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

[John]

You are most welcome!

[wesly2009]

one more quick question what do i need to use for lighting for these frogs. I have just a regular light fixture for the typical aquarium. would that work? what color temp should i get for the plants.

[John]

It really depends on what kind of plants you want to keep. If it's tough plants like Pothos then a normal "daylight" light is fine. If you are trying to grow less hardy plants you will need to find something that gives out more in the UV spectrum. I notice our article doesn't have anything on light in it. I think we will have to make an addition.

One important thing to keep in mind is that incandescent light and fixtures can give off a lot of heat. Fluorescent bulbs use a lot less power and produce a lot less heat, so bear that in mind before you make your choices.

[Kurt]

Red-eyes don't need lights.

[John]

Red-eyes don't need lights.

We should add something a little more descriptive than that to the article though, don't you think? Right now it says nothing about light.

[Kurt]

Maybe something along the lines of "Lights are only needed for one or two purposes. One, they are needed to keep live plants, if you choose to do so, and two, you may want them for better viewing. Other than that they are not needed. Red-eye leaf frogs are extremely nocturnal and do not require lights."
How's that?

I don't keep any lights on my red-eyes and I have three enclosure of them, the adults, froglets, and tadpoles. I have lights on the dart frog, because he has plants in his enclosure. The box turle, because he requires it. The White's and Colorado River toads, because they are display animals in the living room.

[Jumpshot724]

I don't keep any lights on my red-eyes and I have three enclosure of them, the adults, froglets, and tadpoles. I have lights on the dart frog, because he has plants in his enclosure. The box turle, because he requires it. The White's and Colorado River toads, because they are display animals in the living room.

You keep Colorado River Toads as display animals over Red Eyed Tree Frogs????

Am I missing something....?? Lol

[Kurt]

My Colorado River Toad is a large impressive animal. My adult red-eyes comfortably in a ten-gallon. Since the toad is huge, he gets the thirty-gallon.

[Kurt]

And besides red-eyes are not good display animals. They sleep all day.

[wesly2009]

so my next question is is it possible to give them too much light and if so what kind of plants can i place in the terrarium with lower light requirements.

[Kurt]

Plastic. Seriously, when it comes to plants I am almost completely clueless. I have some bromeiliads and I have had Java moss, any other plant I have had has died on me.
I don't think it is possible to give red-eyes too much light, but they do prefer darkness to light.

[John]

They sleep all day.

That is why it's very hard to get decent photos of these frogs at zoos! Every time I see them they are all huddled up on a leaf.

[Kurt]

I noticed my froglets are much more active than my adults. They wake up sooner than the adults.
I have never seen this species in a zoo, unless you count the one I worked in, which technically wasn't a zoo, it was and still is a science museum. We had one on display and all it did was sleep all day. Like I said, a lousy display animal.

[Jumpshot724]

Yea but....Colorado River Toads are so....ugly lol. Very true about the RETFs though, always asleep whenever I see them.



As far as plants look into Pothos (I got mine a year ago from Home Depot....didn't even know what it was until 2 days ago) you actually have to try to kill them lol. They'll root in ANYTHING, including Cocofiber, dirt, gravel, and just plain water. Not only that but they grow very fast (I trim mine back about once every 2-3 months). They don't have flowers, but they have very large green leafs in the shape of a Spade from a deck of cards, RETFs love big leaves. Also this plants grows kind of like a vine, so you can drape the vines over background pieces etc to make it grow up instead of sideways.

As far as lighting, you don't need it. But I use a SunGlo bulb from ExoTerra during the day, and a NightGlo bulb from ExoTerra at night. The lighting will really help your plants, the frogs don't need it but it will make your tank look MUCH nicer....I highly suggest the NightGlo bulbs for night, it makes the tank look like it's being bathed in soft moonlight.