I recently took in a red-eyed tree frog and his 10 gal. vivarium.

I would like some ideas on how to set up a **NEW** vivarium in a 20 gal. tall tank as his new home.

The new tank already has an Under Tank Heater on it, but I'm not sure if that's advisable to use.

The following photos are of the 10 gal. tank the tree frog already has and the last photo will be the new and hopefully improved home.

I would need to know from the max type of set up to the minimum set up that can be done.

All Natural.

I am dumping the log that is already in his 10 gal tank because of the little bugs that I am spotting in there.

I would like to utilize all that remains in the 10 gal into the new 20 gal tall, minus the water.







The next photo shows the pump with a rock covering that is already being used in the 10 gal.

Would a bigger pump be required?



This is going to be his new home when it is cleaned and sanitized.




The next photo is of some of the extra equipment that came with the red eye and I believe one is another filter and the one with the tubing is for filtering the water.



Thank You for your help.

YAY construction.

1. I would ditch the water setup. Its not needed, he will rarely use it.
2. think arboreal.
3. Plants are good.


You can build something really really simple and inexpensive that he will love. I'm horrible at describing stuff, so I'll post a photo of my old 29 gallon setup and give you a little description. This was for my whites, but the same setup will work for a red eye too.



1. The substrate is about 4 inches of coco-husk fiber. The kind that comes in a brick and expands.

2. Rocks from my backyard, boiled for 30 minutes to disinfect.

3. Branches from my backyard, baked at 300 degrees for 30 mins to disinfect.

4. water dish, deep enough to soak, not too deep to drown. You can get a ceramic small dog bowl for this. Just change the water out every other day.

5. A pothos in a tall pot since they like to grow down. Frogs like their leaves. (lucky its in your tank already)

6. Another plant with thick leaves so the frogs can perch on them. Go to your local garden store and choose something nice. Stay away from plants with red or purple leaves. Think green. Once you choose your plants rinse the leaves and soil very well and plant right into the tank.

7. you will need to cover 3 sides of the tank so the frog feels secure in his new home. I chose some aquarium paper.

8. Light/heat. I would ditch the under tank heater. You need something that will bring the temp up around 79 - 82 degrees during the day, and 73 or so at night. I have a hood that has a spot for 2 bulbs. I keep the bulbs on times, day and night, its plenty to keep my 37 gallon hot. (I no longer have this 29). I know petsmart sells it for $40ish or so. It also has a strip for a florescent light. I got a garden one at HD to help the plants. RETF need no special light. The hood also keeps humidity in.

9. Humidity/temp gauge is important. Make sure you get a good digital one. your humidity needs to stay between 60 and 80%.

Now, saying all this, find a setup you like. I just gave you an example of a tank I made that cost next to nothing.

*edit*
I think I should add my other tank, the 37, that cost an arm and a leg LOL. Worth it though. this is their current tank.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Liz (schlegelbagel),

Just in the nick of time. My wife is giving me a hard time now after seeing your post and photo's. She didn't like all the water in there and felt it too wasn't necessary.

I'm still glad I posted though because it reinforced what we want to do plus gave us some great ideas.

I'm changing the log though because of the little bugs I've been seeing and the plants will get a good wash including the roots. This way we'll just plant the pothos into the coco substrate.

How moist do you keep the substrate?

bob

some people insist you need a drainage layer for the substrate, but in all my house plant keeping, as long as you don't over water, there is no reason. I keep the substrate damp to the touch. Misting once a day keeps it just about right. I water the actual plants once a week in addition to misting, if needed. I do the finger touch to check. If they are dry, water!

If you want, you can also mix in organic potting soil with the coco-husk shred. I find plants do really well with this combination. Make sure the potting soil doesn't have those little white balls in it. Those could cause a problem with your frogs.

Remember, they are tree frogs. Branches and high areas are important and will keep them happy.

Here is a photo of my even larger enclosure. 90 gallons (75 livable after the dirt was added) for 6 whites tree frogs. You might get even a few more ideas.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Liz,

This is what we've done so far with what's available and a couple of items I had extra.

We found they plants in the old tank were actually 4 plants together so we separated them and washed the roots and then planted them into the substrate.

This is that 20 gal long.

Top View:






Long View:




In that water dish we placed colored stones and then enough water for him to drink without drowning him.

We're going to have to find a few tall plants for him to climb on.

bob/stano40

Thats a good start for sure. You need a few changes.

First, those little marble things need to come out of the dish. They could get swallowed and cause impaction. If you want something like that, i know they make big ones the size of of silver dollars.

maybe this weekend, go out and collect a few fallen branches, about the same width as your froggie so he has some more perches.

And I would try for one taller plant in there. Something with strong broad leaves so he can sleep on them if he wants to. Fake plants are OK too, but I prefer live.

Looking good so far. I'm glad you want to help out the little guy

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Will do, I just can't imagine he could swallow those stones which are about the size of a large dime.

Do you really think he can swallow those? I've never seen a red eye eat before so I'm going by your word on this.

I am planning to find a large broad leaf plant. I don't want to get anything from a walmart or lowes type store seeing their plants come from commercial nurseries and may contain pesticides. So, I'll check the pet stores and if all else fails I know I can get one from the reptile show this coming April in Manchester, NH.



bob

Good luck on your new addition!! I have been toying with the idea of getting a red eye but, now, don't have the space. Thanks to all the valuable advice I received from Liz and everyone else, I now have 5 tree frog setups. ( I had too many species living together, something like a college dorm.) Once again, good luck and keep up the pictures, he sure looks cute!!!

Snake plant or mother in laws tonuge to some. Its wide and broad leafed, and grows up. I use it for my day gecko. Works great for him.

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Good luck with the new guy. The new enclosure is starting to look good.

Ron