Member of the Month - February 2015 - DigitalPunk/Paul

[Heatheranne]

They also like to snack on springtails and dwarf isopods.

[LilyPad]

Great pics Paul! ! Thanks for sharing. Love all of your vivs!


Frogger... I hated dealing with fruit flies when I had spring peepers, it's why I have no darts. Fruit flies are a must with them.

[jarteta97]

I'll tell you what, Paul has been one of my biggest inspirations on this site. He's really showed me just how much keeping frogs can be a clearly defined hobby, something that I can do throughout my life. He pops out a tank like every other month! You really deserve member of the month Paul

[deranged chipmunk]

hey, let's not go thinking Paulie is done yet. i have a few questions......

1. where do you find the inspiration for your tanks you build?

2. what types of tank do you prefer building? dart tanks? tree frog tanks?

3. what were some of the obstacles you have overcome to be so successful in the hobby?

4. any valuable lessons you learned that you would like to pass on to new and future froggers?

that's a good start

[DigitalPunk]

1. where do you find the inspiration for your tanks you build?

Various places. I first will read up on the frogs that I am building the tank for and see what bullet points I need to hit with the tank. Then I will look for images of where they are from in the wild and try to pick up a few things from their natural stomping grounds. I also am a member of several frog and Vivarium centered groups on Facebook and pour over tanks others build and will see things that they did that will inspire me on how to do something a bit different. I try not to blatantly rip ideas off but will try to tweak it and make it my own.

Of all those steps the most important one is designing a tank to suit the frogs that will call that space home.

2. what types of tank do you prefer building? dart tanks? tree frog tanks?

After having built a handful of Red Eye Tree Frog tanks and many many Dart frog tanks I have to say I prefer Dart frog tanks. Dart frogs offer you the chance to include water features, complicated hard scape, simple flat, 3D background.. Anything. So many different needs to meet with Dart Frogs.

3. what were some of the obstacles you have overcome to be so successful in the hobby?

Obstacles... hmm... I feel like I am still working to be "Successful" in the hobby. I am constantly learning new things. I am always trying something new and see how it works. One of the biggest things I had to learn early on is that it is OK to fail. It's ok to make mistakes and learn from them and be public about it. One of the harder things for me when I first started learning about the hobby in Jan of 2014 was sorting through the truly helpful information from the complete garbage. As a noob in Viv building and frog husbandry I really really struggled with being able to tell the good tips and guides from the bad. It required HOURS and HOURS of reading everything I could find and trying to find common strings that various sources kept returning to.

4. any valuable lessons you learned that you would like to pass on to new and future froggers?

1. Proper drainage layer is simple, but not easy to maintain. Check water level often
2. Spend time with your tanks daily. Observing your frogs regularly is not only super awesome it will also help you quickly identify if behavior changes because something is off in the tank.
3. Prepare to fall in love with plants. Spend time picking cool unique plants... Plants are by far the most expensive thing in my tanks now (if you exclude the frogs)
4. Ask question... Read and learn on your own but also ask question. Be sure the person answering your questions knows what they are talking about
5. Budget and save. This is a hobby and should be fun. It CAN take ownership of your checking account. Try to not let it