purchasing new RETF

[wesly2009]

i am in the middle of building a terrarium for my 2 soon to be red eye tree frogs. I have done alot of research for these and feel im well capable of caring for them.

like i said i will be building my own enclosure, the substrate will be a layer of rock for drainage and a mix of the Atlanta botanical garden mixture and some sphagnum moss. All the plants I am putting in the enclosure have been cut for some time now and soil changed out several time to verify that nothing is in it that will be harmful to the new inhabitants. I will be making a foam backround for the terrarium with some of the mixture as well.

Now the question, Will I have to wait for a while to put the frogs in the enclosure, or can i do it within a couple of days of finishing it?

Like I said I don't have the frogs yet and will not get them until everything is good to go with the terrarium. I guess i just need to know when I will be able to place them in their new home.

[John]

Hi Wesly, welcome to the forum.

You don't need to wait before adding the 2 frogs. No matter how large your terrarium is, it will at some point require breaking down and cleaning out, and the time you wait before populating it won't have a huge effect on this.

Do you keep any other frogs?

[wesly2009]

that's good to know.

I don't currently have any other frogs. in the past I have kept whites tree frogs and attempted a dart frog. the dart frog thing didn't work out. I was a little overzealous and just decided to buy one at an expo. it didn't help that the guy who sold it to me was very convincing that it was very easy. needles to say the frog died shortly after I bought it

for that reason im trying to take this very slow, make sure I have it how i want it, and how it needs to be for the frogs.

thanks for the input

[wesly2009]

ho meant to ask how often do you break down and clean your cages? and what does it take to do so?

Removal of everything and rebuilding?

[John]

for that reason im trying to take this very slow, make sure I have it how i want it, and how it needs to be for the frogs.

I commend you on your diligence this time around - it's good that you care.

ho meant to ask how often do you break down and clean your cages? and what does it take to do so?

Removal of everything and rebuilding?

How often really depends on how many occupants and how big the terrarium is. It also depends somewhat on what substrate you use. I tend to use simple terraria. I have a base of top soil or coconut fibre - top soil is safer for longer. I usually have a few potted plants that I leave in the pots, just making spaces in the substrate for the pots - leaving them in the pots makes them easier to remove at cleaning time. In the small size tall-type exoterra or zilla terrariums with two frogs I would clean them out every month or so - if you do spot cleanings of poop during that time then you could probably get away with leaving it a few weeks longer. A larger terrarium for the same number of frogs would require less frequent cleaning, but bigger, messier species like White's Dumpy Treefrogs would need cleaning sooner.

Breaking down, cleaning and renewing a terrarium like I just described takes less than an hour because of how simple it is. you should wipe the surfaces in the tank, including any cork backing and such, fake plants, etc. I just use a damp cloth and give it a good wipe but some people use dilute detergent - if you do so, make sure you really wipe well afterwards with a water-soaked cloth to ensure you remove any detergent residue because this could harm your frogs.

All the best,

-John

[wesly2009]

good to know. thanks very much