Ceratophrys stolzmanni setup

[bshmerlie]

My frogs will be here in 8 days so this is what I've got setup so far. They are just over an inch in size right now. I have a 12x12 cube tank with a screen lid. I have an egg create at the bottom. I have a 4x6 Tupperware bowl that is 3 inches deep that is filed with coco fibre. I have an oval 3x5 water bowl. Both are sitting on top of the egg create. Then I have clay balls and sheet moss on top to recess both so they are flat on the ground. I have a cork flat for the back ground which will cover 3 sides. I was thinking of putting the heat mat underneath the tank and add a quarter inch of water at the egg create line. The heatmat would cause the water to evaporate to help with humidity. The heat would rise to keep his soil and water warm but the egg create would separate him from the heatmat. Ill have it on a thermostat to monitor it. I want to have a plant next to the water dish and one next to the dirt section. Not sure which kind yet. These are the temporary diggs and then they will be moved into 20 gallon homes when they reach their 2inch full size. I will post pictures this weekend but that's the basic idea. Nothing is set in stone so any suggestions would be helpful.

[John911]

Can you keep them in pairs?

[bshmerlie]

No sorry if it wasn't clear..they will be in two separate tanks.

[John]

I would never use a heatmat underneath a piece of glass that has water above it. That's a dangerous idea. Your temporary enclosure sounds awfully elaborate for a Pacman, honestly. I know few people who employ a false bottom for anything other than darts and rain forest tree frogs. There's nothing wrong with it however!

[Eel Noob]

I would just keep them on plain towels for a few weeks to make sure they're eating and pooping fine first.

[bshmerlie]

Okay, so don't put the heatmat under the tank? Why do they call them undertank heatmat if they shouldn't be actually under the tank? Just wondering... I was thinking under the tank would help to keep the soil and the water in the water dish warm. I was only doing a false bottom so I could recess the tray of soil and the water bowl. I am also going to make a terrace part for the plants to try to keep them out of reach a little bit. I am kind of a clean freak and I know that because they burrow they will drag a lot of soil with them as them come out and go over to the water dish. I've got a wisper vac that I could use to suck up soil off the sheet moss and then change out the water each day and it will hopefully stay prestine. Or is that wishfull thinking? I'll let you know how that goes. So you think it would be best to put the heat mat on the side of the tank? But I have my cork board on 3 sides and I don't think the heat will go through it. Any other suggestions?

[EpicFrogMan]

ive been waiting for these guys for a while. i still might get one. Let me us know when you get them.

[Tony]

ive been waiting for these guys for a while. i still might get one. Let me us know when you get them.

I believe next week's shipment will be the last for the winter, you may want to jump on it unless you are willing to wait a while.

[bshmerlie]

I would just keep them on plain towels for a few weeks to make sure they're eating and pooping fine first.

I would normally keep them on paper towels as you suggested but Elaine at Understory said that they were in coco fibre soil right now. So the point of using the tupperware bowls was that while the frog is soaking I could lift out the soil container and swap it out really quickly with another container of soil. Then I can check for poop, etc. Also the crickets can't hide in the sheet moss so I can tell how many they are eating at each feeding. Believe it or not I am trying to keep it simple....but simple is hard for me to do. Thats why I'm keeping them in such small enclosures for right now. As soon as I know everything is good and they are settled in I will move them to exact replica 20 gallon tanks. Then when they are doing well in there I can slowly add all my crazy elaborate spiffy enviormental stuff. You know water falls, hanging vines, diming lights, thunderstorms, etc....

[John911]

I have to ask why 20g for a 2" frog that probably isn't very active?

[bshmerlie]

That's the size they recommended for adults. What size do you think?

[John911]

I would say a ten max would be more than enough for a lil guy like that. Of course anyone would argue that the more room the better for all frogs, but then I've read posts where peoples adult pacmans were moved to a bigger tank and then didn't eat. Put them back in a smaller enclosure and they were fine again.

