Hey, all. My daughter and I recently put together a Zoo Med Naturalistic 18x18x24 viv. It houses three American Green Tree Frogs (AGTF) and live plants. It has a 2-3" gravel/Hygroball base covered with fiberglass screening and then 2-4" of mixed substrate (orchid bark, sphagnum peat moss, long-fiber sphagnum moss, coconut fiber, and charcoal) finally topped of with about 1" of damp long-fiber sphagnum moss (sloping down from back to front). It has a small water fountain feature in the back right corner that runs over a short river rock stream and empties into a small pond. It has one large, artificial, decorative stump/branch that reaches from the back to the front and is planted with many live plants.

The top of the viv has the screen that came with it, but I also cut a square piece of plexiglass to cover the top to hold in humidity. The viv has an 18" dual-bulb canopy with two 26W Exo Terra Full Spectrum Reptiglo 2.0 UVB CF bulbs. I have a Reptifogger and an All Things Living digital thermometer/hygrometer. The lights are on a timer with a 10-hour photoperiod from 10am-8pm. The Reptifogger is also on a timer that goes on seven times throughout the day for a 5-minute period.

Many (most) of the live plants in my viv are semi-aquatic, and a couple are even fully aquatic. With the high humidity of the viv and the waterfall/pond, I figured I could make these plants work.

Here are my problems. The plants require high humidity and/or lots of water and a warm clime. Also, they require lots of light. From what I can find online about AGTFs, these frogs only need between 60%-70% humidity, are nocturnal and don't need a lot of light. Which/whose conditions should I pay more attention to? The plants or the frogs? A lifetime ago when I used to keep Amano-style planted freshwater aquariums, the saying was always, "Happy plants mean happy fish." Does the same hold true for amphibians in a viv?

According to the digital hygrometer, the viv pretty much stays at 99% ALL the time. The temp ranges from about 78°F during the day with the lights on down to around 68°F at night with the lights off. I could lower the humidity level in the tank by propping open a 3" hinged section of the plexiglass top that I made. However, opening this up and letting the humidity out also lowers the temperature in the tank, quickly. While I want the tank climate to be comfortable for the frogs, I also want it to be conducive to good plant growth. The more the plants grow, the more hiding and resting places for the frogs, right?! But if I lower the heat and humidity, the plants will suffer.

So, which avenue should I pursue? Make the frogs or the plants happy? Given this is "Frog Forum", I'm sure I can guess the answer from most of you. But I don't know how analogous vivariums are to planted aquariums. Do happy plants also make happy frogs, and I should cater more to the plants needs?

I would appreciate any thoughts, opinions, or advice on maintaining our viv. I have picked up a Zoo Med HygroTherm to automatically control my humidity and temp levels. I also got a Zoo Med Repti-Therm 30-40 gallon under-tank heater that I will attach to the side of the tank (can't put it on the bottom because of water in the tank). With the HygroTherm, Repti-Fogger, and Heater, I hope to keep everything pretty well under control. Now I just need to know what all those control settings should be!