Chubby frog

[lenorefig]

There seems to be some sort of white fungus growing on the wood in the 15 gallon tank where we keep the chubby that we purchased about 1 month ago. Is this normal? Should I take the wood out and replace it. He climbs on the drift wood and hides sometimes in the other wood for shelter. The bottom of the tank contains fir and sphagnum peat moss which we cover with terrarium moss. We also have one live plant (ivy) in the tank and a frog dish big enough for him to sit in. We mist 3 to 5 times a day. Hope you can help.

[StephenLS]

Wood in terrariums is a bit of a nightmare to be honest! A little mould isn't necessarily a problem but if it's rapid growing I would remove it!

I find the best wood to use is cork bark but even this can get a little mouldy if kept too wet for too long.

It also sounds like you may be misting a little too much. Twice a day is the recommended unless you are trying to breed them!...the substrate should have chance to dry out a little between sprays and should never be sodden!

[lenorefig]

Stephen,
Thank you for the information. You have been very helpful. I am going to remove the wood as the mould is growing fast. I will try the cork bark for a while. Perhaps with a little less misting it won't mould as quickly. I was thinking of purchasing another plant to give him some where to hide. I aready have a small ivy plant. Do you think another would be too much?

[StephenLS]

The more the better I say!

I'm a big fan of naturalistic set-ups anyway. Try a plant or 2 that are thin at the bottom and have more foliage above! Having a canopy above may make him feel more secure and sit out more often!

[lenorefig]

Thanks very much
I'll try my local nursery. They have a great greenhouse.

[Marilyn]

I also like the naturalistic look, but I find it is so much easier to keep the store bought artificial stuff mold, bacteria and parasite-free. But I do like to collect rocks from nature and place them here and there after soaking them for a few hours in a 10% bleach solution and then soaking them in clean water and airing them out real well. I often put a few drops of the water dechlorinator on the rocks to really zap the harmful chlorine that might have soaked into the rock. My Chubbies love little crevasses to hid in and around. "Boo" me all you want, but I'm not a fan of substrate. I use a few layers of paper towels. It's so much more easy to identify frog poop and pee and my Chubbies still manage to burrow under it.

[StephenLS]

If it works for you, fair enough! Do you provide plenty of hides for them?

I just like to try and provide as near as I can to natural habitat/conditions, although your method does make cleaning sound a hell of a lot easier

[Kurt]

I use paper towels for my treefrogs. Just make sure to change it often as it soils quickly.