Help needed with new Vivarium construction

[bshmerlie]

The plants you mentioned seem like good choices. I would leave the bamboo in the water like you said and don't put it in the soil. You can use larger rocks just be careful nothing is small enough for them to swallow. They lunge rather haphazardly at their food and accidentally ingest other things.I use sheetmoss to cover up my soil but it doesn't do well in wet conditions. Leaf litter would be a good option. You just need something to keep the soil from getting all over the frogs, but also something they can't swallow. I use a cricket bowl to keep my crickets contained. Otherwise they go off and die somewhere in the tank. I have a water bowl for the frogs to soak in as well as a water section. I found that they would foul the water in my water section too quickly. They all poop in the water as they are soaking. So each night I put in two water bowls for them to soak in with fresh water. They primarily use the dishes I put in. It helps me to keep the water clean.
I can only tell you what I use for lighting. I use the reptiglow 2.0. The frogs do fine and so do the plants. I have them on for 12 hours on a timer. Do not leave a light on at night. Only use one for viewing.
Spring tails are not going to escape from your terrarium. I wouldn't be rinsing out their containers in your sink that could be a problem. These are tropical springtails. They wouldn't make it across your carpet to the sink or other wet areas.
If you have a fully live planted tank with a proper drainage layer seeded with springtails and isopods you only have to spot clean your tank to remove poop. And also clean the glass. Although Whites can be pretty messy so you may have to clean up after them depending how active they've been the night before. Use only large sturdy plants as the frogs weight could harm them. Salmonella is not something to worry about as long as you wash your hands with soap and water before and after working in your frog cage. Do not use any cleansors or cleaning solutions in your frog tank. Wipe down the glass with clean water everyday and it wont permanently spot.

[John]

Whatever those people are describing as having escaped in their houses, they are not what we refer to as spring tails. They are likely referring to Silverfish or Bristletails - completely different and unrelated animals. I personally wouldn't bother with spring tails in a tree frog terrarium - the frogs are too big to be interested in eating them, so the spring tails will be little more than a stressor (because they will climb on the frogs when the frogs are on the substrate).

[mrk]

Thank you both so much for your help! Many questions answered in a very short time. This Forum ROCKS!