Amphibian Racking System Build (Photo Heavy)

[MantellaGuy]

Looks great!! Question, next to last pic, what's the tall aroid on the right?

That's a Schefflera elegantissima 'Gemini', Bill It's native to New Caledonia but I thought it'd look good in that corner, it will get quite big though after a while! lol

[deranged chipmunk]

Sweet plant! I love seeing enclosures from your side of the ocean. Such diversity in plant availability. I am jealous!! Lol

[MantellaGuy]

Hi all,

This will be the final update regarding my Mantella aurantiaca exhibit! Finally, at long last this one is nearly complete, it took such a long time but that is what happens with you prioritise things! lol

Anyway, I had, technically, the final step to the build which I must admit, turned out a lot better than I thought it would! lol So, without further ado, here is the fial out come (still need to sort out the front trench which will act as a seasonal pool.) -











So, the woodland moss is in there, which I somehow manage to grow quite nicely within Terrariums, don't ask me how I manage it... haha! :P But anyway, there is Kyoto Moss Spores scattered across the Terrarium, so hopefully that will take eventually! Fingers crossed

Next for the final final update will be the Water Section! But shall be moving onto my next update, the re-doing of the Mantella viridis exhibit

Many thanks,

Joshua

[deranged chipmunk]

Awesome! Love the enclosure Josh!!

[MantellaGuy]

Awesome! Love the enclosure Josh!!

Cheers Bill, I must admit I am quite happy with it!! lol It will look better once grown on a little though

[deranged chipmunk]

You should be happy with it, it looks great buddy!

[deranged chipmunk]

I've gotta update mine, I just finally completed it today lol

[MantellaGuy]

Cheers mate! Means a lot!

Any new photos of yours buddy? would be interested in seeing it!

[deranged chipmunk]

Just did

[Mentat]

Hi Joshua ! Any updates on your Mantella display set-up?

[poison]

Anybody know where I can get those backgrounds at out here in the states? Seen people use them but don't know where to get them.

How is that Ivy doing in the enclosure. I read that they don't do so well in high humidity.

[Mentat]

Anybody know where I can get those backgrounds at out here in the states? ...

You mean like these: Coco Liner 1 or Coco Liner 2? Either Amazon or a local gardening type store .

[poison]

Cool, thank you very much, Carlos!

[Bombina Bob]

It's kind of still under consideration as to what would be in each terrarium and where a bouts it would be placed in it. Here is my collection;

Anura (Frogs & Toads):
1.1.20 Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca)
2.2.7 Brown Leaf Mantella (Mantella betsileo)
1.3.0 Guibes Mantella (Mantella nigricans)
1.1.10 Blue-Legged Mantella (Mantella expectata)
1.2.0 Madagascan Mantella (Mantella madagascarensis)
1.2.0 Yellow Mantella (Mantella crocea)
1.2.5 Green Mantella (Mantella viridis)
1.1.0 Arboreal Mantella (Mantella laevigata)
0.0.3 Cowan's Mantella (Mantella cowanii)
0.0.3 Black Eared Mantella (Mantella milotympanum)
0.0.2 Malagasy Rainbow Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne gottlebei)
1.1.0 Malagasy Green Marbled Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne marmorata)
0.0.1 Sambava Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)
1.1.0 Asian Painted Bullfrogs (Kaloula pulchra)
1.2.0 Phantasmal Poison Frogs (Epipedobates tricolor) "Zarayunga" locality variant
0.0.1 Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
1.1.10 Taylor's Bug Eyed Frogs (Theloderma stellatum)
1.1.0 Bird Poop Mossy Frogs (Theloderma asperum)

Caudata (Newts & Salamanders):
0.0.2 Ryukyu Spiny Newt (Echinotriton andersoni)
1.1.2 Tiannan Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton yangi)
0.0.6 Wen Xian Knobby Newts (Tylototriton wenxianensis)
0.0.2 Mandarin Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton shanjing)
0.0.4 Ta Liang Red Eared Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton taliangensis)
0.0.6 Black Knobby Newts (Tylototriton asperrimus)
0.0.2 Ziegler's crocodile newt (Tylototriton ziegleri)
0.0.2 Lizhenchang's Crocodile Newt (Tylototriton lizhenchangi)
1.2.0 Tokyo Salamanders (Hynobius tokyoensis)
0.1.0 Okinawa Sword Tail Newt (Cynops ensicauda popei)
1.0.0 Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
0.1.0 Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
0.0.1 Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus)

So if anyone want's to place a request then go ahead :P lol

Anyway, I have received the 9 Starter Terrariums all to my specifications by DMS Vivaria and I must admit I pretty much fell in love with them.

I ordered 9 terrariums in total which included;

3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrariums.
3 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Burrowing Terrariums.
2 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm Glass Partition Water Area Terrariums.
1 - 800mm x 400mm x 400mm False Bottom Terrarium

Anyway, here are some photographs of some of them (I will upload photos of all of them lol);

Attachment 63611
4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.
Attachment 63612
4 of the 6 - 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrariums From DMS.

Attachment 63613
A 400mm x 400mm x 400mm Terrarium for a Burrowing species, probably going to house a Dyscophus guineti or Scaphiophyrne species.

