A few random questions from a newb

[lnikkiy]

Yes, I was referring to terrestrial snails, not aquatic ones. Obviously the type of snail would make a difference, but many can be quite disastrous. Just something to keep in mind if you are considering snails

[junebug]

Are there any very small land snails that won't eat my plants? Obviously that would be a bad thing lol. If not, no biggie, I have isos as a cleanup crew, just thought a single small snail would look nice.

Does anyone know if it's safe for me to use vinegar on the tank? I really want to try to get rid of this hard water deposit on the front but don't want to poison my toads.

Also, is there anything I should add to the tank other than springtails and isos for a cleanup crew? Perhaps there is a small beetle I should consider, or something? Honestly I don't like beetles, or most bugs, but rolly polies are okay.

I am also wondering if I should consider adding a carnivorous plant to assist with overfeeding, which I'm likely to do as the toadlets will be young and I have yet to find a guideline on how much to feed them. I'm planning on a staple of drosophila with regular phoenix worms for calcium. And if I can find them, termites that don't eat wood might be added as well, or non-biting ants. (if anyone knows where I can purchase these, let me know, I'd be really grateful.)

[LilyPad]

I do not know about the snails.

Vinegar is great for cleaning off the hard water and when rinsed, will not harm your toads at all. Sometimes a razor blade is necessary to assist with cleaning off hard water deposits.

I have great luck with only spring tails and isos as a clean up crew. Have never felt the need for anything else.

I would not add a carnivorous plant, your toads would likely stress them to death and I believe (tho correct me if I'm wrong, plant experts) that they need quite a bit of circulation.

I have heard of people having issues with pheonix worms because the frogs cannot digest them properly. The fruit flies maybe with a few occasional bean beetles mixed in and calcium and vitamin powders should be sufficient.

[junebug]

I have heard of people having issues with pheonix worms because the frogs cannot digest them properly. The fruit flies maybe with a few occasional bean beetles mixed in and calcium and vitamin powders should be sufficient.

That's odd, I had heard they were a good natural source of calcium for amphibians. :/ I will have to look into that more before I feed them lol. What is a bean beetle?

[LilyPad]

That's odd, I had heard they were a good natural source of calcium for amphibians. :/ I will have to look into that more before I feed them lol. What is a bean beetle?

I have read accounts of them coming out whole and even still alive with frogs. Apparently, frogs have a difficult time digesting them and they're better for animals that bite and chew to break their skin and make them more digestible. I bought them once also thinking it would be a great addition to my frogs' diets. Also, if you have one die in there, they stink to high heaven. Just do a quick search with the search feature, lots of threads about phoenix worms come up. I chose not to use them after reading a bit.

Bean beetles are little teeny beetles in a bean culture, they are a good occasional treat. I do not know a whole lot about them as I don't feed tiny foods.

[Strider18]

A bean beetle is a small beetle(obviously) around 3-4mm in length and many dart frog keepers culture them as a treat for their frogs. They would work for your toadlets since they are relatively small.

[deranged chipmunk]

looks like the gang has you covered. first off, termites and ants are bad. and i'm not even thinking about the viv. just imagine, if, for some unknown reason, one or both of those cultures were to fall over during the night. eghads!! now, not only your living space will get them, so will neighbors (if you have any), and more importantly, you just may have introduced a potentially catastrophic invasive species into your local eco system, because they will get out, make no mistake of that.

snails are just not a good thing in a viv. although aquatics in a water feature are fine. and there is rarely a such thing as "one snail" lol

as far as carnivorous plants go. they won't eat the amount of leftover food you think they may. they also do not like the nutrient rich soil that we use. in some species, it would actually cause their demise. humidity wouldn't be an issue with BB toads, as much as it would be in a dart tank. ventilation wouldn't be an issue either. you could possibly keep a drosera species in there (sundew). a bladderwort like utricularia gramminifolia (UG in the aquatic planted tank hobby) would also be a viable candidate, if you could get some, and it would have to be planted on the margin. you could even get away with one of the short, low growing sarracenia species, but they would probably grow too wide for the tank. i can probably come up with a few others, but my mind is drawing a blank right now. as amy mentioned also, some carnivores are very delicate. i know my D. Filliformis is ridiculously fragile, so i would worry about even the smallest toad trampling it to death.

[deranged chipmunk]

oh, and bean beetles are awesome!! i highly recommend them!

[junebug]

Haha don't worry Bill, if I was to get a termite "culture" I'd just introduce them directly to the tank. Don't think I'd actually try to raise them. Doubt if I actually could lol. Okay, so where does one get these bean beetles?

I am skipping the carnivorous plant for now. Might try one later in a plant only viv I just got a couple of assorted ferns, vines, and a begonia to finish off the tank.

[Strider18]

Almost all land snails will be eating your plants, not much you can do about that.

You can use vinegar to remove hard water deposits but you may want to tear apart the whole tank so that you can make sure that you get all of the vinegar out.

I would just stick with isopods and springtails.

Most carnivorous plants that I know of wouldn't even survive in that kind of enviroment, you may want to ask Bill(Deranged Chipmunk) as he is the real plant expert

I hope this helps!

Lol looks like I need to type faster, everyone is stealing all of my answers :P