Terrarium advice needed

[Julia]

Thanks for the tips...very helpful!

[UncleChester]

Hi Julia,

1. Pothos is a pretty tough vine, I don't know if a Whites can smash it or not. It's very easy to propagate though, just put a leaf and stem in a jar of water and leave in a sunny spot so you could always have replacement vines ready.

2. Is it an existing background you want to modify, or build a new one? This link has a few waterfall setups:

Amphibian Care >> Waterfalls and Drip Walls in the Terrarium

I've never made one, but I'm planning a build like 2) in the above link (though 1) seems simpler), but with the waterfall made out of styrofoam covered in Quikrete. I've nearly finished a 13 gal. vivarium with a foam+Quikrete background (no waterfall) and I think it turned out well so I'm a Quikrete convert (pics to come in a week or so).

Here's a post by ViciousAlice that makes a dripwall/waterfall out of an existing foam backgound:

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...at-i-made.html


3. I just saw your post about the shipping of leaves from Josh's frogs to Canada. Wow! They may need a phytosanitary certificate to cross the border which would add to the cost and paperwork. Grrr, it seems so many things I find on the internet that I want just aren't readily available in Canada so I feel your pain. Anyways, I get my leaf litter from the bushes here, if you have an area you know is chemical free you could go collecting. Sphagnum moss seems like a popular option as well, but I've never used it.

[Julia]

Thanks UncleChester,

The water fall "ViciousAlice" made is exactly what i had in mind...I plan to convert my 24 x 18x24 exo terra tank into the living terrarium...I had hoped to use the background that it came with. I guess that is a possibility! And for the leaf litter I could just go out to a forest (im surrounded by them) and collect it...its a lot cheaper! Lol! How would I go about killing bugs and things living in it? Or is that not a concern?

[John]

You can get leaf litter and various plants from at least one of our sponsors (joshsfrogs). I use pothos in my Gray Tree Frog enclosure - it may well work with White's.

[Kurt]

Can Josh actually ship leaves to Canada?

[UncleChester]

Can Josh actually ship leaves to Canada?

It is possible to ship plant material cross border, but it's expensive. She said in another post $60 to ship $10 worth of leaves:

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...er-canada.html

[Julia]

It is possible to ship plant material cross border, but it's expensive. She said in another post $60 to ship $10 worth of leaves:

http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...er-canada.html

Hardly seems worth paying $70 for dead leaves when I can literally seen forests from my bedroom window. I read about boiling the oak leaves, letting them cool, and then adding them to enclosure. Do they have to be dead leaves or can I use freshly picked ones?

[UncleChester]

...And for the leaf litter I could just go out to a forest (im surrounded by them) and collect it...its a lot cheaper! Lol! How would I go about killing bugs and things living in it? Or is that not a concern?

I don't worry about anything tiny, but I make sure there's no slugs or snails or anything I can readily see. They probably aren't harmful, but I don't like snail tracks all over the glass. Just like topsoil from a chemical free yard, this will bring in beneficial bacteria that help break down waste. I've seen the recommendation to use tougher leaves as they will take longer to break down. I usually stick with oak because I have an easy place to collect the leaves from.