Attachment 63614
Good quality Terrariums! Highly recommend DMS Vivaria

Anyway, I shall upload more photos shortly as I will be building the racking soon so I can actually stored them safely without worrying! lol

Wow thats a lot of amphibs! The build looks very professional ive seen some stack 12x12 Exo terras using two 2x2s

[MantellaGuy]

Hi all,

I will be doing my latest update this evening, hopefully if I can ever get my photos to upload! lol

Wow thats a lot of amphibs! The build looks very professional ive seen some stack 12x12 Exo terras using two 2x2s

Haha thank you, I forgot that I had to update my list for this!

Anura (Frogs & Toads):
1.1.20 Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) - + Spawn
2.2.0 Brown Leaf Mantella (Mantella betsileo) - + Spawn
0.0.10 Bronze Leaf Mantella (Mantella ebenaui)
1.2.0 Baron's Mantella (Mantella baroni)
1.1.2 Beautiful Mantella (Mantella pulchra) - + Spawn
1.1.2 Blue-Legged Mantella (Mantella expectata) - + Spawn
1.3.0 Guibes Mantella (Mantella nigricans)
1.2.0 Madagascan Mantella (Mantella madagascarensis) - + Spawn
1.2.7 Yellow Mantella (Mantella crocea) - + Spawn
2.4.8 Green Mantella (Mantella viridis) - + Spawn
1.1.2 Arboreal Mantella (Mantella laevigata)
0.0.3 Cowan's Mantella (Mantella cowanii)
0.0.3 Black Eared Mantella (Mantella milotympanum)
0.0.2 Malagasy Rainbow Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne gottlebei)
1.1.0 Malagasy Green Marbled Burrowing Frogs (Scaphiophryne marmorata)
1.1.0 Asian Painted Bullfrogs (Kaloula pulchra)
1.1.0 Sky-blue Poison Dart Frog (Hyloxalus azureiventris)
2.2.0 Phantasmal Poison Frogs (Epipedobates tricolor) "Zarayunga" & "Maraspunga" Localities - + Spawn
0.0.1 Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)
1.1.10 Taylor's Bug Eyed Frogs (Theloderma stellatum)
1.1.0 Bird Poop Mossy Frogs (Theloderma asperum)
1.0.0 Sambava Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)

Caudata (Newts & Salamanders):
0.0.2 Ryukyu Spiny Newt (Echinotriton andersoni)
1.1.2 Tiannan Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton yangi)
0.0.6 Wen Xian Knobby Newts (Tylototriton wenxianensis) - + Spawn
1.2.2 Mandarin Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton shanjing) - + Spawn
0.0.4 Ta Liang Red Eared Crocodile Newts (Tylototriton taliangensis)
0.0.6 Black Knobby Newts (Tylototriton asperrimus)
0.0.2 Ziegler's crocodile newt (Tylototriton ziegleri)
0.0.2 Lizhenchang's Crocodile Newt (Tylototriton lizhenchangi)
1.2.0 Tokyo Salamanders (Hynobius tokyoensis) - + 2 Egg Sacs
0.1.0 Okinawa Sword Tail Newt (Cynops ensicauda popei)
1.0.0 Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
0.1.0 Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
0.0.1 Marbled Newt (Triturus marmoratus)

Thank you very much aswell

[MantellaGuy]

Hi everyone ,

So, it has been a very long time since my last update on the builds and I might aswell post about the latest one for my latest additions to my Mantella collection, the Baron's Mantella (Mantella baroni).

Right, I got a lot of inspiration from other tanks for Mantella species, a Bog-like Marsh environment. One particular enclosure design really stuck in my mind, so I really had to portray it within this exhibit.

Attachment 71174

For this exhibit, I would be using a 400mm x 400mm x 400mm size Terrarium with no Glass False Bottom. I went for a no glass false bottom because of the landscape I was wanting to be in it.

The next step was cleaning the Terrarium of course and then making the background....
Attachment 71176

Of course, I would be using my favourite Terrarium making tool, my Expanding Foam. But first I needed some things to go into the backgrounds;
Attachment 71178

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After positioning the piece of Oak, I had to seal and reinforce it into the back securely.

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Then, after that, you'll notice that I didn't use it on all the glass, this was for a reason. As you will see below, I began to cut out the Coco Husk Background to match the rest of the backing left empty .

Attachment 71215

Like so;

Attachment 71216

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Right, I left this 24 hours, regardless of the fact the mastic is Solvent Free and proceeded to make the background mixture which is Clay Cat Litter and Coir Compost mixed together.

Attachment 71221

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All you need to do, is pack it on nicely onto the background, like so.

Attachment 71223

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I also thought this left hand panel of Coco Husk looked a tad bit bare, so I decided to mastic some vines to it.

Attachment 71227

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I left it a further 24 hours and began the false bottom of Clay Beads and Hydro-fleece .

Attachment 71229

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Like above, I made another type of substrate type, a gravel laced coir mix to simulate a river back edge.

Now it was time to plant, I used the following;

Moon Valley Plant (Pilae involucrater)

Attachment 71235

Irish Moss

Attachment 71236




Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)

Attachment 71237

So I began to plant my exhibit, and I started with a Earth Star (Cryptanthus bivittatus)





Then I planted the Moon Valley Plant (Pilae involucrater)





"Red Rosso" Radiator Plant (Peperomia caperata) and also some Irish Moss was then placed into the enclosure.








Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) was then planted.



Followed by some more Irish Moss in the mid section and a Spider Plant (Chlorophytum laxum).







Now, especially for a Malagasy Theme for the enclosure, I bought a Malagasy Lemon Scented Orchid (Aerangis citrata), which will look amazing when it flowers!



and now for the finished product!