Beginner desperate for help :)

[vmaxchick]

Hi there and i thanks you in advance for any help you can provide me with, i recently about two weeks ago if i am honest rescued r white tree frogs, 2 fire bellied toads. They were in well a small glass box and i wont turn any animal away as such that is in danger.

I spent over £500 trying to amke things right, i bought a Terrarium size being inches 18x 24 x 24 rather large and took a lot of searching where i live in Scotland to get one and cash i did not have haha however.
Here is the specs of the tank
Full Glass Terrarium
Front opening doors
Removable top screen
Unique front window ventilation
Lock to prevent escapes
Full screen metal top ventilation
Raised bottom for easy Substrate Heater mounting
Up to ten closable wire or tube inlets
Natural Rock background

i had to purchase the light canopy on my own and i had to purchase a double that cost me another £60 one end of the canopy has heater bulb 25watt and the other end 25watt UV.

At night time i have to change things over to a smaller canopy for a few hours and put 15watt might time moonlit one.

I will try and take pic of tank another day. I have placed a very large casserole dish at the front end of the tank as such and filled with water and rocks etc and the two toads use that without an issue.

The tree frogs seem to like to sit on the silk pants that i stuck on the side as its been hard to get any wood just now for branches etc but i will try again tomorrow again.

I also bought a fogger so that when the humidity drops below about 72 i bring it back up using the fogger and they seem to like it i think.

prob is i have had to place 2 Rainforest substrate heater mats on the underside these being large also size being 28cm x 43cm and also one one the side and to my shock horror i cant get the temps above 76 or max 78 at a push normally always seems to be under 75 and have also tried putting a cover over the mesh as was advised to try that, i mean 4 heaters and its in my lounge ???????? what else can i do and bear in mind that also the 25watt lights are on at this time as well.

Using moss as a substrate and all the best i can get not sure if the guys are eating but assuming so at night when i am in bed as i put some crickets in before then for the frogs and have some worms in also.

Do the toads like bloodworm?

i do hope someone can advise me here on the heating issue and if i am doing things as near as damn it right........

cheers
H x

[bshmerlie]

Check your actual Thermometer. Sometimes they simply just don't work. Also what is the temperature of your house? Usually the room temp in a typical house is 68-75. If your're colder than that you can get a reptile heat lamp that goes over the tank to add heat. Or turn up the heat in your house.

[vmaxchick]

Hi there Cheri heat in the room main room we are in is under 19 degrees C the reason for that it i have a huge Alaskan malamute dog who would die if my room temps were at cooking point hahah see i do everything for my animals first i must be crazy...... I have checked 6 dials etc and also 2 digital temp checkers and they say the same.....what type of light you mean? a heat light? also should i have covered the mesh to keep the heat in or is that wrong?

did i seem to have done everything else correct?

cheers
H

[Kurt]

The two species aren't housed together are they? The fire bellies are quite toxic.

[vmaxchick]

yes they are housed together they were like that and when i asked a breeder he said it was ok rescued them like that? got me worried now any further info on the above original post would be great also......

[bshmerlie]

Yeah, I agree with Kurt... your bigger problem is keeping the fire belly in with the Whites. He's slowly poisoning the whites considering how much he's probably sitting in the water dish. As far as the heat goes...go to a reptile shop and ask the sales person for a heat lamp that you can use when your temps get too cold. It would be best to also get a thermostat that will turn it off it gets too hot in the enclosure. You don't really want to cover the whole top because they are going to need ventilation. 78 degrees is a good temp to keep them at. Your definately going to want to do something about the housing situation. For the time being at least have separate water dishes. The whites dish would have to be off the ground somewhere maybe up on a study ledge or something. Remember frogs absorb the water through their skin and if they're using the same water dish the whites will be the first to show signs of trouble. Change the water in their enclosure everyday.

