2 quick White tree frog questions

[KayJoh]

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice, it is very much appreciated.
After your explanation of the various substrates I think I am going to go with soil substrate with artificial plants for now.
I was looking at one called E-Coco which says it is coco peat and coconut husk which is actually advertised for whites tree frogs but I like to just check.Would this one be suitable. If not which ones are the best?
As far as the life span and having to look after them for a long time that is absolutely fine by me. I am a very keen Fancy goldfish keeper and they are a lot of hard work as I have 4 big tanks which I have to do large water changes on a weekly basis with a syphon tube and buckets because I can't have a water changing system but I love my fish so I do it religiously. I wont take a pet on on a whim so fully understand they are for a long time.
The crickets wont be a problem. I have a local Aquatic/pet store near to me and they always have loads of live feeder insects.
I will now go straight for the 45x45x60 vivarium. To be honest it is better for me as I didn't really want to have the expense of having to upgrade.
Anyway, thanks again for all your help and advice.

[LydiasMom]

I've been using the e- coco substrate and it's been really good. We got mites and I had to bake all of it, but you'd have to do that with soil too.

Live plants really do a lot for your critter friends, physically and mentally/emotionally. So, I'd recommend cultivating live plants to keep the ammonia and other noxious chemicals that can gather in the tank down. Also for the happiness of your frogs. Stress can kill them and live plants help them to not stress

[KayJoh]

Hi LydiasMom,
just a question, how do you get mites? do they come in on the frog or substrate or some other way.
That sounds like a rude question but it isn't meant to be, I just want to know as much as I can before I start out.
Any advice is very much appreciated by anyone so thank you.

[LydiasMom]

Hi LydiasMom,
just a question, how do you get mites? do they come in on the frog or substrate or some other way.
That sounds like a rude question but it isn't meant to be, I just want to know as much as I can before I start out.
Any advice is very much appreciated by anyone so thank you.

Not rude at all! There's actually a lot of kinds of mites and ways they can show up. They should not arrive from your frogs tho.

Substrate can be a carrier, but the e-coco sterilizes so it's pretty safe. Soil is a big culprit when that's the carrier

Plants. They need to be carefully rinsed off before being planned in your frogs home, no matter who you purchase them from, it's always best to check. And if you get plants from a flower or garden show be EXTRA thorough, because they're notorious for that issue. Also if you get any plants/ wood from nature it needs to be thoroughly cleansed.

Your little friend's food. Crickets, even ants can carry a mite infection in on them.

If you see mites you're going to need to do one of two things, disassemble and bake/ wash everything. Or remove all critters you don't want dead and use dry ice to bath the whole thing. The plants will love it, but anything that needs oxygen will die overnight. Make sure you don't gas yourself either and ventilate the tank properly before returning any oxygen dependant friends.

Does that help?

[elly]

I don't personally know that live plants are necessarily the best. Frogs do need somewhere to hide to prevent stress and fake plants can help with that. However it's nice that live plants help prevent ammonia buildup. Also, fake plants should be checked carefully for hard edges or exposed wires. They should be cleaned thoroughly from time to time.

If you keep fancy goldfish, frogs shouldn't be too hard. Their water bowls need changing every day, or at least every two days. Or, I forgot to mention you can have a semi aquatic setup with a shallow layer of water on the bottom, a small filter, and plenty of places to climb out of the water.

e-coco sounds like it would be good. I don't recommend rocks small enough to fit into the frog's mouth in the tank. I've seen cases where frogs ate rocks before. Seriously! I have no idea how they survive in the wild.

[KayJoh]

You have both given me some very helpful information and some very good tips so thanks you both for all the help.
I have decided I am definitely going to get some frogs now. I have been thinking about WTF's ever since seeing them for the first time about a year ago and doing a lot of reading but there were a few things I wasn't clear about but you have both helped loads.

[LydiasMom]

You have both given me some very helpful information and some very good tips so thanks you both for all the help.
I have decided I am definitely going to get some frogs now. I have been thinking about WTF's ever since seeing them for the first time about a year ago and doing a lot of reading but there were a few things I wasn't clear about but you have both helped loads.

I'm really glad! I'm a neophyte, myself, but I've been learning a lot! Feel free to ask me anything you need help with! Worst case scenario I'll have to tell you that I don't know

[KayJoh]

This post went wrong so have reposted.

[KayJoh]

I know I have said this before but I really do appreciate the help. I actually hate coming onto forums because I don't want to be a pain in the butt to anyone. BUT... having said that your responses have raised a few more questions.
I have now decided that I would like to go down the planted route, they do look nice don't they! My first question is I know that you need your drainage layer but do you have to, from time to time, syphon the bottom right out to keep things nice and fresh?
Also am I right that you need a clean up crew and if so how do you ensure that they don't bring anything nasty in with them?
My plants will obviously be in before I get the frogs so is there anything I need to do for the plants until the frogs go in or will water be enough until the frogs arrive?
Lastly just seen something about cycling the tank. What does that mean? I know all about cycling a fancy goldfish tank but don't have a clue with this.
Can't tell you how much all your advice is helping already so again THANK YOU. X