As far as heat pads on the bottom, I had a 5 gal pad on a glass tank on a wire rack. Hottest I observed the bottom on the inside of the tank with a heat gun was about 91 or 92. I suppose if the tank was on a solid shelf it would get up over 100 in a hurry. I would do the heat pad on the bottom with that white plastic egg crate like you said with substrate over it.

[dachshundsr4me]

This is my setup...i have the 12x12x12 cube tank too and love it...although you will need to cover the screen top some with plastic as too much humidity is lost. I taped a gallon ziplock bag to half the top so only half the screen is exposed now. I no longer have coconut substrate anymore and use peat as recommended by the other frog peeps here. You will want to buy 100% organice peat found at lowes or home depot. Read the label make sure its all peat and no fertilizer in it. It holds the moisture better and doesn't stick to the frogs as bad or their food as bad. Paper towel is a good option for the first week or so but they will want to burrow before long and your gonna need peat. They don't need larger then 10 gallon homes when they are adults. I am not sure where you got that info at. They are lazy frogs and that is the reason 10 gallon is fine. They need temps that graduate from 75-84 degrees and humidity of 70-80% Food use crickets, roaches, superworms, waxworms, and earthworms cut to appropriate size...pinkys and fuzzys or mice should only be done as a treat one time a month. Sure they will grow faster but it effects their liver and they die earlier. Dust with Calcium-d powder every other feeding. They don't need UVA bulbs as it tends to dry them out. They are nocturnal and like to feed at night. I am now in tune to mine...they come out from burrowing when they are hungry. I feed at night as well. No since waking them when its their sleepy time. I would rather have happy frogs then seeing them and messing with them making them unhappy cuz they didn't get their beauty sleep. Anyway Good luck and if you need more help there are lots in the chat that you can chew their ears off and will help in anyway possible. Oh i used for the backdrop the picture that came with my tank. I use it on the outside and it looks awfully pretty and it was cheap. I just have to remove it before cleaning so it doesn't get wet. I tried the heatmat on the side and it wasn't warming it enough so i moved it to the bottom..OMG its on the bottom...lol...yes and its only warm...i do check it daily to be sure its not getting too warm to the touch. That is something you have to just watch. In this tank its just warm is all. I think cuz the bottom is elevated and some of the heat escapes.

[John911]

This is my setup...i have the 12x12x12 cube tank too and love it...although you will need to cover the screen top some with plastic as too much humidity is lost. I taped a gallon ziplock bag to half the top so only half the screen is exposed now. I no longer have coconut substrate anymore and use peat as recommended by the other frog peeps here. You will want to buy 100% organice peat found at lowes or home depot. Read the label make sure its all peat and no fertilizer in it. It holds the moisture better and doesn't stick to the frogs as bad or their food as bad. Paper towel is a good option for the first week or so but they will want to burrow before long and your gonna need peat. They don't need larger then 10 gallon homes when they are adults. I am not sure where you got that info at. They are lazy frogs and that is the reason 10 gallon is fine. They need temps that graduate from 75-84 degrees and humidity of 70-80% Food use crickets, roaches, superworms, waxworms, and earthworms cut to appropriate size...pinkys and fuzzys or mice should only be done as a treat one time a month. Sure they will grow faster but it effects their liver and they die earlier. Dust with Calcium-d powder every other feeding. They don't need UVA bulbs as it tends to dry them out. They are nocturnal and like to feed at night. I am now in tune to mine...they come out from burrowing when they are hungry. I feed at night as well. No since waking them when its their sleepy time. I would rather have happy frogs then seeing them and messing with them making them unhappy cuz they didn't get their beauty sleep. Anyway Good luck and if you need more help there are lots in the chat that you can chew their ears off and will help in anyway possible. Oh i used for the backdrop the picture that came with my tank. I use it on the outside and it looks awfully pretty and it was cheap. I just have to remove it before cleaning so it doesn't get wet. I tried the heatmat on the side and it wasn't warming it enough so i moved it to the bottom..OMG its on the bottom...lol...yes and its only warm...i do check it daily to be sure its not getting too warm to the touch. That is something you have to just watch. In this tank its just warm is all. I think cuz the bottom is elevated and some of the heat escapes.

