# How soon to introduce frogs into a new viv?



## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

I was wondering how soon people introduce their frogs into a newly set up vivarium. The reason I ask is because of mold. I've heard that some people like to wait a bit, but some people don't wait at all and have no problems. My concern is I've read a lot of people get mold in the first stages of a vivarium balancing itself out. Does that have any affect of the frogs? 

I believe a guy will have the frogs I want at a show in 2 weeks, but my tank will prolly not be finished for at least a week. I do not want to rush the set up, but if I happen to complete it before the show, should I still get the frogs? My other option is to wait till the next show which is in 6 weeks. This is my first vivarium and I don't know if I can wait that long! :wink:


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## DaFrogMan (Oct 8, 2004)

I wouldn't worry about waiting before introducing your frogs. Your new viv will probably mold from after the first week for a few weeks, it isn't a problem for the frogs though.

The important thing is that you don't feel rushed. If you can get everything together in two weeks - great. But if you feel a little rushed you might want to wait untill the next show. If you are rushed, and they are your first frogs, you may very likely forget something.

Good luck, and have fun with your first viv - building it is half the fun.

BTW: What frog species are you looking on getting?


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## reptileink (May 1, 2005)

I personally think you should wait for a couple of reasons. One reason is that you want to let your plants grow out some(unless you stuff it.) Another reason is so you can monitor what's going on in the viv. Making sure you have a good temperature gradient, humidity, etc. Also you can toy with the water feature(if you have one), and make sure it's doing what you want it to. When I picked up my frogs this past weekend, the guy asked me how established the tank was. I told him a month, and he seemed satisfied with that. Besides, you want to get some micro-organisms to find your tank and procreate. My new frogs chase the little gnats that live in the substrate all the time! It's a good suppliment between feedings for them. I have mold on my wood and it doesn't seem to bother them(of course, you can't ask them :lol: ) Hope this helps!


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

reptileink said:


> I personally think you should wait for a couple of reasons. One reason is that you want to let your plants grow out some(unless you stuff it.) Another reason is so you can monitor what's going on in the viv. Making sure you have a good temperature gradient, humidity, etc. Also you can toy with the water feature(if you have one), and make sure it's doing what you want it to. When I picked up my frogs this past weekend, the guy asked me how established the tank was. I told him a month, and he seemed satisfied with that. Besides, you want to get some micro-organisms to find your tank and procreate. My new frogs chase the little gnats that live in the substrate all the time! It's a good suppliment between feedings for them. I have mold on my wood and it doesn't seem to bother them(of course, you can't ask them :lol: ) Hope this helps!


I think this is some really great advice that I had never really thought about before. I often joke that I let my new vivs season at least 10 minutes before introducing frogs to point out the fact that vivaria do not really need to "mature" the same way as aquaria before they can support frogs. However, this assumes that the viv is set up with the proper temp, humidity, etc. I've been doing this long enough that I pretty much know when I set up a viv it will be fine for the frogs but for a first time viv, the advice of setting it up early so you can make adjustments to the environment before the frogs go in is very wise.


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## TopGunJags01 (Jul 31, 2004)

I keep my new frogs in a shoes box for atleast a month and a half or more just to be safe, so to me I have plenty of time to purchase the frogs before making the viv. Useally purchase the frogs a week after my viv is done or a week before.


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

Thanks for all the great responces guys. I think what I'm gonna do is a little combination of what each person has said so far...

I will still get the frogs at the this coming show, but I will not intoduce them right into the tank. The tank is almost finished right now so I won't be rushing it. When I first get the frogs I will keep them in a quarantine like many people do. This will also give me plenty of time to monitor the tank and tweak my water feature if I need to. If anybody sees a problem with this let me know.

Now another question, what to quarantine them in? I've heard people mention plastic shoe boxes with damp newspaper on the bottom, or something like that. What about a similar set up except in a 10gal tank with plastic wrap over the top?


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

It's usually a good idea to put the frogs through a quarantine period before adding them to the viv. Suppose you just put them right in, and they turned out to have parasites? You'd have to tear apart the entire viv and sterilize everything.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

themann42 said:


> Now another question, what to quarentine them in? I've heard people mention plastic shoe boxes with damp newspaper on the bottom, or something like that. What about a similar set up except in a 10gal tank with plastic wrap over the top?


The advantage of plastic shoeboxes is that you can quarantine individuals frogs and watch their feeding and defecation behavior. Not as easy to do with a 10 gallon tank unless you happen to have a few of them around. You might want to try to use sphagnum moss as the substrate instead of paper towels unless you want to be changing paper towels on a frequent basis.

Bill


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

sounds like a plan. i already have a bag of sphagnum moss that i bought to mix in with the substrate. i'll buy a couple of plastic shoe boxes to seperate them. would splitting them into two boxes with two per box be good to observe their behavior?


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## reptileink (May 1, 2005)

Well thanks bbrock! I have been building tanks for years now, but this was my first "complex" one. I learned a LOT! Very glad I stumbled upon this forum, you guys/girls have been VERY helpful!


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

themann42 said:


> sounds like a plan. i already have a bag of sphagnum moss that i bought to mix in with the substrate. i'll buy a couple of plastic shoe boxes to seperate them. would splitting them into two boxes with two per box be good to observe their behavior?


If they are froglets it should not be a problem as long as you make sure both frogs in each container are eating and don't see signs of figthing/bullying. If you are talking about sub adults or adults, two is one too many. One frog per container is ideal because you can monitor them and not worry about food competition, etc.

Make sure you put in a philodendron cutting or similar planting along with the sphagnum - it will give your frog something to "hide" under and feel more secure.

My personal experience with timing of introducing frogs to vivs ranges from the 10 minutes after planting to several months. I tend to err on the side of letting the viv grow in a bit before adding frogs but haven't found it to be necessary. Quarantining new frogs as several members point out is good policy, particularly as your collection grows.

Good luck and enjoy your new frogs!

Bill


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2005)

diggin up an old thread here.

but im almost there.

i got a pretty extensive fish tank history, any one else whos had one knows the aclimation process. floating bags in the water, mixing the waters to balance ph/temp whatnot before releasing into the new home.

im curious if there are similar techniques in frogging.


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## Jay Why (Aug 27, 2005)

Not really - coming from a fish background myself, PDFs almost seem too easy! Just be sure the tank stays in an acceptable temp and humidity range. 

Also - be sure the tank is sealed well so you don't have any escapes. Same for the inside too, if you have a false bottom you don't want a frog getting under that!


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2005)

cool deal, i built my whole stand and hood, i need to build a lid with misters incorporated, still. this weekends project. (after the honey do list, of course).

ill make it nice and tight, she'll make this hobby real dificult, seeing a frog first thing in the morning, on the kitchen floor.


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