Plants and other things in the tank ..

[JasonW]

Seems like a lot of people post there frog is sick .. I was in the group .. he is doing much better now
anyway i figured i would ask something more upbeat .. what about plants an other thing for there tank what kind of plants are you guys/gals using ? fake real etc what have you use that has held up well. i have used a few real plants that have done well an others well back they go because there are dead in a few weeks .. so i am looking for some hardy plants .i wanted to know what you have found, that like being watered a lot an like the high humility.. or have you found fake plants to be a good chose ??

[SethD]

Seems like a lot of people post there frog is sick .. I was in the group .. he is doing much better now
anyway i figured i would ask something more upbeat .. what about plants an other thing for there tank what kind of plants are you guys/gals using ? fake real etc what have you use that has held up well. i have used a few real plants that have done well an others well back they go because there are dead in a few weeks .. so i am looking for some hardy plants .i wanted to know what you have found, that like being watered a lot an like the high humility.. or have you found fake plants to be a good chose ??

A lot depends on space limitations and what species of frog you have in mind. Large frogs and toads destroy all but the hardiest plants while with smaller species this isn't such a issue.

[JasonW]

Ya i kind of figured that .. i have red eye's an a white lip .. they like to sleep on the leafs so i need something with big hardy leafs ..

[Paul Rust]

Seems like a lot of people post there frog is sick .. I was in the group .. he is doing much better now
anyway i figured i would ask something more upbeat .. what about plants an other thing for there tank what kind of plants are you guys/gals using ? fake real etc what have you use that has held up well. i have used a few real plants that have done well an others well back they go because there are dead in a few weeks .. so i am looking for some hardy plants .i wanted to know what you have found, that like being watered a lot an like the high humility.. or have you found fake plants to be a good chose ??

I try to make every enclosure as close to the natural envirionmont that the species comes from as possible. No fake plants at all. Fake wood and logs are fine. Even the ground covering should match the real thing. Some people like fake plants because they are easier to deal with, I enjoy watching the plants grow along with my animals. I don't like seeing amphibians stuffed into sterilite containers and kept that way, you may as well throw it into a Red Vines container with a plastic palm tree. As far as plants go, for tree frogs Pothos are a good choice. If you go to Black Jungles' website they have a great variety of plants selected specifically for the vivarium and I have had good success with their plants.

[SethD]

Ya i kind of figured that .. i have red eye's an a white lip .. they like to sleep on the leafs so i need something with big hardy leafs ..

Well if you need easily available tough plants with sturdy leaves you might try Sansevieria trifasciata and Codiaeum variegatum. You should be able to get them at home depot or lowes. I have had good l luck with those plants in Bufo guttatus setups and If they will handle large tropical toads they will surely handle the species you have in mind. The only downside is they do grow large so you will need a large setup and will still probably need to do regular trimming.

[Malduroque]

For me, it's always live plants. They're part of the 'viv' in vivarium as far as I'm concerned. Sansevieria work well, but they grow vertically at a good clip. Dracaena, philodendron, pothos, anthurium (which will flower) provide good, inconspicuous perches for tree frogs. I've always had small to medium tree sized tree frogs so some plants like the anthuriums might not work so well with larger species. (they still look good and add to the botanical ambience of the setup however).

[Paul Rust]

If I'm doing a Cantral American setup I use plants from Home Depot or Lowes. Any plant in the tropical section will work. Hanging basket plants are vines and you can train them to fill in the viv without trimming and they look great. If I'm doing an Amazon Basin setup I order from Black Jungle or Micheals Bromeliads to get plants from the region. It all depends on where your frog comes from. I also look for hides and furnishings that are different than the pet store stuff. Josh's frogs usually has seed pods that look interesting and my Darts love them as hides. Do some research on your animal and study photos of the region, you can get real close most of the time and make a beautiful setup that both you and your frogs will enjoy.

[Tropicok]

The current issue (May 2010) of Reptiles magazine has an article on plants for a vivarium. It's good to have on hand or to take to the store when you buy plants.

[daziladi]

I'm getting that magazine... thanks for the heads up. Planning for a 50 gallon vertical next year, lots to learn!