You got a stolzmanni or another ceratophrys? I didnt know peat was ok.

[dachshundsr4me]

Now your gonna make me look up their scientific name...

I have a Ceratophrys cranwelli (albino form), Ceratophrys cornuta X cranwelli (Fantasy Frog), & Ceratophrys cranwelli (Green form). Getting ready to order a (Ceratophrys ornata). All have their own setup and this is how I set everyone up and my fantasy frog is thriving in this setup. He/she is a little more picky and temperamental then the cranwelli's. I guess its the cornuta in him/her. Also I do not handle them too often as this stresses them out. I have seen numerous videos on youtube of people taunting their frogs and handling them and taking them out to feed them. I feed at night when mine are active. I don't bother them or try not too when they are sleeping during the day. I try to make their habitat theirs. I do scootch them out of their soil sometimes to check their size and how well they ate the night before. I pick them up when i clean their tanks. When i do that i only use water to rinse it out thoroughly. I do not use any kind of chemicals on it. But if you follow those instructions yours should thrive too. Good luck and if you need anymore help that is what all of us are here for. I do not have the dwarf type like the Stolzmanni. I did read their setup is the same though.

[John911]

Ah I thought you had the stolzmanni since you were using a 12x12.

[dachshundsr4me]

Ah I thought you had the stolzmanni since you were using a 12x12.

No but I know will probably have to move up to a 10gal setup later on. Even at that with my big buggers as long as i don't get a gigantic female i wont have to do a 20 long until then and will upgrade as needed. To be honest sometimes they don't do as well if you give them too much space. It's like they don't know what to do with it all.

[John911]

No but I know will probably have to move up to a 10gal setup later on. Even at that with my big buggers as long as i don't get a gigantic female i wont have to do a 20 long until then and will upgrade as needed. To be honest sometimes they don't do as well if you give them too much space. It's like they don't know what to do with it all.

Our "frog room" aka the dining room is pretty much in constant evolution and I was thinking of using 12x12x12 exo terra's for our horned frogs because of the front opening(easy maintenance). Then my voice of reason(my girlfriend) pointed out that add a big pacman+a water dish big enough for it and theres just no room for it. After we got our 5" female and put it in a 10, it almost seems cramped for her.

[dachshundsr4me]

Our "frog room" aka the dining room is pretty much in constant evolution and I was thinking of using 12x12x12 exo terra's for our horned frogs because of the front opening(easy maintenance). Then my voice of reason(my girlfriend) pointed out that add a big pacman+a water dish big enough for it and theres just no room for it. After we got our 5" female and put it in a 10, it almost seems cramped for her.

Exactly...these were on sale is why they are in them (29.00 at petsmart regular 49.00...like almost 1/2 off) for now but will get a larger tank when its needed. I also liked the easy access door. I really want to get this size (see link below) later but its gonna cost me. I do not mind spending it on them though later. But that will be 750.00 to do for all of them....anyway that is my wish list item. =) Maybe I will find it on sale somewhere like I found the smaller size one. Never know. Dimensions on this one is 36x18x18. More then likely i will settle on a 10 or 20 long though.
http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/produ...-7475542dt.jpg

[John911]

Here is what I think were gonna keep. Ignore the one ten that is shorter its already replaced lol.

4-10's per 48" shelf. Sides and back painted black on Jeff K's advice. The shelf has heat cable run in the front half of all the tanks, it doesnt actually contact the bottom itself but it hits 80 right above them on the glass(used a heat gun). The tank is also too long for the shelf,which is ok cause it keeps it from sitting on the cables. Pretty easy just to slide each tank out about half way and change water/mist/feed.