AGTF Newbie! Zillions of questions! Halp

[jarteta97]

Ok. I see that you have already spent quite a bit on the frogs, so I'm guessing you don't want to go into the whole custom background/false bottom/expensive light fixture set-up.

For one- no evidence has really been seen that has proven that UVB lights are required for frogs. Some people using them have claimed that the frog looked healthier, but that could just be an opinion/other variable thing. UVB is more of a requirement for Bearded dragons and other such reptiles.

You're first question: The larger tank size isn't necessarily about maintenance, but rather allowing each frog to have enough room to be comfortable, and to have it's own little niche. Think about it. These animals, in the wild, have literally acres of space to roam around, and we are putting them in something 1000x smaller. So the main goal with doing this is to make the tank as close to their natural environment as possible, so that the animal/frog is more comfortable, and doesn't feel so out of place.

For the plant issue, this is what I would recommend. For now, since you have already spent a butt-load of money (don't we all ), I would stick with your compact top. The next time you go to the hardware store, look around the light section (CFLs in particular) and look for a light with a Kelvin rating 5700-6500K (usually found on back of package). Just today, I found two great ones at Home Depot with 6500K for like $8! For soil, I would order a bag of ABG mix from neherpetoculture.com, or joshsfrogs.com, or I even found that joshsfrogs has it on amazon.com. Regular potting soil, miraclegro, and coco fiber don't have the nutrients that plants require, and can often cause root rot. I would plant your live plants in pots, and place the pots in the coco-fiber substrate. This way, you don't have to pay a lot of money for more ABG mix, and the plants still get nutrients. The bottom of the pots would have to have a drainage hole, and they would have to be above the drainage layer of course. Also, this way the plants look like they are planted in the soil, but they really don't have to be.

Supplements: I'm not sure about the reputability of the Fluker's calcium w/D3 brand, but it should be ok for now. At petsmart or petco, you can find rep-cal brand multi-vitamin, which is what I use, or the best of the best, Repashy brand Supervite.

Cleaning: Maintenance usually isn't that difficult. Make sure to change out the water in the dish every day. Clean out any food or cricket dishes between meals. You can spray the glass with distilled water to clean it (doesn't leave water spots). If you wish, you may spot clean frog poop, but most people prefer to let it just, let us call it, compost. If you so desire, you may completely clean out the tank, while trying not to stress out the frogs, every 3-6 months. Also, the layer of weeblock or screening between the drainage and soil prevents the coco fiber from getting down into the drainage layer.

Water: One super, super important thing I completely forgot about. You're water must be dechlorinated. At pet stores, you can find "tap water conditioners", which will allow you to make tap-water completely safe for the frogs. If the water is not conditioned, it could very easily make the frog sick. You can buy a $5 bottle that will last you several months. Once again, conditioned tap water for water dish and plants, and distilled for misting and cleaning glass.

Also, can you measure the frogs when they are on the glass, so we can determine what stage in life they are in?

Oh, and the average life in the wild is I believe about 6 years, but they can live longer in captivity.

I don't breed my crickets, as they last a long time, and are super cheap. You're talking maybe $5 for 1 1/2 to 2 months if you take care of the crickets. I have a storage container that I cut a hole in the top, taped screening material on top of the whole, and then placed egg cartons and their food and water in, super simple. Some of course die, but the majority live.

And yes, the frogs are probably wild-caught. If not now, then in the near future, I would find the closest exotic animal vet near you (typically found in big cities), and bring in poop from both frogs to be tested for bacteria or parasites, etc. I'm not sure what you would tell your hubby, but you seem pretty smart to me .

I would also get some fake plants, with no sharp edges or tips, and suction them in the corners, or up high in the tank. Being tree frogs, they tend to like to have things up high to climb on.

As for the national geo hygro and thermometer, I haven't had experience with them, as they are fairly new to the market. Generally, the best is to use a simple glass thermometer placed on the glass, and your own mind for the humidity. As long as the plants are doing well, the frogs should too.

Any more questions, just shoot 'em our way

[karikatzi]

Ahhh OK that helps thanks. Yeah been using distilled water, we have a whole house filter but I don't trust it with the heavy metals.

"Also, can you measure the frogs when they are on the glass, so we can determine what stage in life they are in?" Big frogger is 2", smaller frog 1.75" so what's that adult?

What size storage container do you keep your crickets in? Good to know you can get a bunch and keep them I wasn't sure and so just got 6. But I did get the blue water gel and food so I'm ready for the cricket Hotel California (you can hop anytime you like but you can never leave!)

About bringing in the frog poop (now there's a sentence I never thought I would have to write), isn't it a wee bit on the, how shall we say, non legal side to have wild caught anything and therefore shouldn't really bring it to the attention of anyone? Shhhh.. I didn't not say nothing

Also , I was just checking out the pothos and snake plants you suggested, isn't the snake plant kinda spiky on the ends there? Will that hurt their skin?

Anyhooo thanks so much for all the info, gonna drag the kids out tommorrow to the Home Depot to look at carpet for the den (wink wink) and some screening, lightbulbs and plants might accidentally fall inot my cart on the way out the door... Ooops! Hee hee

Sweet froggy dreams y'all!

[karikatzi]

Oooh this is what I have, the blerb says it's got a 6700K Color temperature. Yey... I think


The Exo Terra Natural Light is a full spectrum daylight bulb with a very high visual light output and high color rendering index (98 CRI). With its high visual light output and 6700K Color temperature, the Natural Light Terrarium Bulb is recommended as general light source for all terrarium types. The high light output makes this bulb ideal for planted terrariums and it's even suitable for animals with lower UV requirements, such as snakes, amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders) and nocturnal animals. A great choice for live vivariums. (Formerly called REPTIGLO 2.0 UVB)

[jarteta97]

Nice, 6700K is typically what the sun is at at noon time. The snake plant isn't a problem either, I haven't really noticed a "spiky part", but the frogs are used to experiencing things like thorns and other "spiky" plants in the wild, so it shouldn't be a problem, unless there actually is somehow a thorn growing out of a snake plant .

Now, I would keep the snake plant and the peperomia in the back half of the tank, as they tend to grow taller, and then stick the selaginella and the pothos in the front half. You can choose whatever plant design you want, though, and I think planting the tank is one of the best parts of the build .

It looks like you've got two adults. The 1.75" one may be a sub-adult female nearing adulthood, but the important thing is really their size. When buying crickets, the clerk should always give you size options. The rule of thumb is that the length of the cricket's body should be no longer than the width between the frog's eyes. Weird, right? But it typically is the rule, as this means that it is the appropriate size for the frog to digest. If they only have really big, and really small crickets, smaller is better, as you can always just feed more.

My cricket container is roughly 1ft. x 8in. x 1ft. WxDxH. It's only that small because I don't really have much more room in my bedroom for a larger container. It's just a simple plastic storage container, modified like I said earlier with a screen top. I have it stacked up with egg cartons, which they hide in. I usually buy about 4 dozen crickets every month to month and a half, which is about $5 generally. If you can store a larger container, do it, because this allows for more crickets to be bought, and it's just a lot better for them.

I don't believe that it is illegal to catch AGTFs in North Carolina, as they are plentiful, and really aren't linked to any diseases among humans. But if a vet were to ask, you could easily just tell them it's captive bred, as many people will fecal test their frogs when they buy them, just to be sure that they aren't carrying parasites or diseases.

One last tip, too: When looking for plants at Home Depot, make sure they're sturdy!