Quote Originally Posted by Riptide View Post
I am planning on building a new viv soon for some future Amazon Milk Frogs so I just wanted to start this thread now to get a jump on some questions/logistics/clarifications/etc. I will hopefully be picking up a 36x18x36 Exo-terra this weekend so I should have a decent amount of real estate to work with.

Well here goes my first list of questions!

1) just for my own clarity sake, tree frogs in general will not spend much time on the substrate overall correct? I know it probably seems like a basic thing to clarify but I'd rather get it straight in my head now.
2) my hope is to have plant growth throughout the entire tank in the new build (walls, substrate, branches). With that in mind I've amassed a fair amount of tree fern panels, ecoweb, and Hygrolon. Would these be acceptable mediums for the backgrounds for milk frogs?
3) I know milk frogs get rather large so are there any plants in particular that work well with them? I know big sturdy leaves but I'm not very familiar with plants so any specific guidance would be wonderful!
4) assuming the mediums from question 2 are acceptable I will need to keep them watered well so would I be best off with a misting system, drip wall, rain system, or is this just personal preference?
5) substrate: would aquarium gravel topped with sphagnum and leaf litter be acceptable or is coconut husk and peat still preferred?

sorry for the small novel but thank you greatly in advance!

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Ok, so let me see if I can answer your questions.

1. Depends on the frog. But generally, tree frogs do spend more time off the substrate than on it. Some get in moods where they wanna be on the substrate. Go figure.

2. Hygrolon is safe for all animals.

3. Sturdy plants that are common and easily accessible would be pothos, philodendron, bromeliads, sansevieria, some ferns. There are others, but they should get you started.

4. Watering the tank is all personal preference. Drip walls are nice, but they only take care of that wall. Misters and fogger are both excellent choices. It mostly depends on your design and comfort level of building a Viv.

5. For a tree frog, you could probably get away with gravel and moss. I steer away from the moss because they do spend time on the substrate and things happen. I prefer not to risk them accidentally ingesting a small piece of sphagnum and getting impacted. There are better ways to build and keep humidity in a tank. The leaf litter is fine, obviously. Also, keep in mind that gravel/moss has no nutritional value for the plants.

Hope that helps