crawlers you recommend? I know that nutritionally they are the best, but I'm worried about things i heard with them being treated with dyes or chemicals to be used as bait.

    I'm excited to try and build a 50/50 setup! I know he would love it,!

    Thanks again for the advice!

  5. #4
    100+ Post Member DeeDub's Avatar
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    Default Re: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Timberland....that's where my local petsmart and LPS get their worms. There's lots of online dealers though. I just get em from my LPS, and petsmart. Always smell them. Sometimes they go bad. Never had treated worms from a pet store....only from bait shops.

    The mold wont hurt em, and youd smell it if the bacteria was bad. One other thing. I've never seen the mold grow on just coco fiber. There is always something its growing on. Cricket leg, turds, etc.

    Fungus is bad, mold not so much. The white hairy looking stuff is just a little mold. Spot clean it out and it'll be just fine.

    -----------------
    Thanks
    DW
    ........................................
    Thanks
    DW

  6. #5

    Default Re: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Mold is fungus, but yes, spot clean it and you should be fine. I've never had issues with it.

  7. #6
    SCF
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    Default Re: Hi Everyone! Meet Kermit!

    Petco or petsmart is actually fairly cheap for earthworms, at least at my local one.

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