water conditioner/substrate questions

[bcreps]

I finally got my pixie now I have a few questions one is about a water contditioner I have called aqua safe by tetra aqua, it says its for bettas and gold fish. is it safe for my baby pixie frog to soak and use for substrate? also what about my ball pythons would it be ok for their drinking/soaking water? and my last question is about how wet my substrate should be.. I see some people have it look like wet mud where mines not that wet. im worried about mold growing easily in my area and I heard something about pill bugs those hard shelled wood bugs doing something to help with that is this true? thanks

[pissedbudgie]

Tetra is a great make, although I probably wouldn't use a product designed tor fish on amphibians or reptiles without comparison to the ingredients in Zoo Med Reptisafe which is what I use. It is probably fine which I am sure others will confirm or deny, but I would be cautious without such a comparison or confirmation.
Your substrate should be damp not soaking wet, mud like or bog like. If your substrate becomes like a bog it will stink and produce nasty bacteria which will be detrementa to the health of your frog. Idealy your substrate should have a drainage layer underneath which is kept seperate by a fine mesh or the type of cloth used in gardening as a weed barrier.
The "pill bugs" you have heard about are not exactly the same thing as is used (although they can be in certain circumstances). The usual custodian insects to add are tropical woodlice which although they are much smaller, they are still from the same family of insects called isopods. Tropical woodlice are a better option as they are better suited to the higher temeratures an humidity than "pill bugs" are. Custodian insects clean up the substrate by eating any mould and the fecal matter in the substrate. Although in your case as your substrate will require regular changes, it probably isn't worth adding them.

[Lija]

I finally got my pixie now I have a few questions one is about a water contditioner I have called aqua safe by tetra aqua, it says its for bettas and gold fish. is it safe for my baby pixie frog to soak and use for substrate? also what about my ball pythons would it be ok for their drinking/soaking water? and my last question is about how wet my substrate should be.. I see some people have it look like wet mud where mines not that wet. im worried about mold growing easily in my area and I heard something about pill bugs those hard shelled wood bugs doing something to help with that is this true? thanks

welcome to the forum bcreps!

water conditioner - you can use anything that says water conditioner, gold fish or betta fish or reptile doesn't matter as long as it can neutralize chlorine and heavy metals. currently i use prime ( fish section), cheap and lasts forewer. aquasafe is good too. you should use that water for all your reptiles as well as crickets, etc.

substrate - you need to use exo earth or plantation soil expanded with treated tap water, it should be wet but never mud like and re. false bottom, isopods, pill bugs - these are for dart frog guys and totally useless for big frogs, you need to change the substrate once a month. People who keep theirs in a mud are looking for a BIG problems sooner or later, i suggest you advise them to fix that for their frogs sake.