Am I ready for RETF's?

[Andry]

Hi there, I finally decided what tank I wanted and purchased it today. I got the 18x18x24 Exo Terra Kit and I have it all set up. I took pictures and am posting them here. I used all the fake plants plus one other fake vine with larger leaves. I bought a larger water dish because I thought the one the kit came with was too small. I have a couple of questions.

1 - What kind of light bulbs do I buy for the Red Eyes? I know they probably don't need lights and I don't have live plants to feed light (which I plan to in the future) but I would like to be able to see them since it's kind of dark in that corner. Let me know what I can buy. I already have a red bulb as you can see on the light stand pointing half way towards my fire bellies so that I am able to see them.

2 - Does it look like there is enough plants or do I need to add more?

3 - Does my substrate work okay for the tree frogs? I put paper towels on the bottom and on top I put a round thin cocoa liner mat that is used for 10" hanging baskets.

4 - I plan to buy a humidifier from just any local store like walmart to keep the humidity up. Is that sufficient? I can plug it in mornings and evenings.

[Kurt]

1. Studies at the ABG are suggesting that frogs do indeed need UVB lighting. As to how much they don't know yet. With enough plant cover the frog need not take on a full dose of UVB, just enough to manufacture vitamin D.

2. The plant situation is fine.

3. Paper towels are fine as a temporary substrate, especially with new frogs. It allows you to monitor the health of that new frog. As a permanent substrate, coconut bedding and sphagnum moss are much better.

4. I own no humidifier. I do however mist them down before going to bed. Works fine for me.

[Andry]

1. Studies at the ABG are suggesting that frogs do indeed need UVB lighting. As to how much they don't know yet. With enough plant cover the frog need not take on a full dose of UVB, just enough to manufacture vitamin D.

2. The plant situation is fine.

3. Paper towels are fine as a temporary substrate, especially with new frogs. It allows you to monitor the health of that new frog. As a permanent substrate, coconut bedding and sphagnum moss are much better.

4. I own no humidifier. I do however mist them down before going to bed. Works fine for me.

Thank you very much for your reply, this is very helpful!

[Kurt]

You're welcome.