Heat mat question. Plus others

[HatchettUK]

Hi all New to the site, and frogs!


Picked up some baby RETF's yesterday, currently keeping them in a small 35.6 x 23.4 x 22.8 cm GEO tank. Small i know, but so are the frogs!

The tank is set up with moss substrate, a small water dish (big enough to comfortably bathe) some small pieces of wood for climbing and a large fern plant. (Live)

Equipment wise, i've got an exo terra clamp lamp with a 15W daylight bulb, which emits somewhat heat. The main heat source is a microclimate heat mat, its mounted on the outside rear wall and it measures 7" x 12". For humidity I have a Repti fogger, which is on timer to come on for a short period of time each hour. The humidity in the tank is around 90-80 %.

So my first question is.. Is this setup good/correct?

My main question is regarding the heatmat. Does it make any difference whatsoever which way round the heatmat goes? Is there a correct way round to have it e.g. can it be upside down? By this i mean does the mat in effect have a warmer side? It's difficult for me to put into words exactly what i mean but hopefully you will understand

The reason I ask this is that i am concerned about my temperatures. I am struggling to get them above 23 C which seems a little cold for the frogs. I was more hoping to aim for 25-27C...

For the record, the frogs slept well all through yesterday, and came out at night and soaked in the water. They seemed really active, hunting for the small locusts. And they are sleeping now as I type.

Thanking you all in advance for your help. Been floating around here for a few days now and I really like the site, hoping to become a regular member, and maybe one day answer someone else's questions!

Thanks again

James

[bshmerlie]

Welcome to the forum James. Check out the Red Eye care article on the left. As far as your setup goes...the tank does sound extremely small. You said they're babies but how long exactly? It is better to have babies in a small enclosure so they can find food but they also need a little space to move around in. As far as the heat...I don't think it will matter which way the heat mat is pointing just make sure the correct side is stuck to the glass...but you do need to get the temp up a little bit. Maybe a bigger mat? Your humidity is really high which is okay if they're recently out of the water but as they get older you'll want to lower the humidity. The most important thing is make sure they have good ventilation. Also if they are really small make sure the available food is really small as well. Check for poop every day and that will let you know all bodily functions are doing fine. I recently raised up two babies myself and they were a half inch when I got them. Four months later they are now an inch and a half long...so they do grow quickly. I used moist paper towels for my substrate just to make sure everything was super clean for them when they are little. I had a small potted pothos that they would sleep on and in the morning I would simply lift it out of the tank as they were sleeping, clean out the tank, change the paper towel and clean out the water dish. It would only take about five minutes each day but that kept the tank fresh and clean for them. Small tanks like that can foul very quickly..smell it ...it should smell clean. A bacteria build up can happen quickly in such a small tank. Do feed them as much as they want each day when they are little but clean out any dead food items if they weren't eaten. I've never fed locusts so just make sure the food is small enough. I fed mine pin head crickets and fruit flies when they were super small. Oh...and dust the food when you give it to them. Post some pictures of your new babies when you get a chance. Keep a close eye on them and keep us posted on how they're doing.

[HatchettUK]

Thanks for the reply

At the moment they are just under an inch long. Really small.. There seems to be plenty of room for them now. Something I forgot to mention was that I have a large exo terra terrarium, all necessary equipment live plants etc.. on standby for them. I was originally intending to purchase adult frogs for this tank. But they seem pretty scarce in the UK at the moment. I actually think these two are the only ones in the shops!! Been hunting for months for them.

As for the temperature problem, I've just been to the hardware store and picked up a 40w red bulb. Similiar to the golf ball sized bulbs. I've replaced the zoo med daylight bulb with it, it's manged to bring the temperature up to 24-26C and doesn't seem to be rising any higher... so no cooked froggies!!

I think the ventilation should be okay, the whole lid of the tank is plastic grill, it's the same kind of tank they were holding them in at the shop Should I invest in a small computer fan to aid circulation?

Im feeding 1st baby locusts, they're like 6-9mm, and were recommended to me over crickets due to their nutritional content, but i guess it makes little difference as i will be dusting each feeding with Nutrobal and im gut loading them with green vegetables.

The tank smells like moss I guess this is normal? As i have moss substrate...

I'll try get pictures up soon I've never been so excited about adding a new animal to my collection

Regards

James

[bshmerlie]

It sounds like you are very well prepared. Belive it or not they are pretty strong by the time they reach an inch...they're just miniture. I would like to try locust for my frogs but I don't have anyone around here that sells them.