[charlamanda]

Well, Cheri and Kurt, you beat me to the punch! I read this yesterday and thought about the two being together last PM, when I finally clicked. I wanted to post it today...too late, but glad, since I dropped the ball on this one.LOL
I am not sure of the Lb conversion to US dollars, but I applaud your efforts and intentions.
You've gone through a lot of trouble to help these frogs and with your enthusiasm and inquiries I am sure they are going to do very well and be very happy...once of course they are separately housed. I am sure that's the last thing you wanted to hear, given the expenses you've already incurred, but it's for the best.
If you have limited funds try checking the news papers in the classified section, if you have them there, for people getting rid of they're old stuff. I'd also recommend Craig's list or something comparable to it by you. It's an online classified, again for people trying to sell stuff they don't want. You could also try other online auctions/classified like amazon.com, ebay.com, uBid.com, pennyauction.com, goodwill.com, you get the idea. You will be able to get what you want for much less and can either meet with the people, if they are close enough, or have the items shipped from just about anywhere. When I checked I was over whelmed with what was available by me!
I hope this will help you find what you need for an affordable price. Please let us know and post a few pics of your new babies.
Oh, BTW...I beleive that Josh's frogs at (joshsfrogs.com) is having a sale on lighting you may want to check out. Best if luck!

[vmaxchick]

hi there folks with an update spent about £400 roughly 600 dollars today to buy another viv well aquarium set up for the fire bellied toads and god is this life saving cost me a packet also bought an extra heat lamp with no joy on raising temps, need to take a breather on this as patience is wearing thin now haha

[DonLisk]

Hey Mate, Are the tops partially covered by glass or completely vented? I believe I read it is a full screen top. The more you cover the top to seal it the more heat you will retain and increase humidity.

If just a screened top, try covering 1/2 of the top with glass and it should rise in temps some.

[vmaxchick]

hi there thought it was not wise to cover all the mesh, dont get me wrong it would make a hell of a diff just went out today and spent another 150 quid not amused

[Greenlove]

I'm sorry I have no advice for you as I am new to frogs. There are many people on here that are knowledgeable and can hopefully lead you down the right path as you set up your tanks. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that you are not alone in your quest for rescuing animals and then having an astronomical bill for said rescue. BUT, you are a very special person for doing it and I give you a for doing so. I also have 2 Alaskan Malamutes that I rescued. They are great dogs. You are right, they do not like heat that much, but mine are outside dogs and it gets hot here in summer (in the high 80's to 90's) and they seem to adapt just fine. Maybe you can turn up your heat to help with your tank temps and see if your dog will be okay with it. You said that you keep your house at 19 c, I think that is around 66 f, I think you would be safe around 70 degrees and your pup probably wouldn't even notice. This is just my opinion with experience from my own dogs. Good luck and thanks again for giving them a better life.

[DonLisk]

hi there thought it was not wise to cover all the mesh, dont get me wrong it would make a hell of a diff just went out today and spent another 150 quid not amused

I wouldn't cover the whole top ... you may need to cover 1/2 or 1/3 of the top to retain heat. Since heat rises it will escape out your top so to bring the temp up by slowing down the amount of heat escaping.

[spooky]

Definitely don't cover the whole top as you'll need some ventillation in there too

[vmaxchick]

I'm sorry I have no advice for you as I am new to frogs. There are many people on here that are knowledgeable and can hopefully lead you down the right path as you set up your tanks. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that you are not alone in your quest for rescuing animals and then having an astronomical bill for said rescue. BUT, you are a very special person for doing it and I give you a for doing so. I also have 2 Alaskan Malamutes that I rescued. They are great dogs. You are right, they do not like heat that much, but mine are outside dogs and it gets hot here in summer (in the high 80's to 90's) and they seem to adapt just fine. Maybe you can turn up your heat to help with your tank temps and see if your dog will be okay with it. You said that you keep your house at 19 c, I think that is around 66 f, I think you would be safe around 70 degrees and your pup probably wouldn't even notice. This is just my opinion with experience from my own dogs. Good luck and thanks again for giving them a better life.

small world just to say it was an Alaskan malamute that i rescued also haahah she is 6 now