Question/Concerns for an Aspiring White's Dumpy Tree Frog Owner

[trkent]

The coco fiber should be fine to compost. Just keep in mind that if your frog needs medication, them that "batch" of substrate might not be a great candidate for composting because it will have some traces of the medication.

If you're worried about impaction, I would look into bowl feeding your frog. Just get a smooth-sided bowl with sides about 2" tall and the crickets won't climb out. That way the frog isn't feeding on top of substrate.

As far as not wanting to waste substrate materials, you might want to look into constructing a living vivarium. You just need a drainage layer of clay aggregate or a constructed false bottom, then a thick layer of ABG mix or similar substrate. You can top this with leaf litter to Eddie impaction concerns. The addition of springtails and isopods gives you a clean up crew that breaks frog waste down into fertilizer for live plants. It's like a mini ecosystem that doesn't require substrate changes, so there will be very little ecological impact.

Wow! I am completely impressed! That's brilliant. Definitely a project I'm going to take on in the future.

Also, wouldn't the crickets hop out of the feeding bowl? Which leads me to another question...haha... how often is it okay to change the fellow's diet? Perhaps I'll just do worms in a bowl. But what if I wanted to give them some crickets?

Really, thanks so much guys. I never expected to get so much help!

[Crispy42]

Wow! I am completely impressed! That's brilliant. Definitely a project I'm going to take on in the future.

Also, wouldn't the crickets hop out of the feeding bowl? Which leads me to another question...haha... how often is it okay to change the fellow's diet? Perhaps I'll just do worms in a bowl. But what if I wanted to give them some crickets?

Really, thanks so much guys. I never expected to get so much help!

Amazingly the crickets will very rarely get out of the bowl. If they can't climb out it doesn't seem to occur to them to jump. I guess they aren't the brightest creatures! Every once in a while one will get scared enough to jump out or will climb out by using your frog as a ladder, but that's pretty rare.

Earthworms are better escapists but are easy to tong/hand feed (just make sure they're small enough or cut up to be edible size)