I wouldn't add a fan or anything like that...the screen mesh should be fine. Just when you hear someone has such high humidity with Red Eyes it always make me think stagnant air and that is not good for them. You can probably start to lower the humidity a bit now as they are getting out of the fagile stage. Most people are keeping the adult red eyes between 50-70% so as they get older you can gradually adjust. I fluctuate my humidity around what my local weather conditions are like. If its raining out I have my humidity in my tank higher. If it is hot and dry out I keep the humidity lower. I also use the repti fogger and have it connected to a humidistat so I can dial it in. Most people aren't this weird and just mist them daily. I always wonder if the frogs can feel the barometric pressure...I 'm guessing that they do so that's why I do what I do. Although again, probably not the norm...more like overly obsessive.

Just watch out... frogs are very addicting. You'll start off with two and next thing you know...you'll have tanks everywhere.

Here are pictures of my two babies when they were about 3/4 of an inch.

[HatchettUK]

Those are a gorgeous pair of frogs Very similar looking to mine. Is the second one golden?

Yes, you could say im well prepared! I have literally everything ready just need to set it up and flick the switch Although, I like having them in the little tank, they were so fun to watch last night.

It's funny you should mention the humidistat, I was actually after the Zoo med one that goes with the fogger. But no reptile shops stock it here in UK! Which is a shame, as it is a thermostat and a humidistat in one. What do you think of the repti fogger? I'm really impressed with it so far Im all up for the 'wierdness' as you put it. It's fascinating.

I know i'm going to end up with more. I was eyeing up other species in the store at the same time! It's the same with my other hobbies, I keep alot of Tropical fish, I've got turtles, a Blue Tongued Skink, rabbits, it's like a zoo!

Thanks again

James

[bshmerlie]

I use the Zoo Med HygroTherm that you're talking about and I love it. I can go away on vacation for a week and not have to worry about anything. I've had my repti fogger for about a year and it does tend to make more noise as it's gotten older but if its on the humidistat it doesn't come on very often. Also make sure you use distilled water it will help it to last longer. The yellow one is an Albino Red eye, basically a yellow red eye. I also have a Xanthic Red Eye, which is a yellow Red Eye with white eyes. They are all just color morphs of the Red Eye and they can all go into the same tank together. Post some pictures of your guys when you get a chance. You'll also discover real soon if you have a girl as when they get above an inch the girls tend to grow a lot faster. My Xanthic is a girl and she grew twice as fast as the boy that I got at the same time. She doubled his size in a matter of 3-4 months. They grow up so quickly.

[HatchettUK]

It's good to hear they grow quickly Taking a closer look, one seems a tiny bit longer than the other. Can't wait to set up their big tank! I like the sound of the other colour morphs. Do they occur naturally or have they been bred to have those colours?

Yeah, im using distilled water, doesn't leave any deposits on the walls aswell which is good

Temperatures are all sorted now, 26C on the warmer side, down to around 23-24 at the cooler end, and type middle is around 24 ish

I wonder how much it would cost to get a Hygrotherm shipped over here... hmmm


James

[bshmerlie]

As with any Albino it would be extremly rare in nature so I am sure they breed for them based on the gene. The HygroTherm is available on Ebay and you may be able to find someone to ship overseas for you. Also many of the larger reptile supply companies carry them and may be willing to ship it to you as well. I swear by them simply because I like to go on vacations and don't have anyone to watch my frogs. This way I don't worry about my babies while I'm gone.

[HatchettUK]

Interesting Might have another hunt around fro one

At the minute im running a Habistat temperature controller, good little stat, thats on the heatmat. And for controlling humidity, i've got the fogger set to come on for 15 minutes each hour. Should I reduce this to once every 2 Hours? It does seem a bit much. I just wouldn't want the humidity to get too dry!


James

[bshmerlie]

Just be real careful with keeping the humidity that high. I have heard of many people who have lost entire clutches of new babies due to bacterial infections because the humidity was too high. It really isn't necessary to keep it that high and there are definately risks if you do. There are some members here on the forum that breed them and they could probably give you a better humidity range for the stage that your frogs are in. Like I said I keep mine around the 50-70% range...hopfully others with chime in on what they think.

[HatchettUK]

I'll have to have a think about that then. Don't want to lose the little guys!

I have 2 Hygrometers in the tank.. One quite high up, the other at ground level. The higher up one reads 90-77% whilst the floor one seems to read more or less consistently 66-70%


James

[HatchettUK]

I have now reduced the fogger to come on once every 2 hours for 15 minutes. This should drop the humidity 50-70

James