# 30 gal tall, first vivarium build



## TimrekWTF (Oct 19, 2008)

Hello all, I wanted to share with you my very first attempt at a vivarium. I started with a 30 gal tall tank that I had for a previous occupant. The wife decided he was looking at the cat like potental food source and had to go. (Red Tail Boa). I know this is a Dart Frog site but I got such good information from all of you that I hope you dont mind I'll be starting my frog keeping hobby with a White's Tree Frog. My girls 5, and 3 are very excited about holding the froggy and I think the little PDF's may not appreciate little hands quite as much. My first attempt at posting pics and such so this may take some practice and a couple of revisions.

The empty tank.








Then comes an egg crate false bottom. I used plastic zip ties to hold the whole thing in place and cut 1" pvc pipe to support all the main corners. Also made sure to cut slots in the bottom of the PVC to prevent water from getting in and going stagnant.















I purchased a small pump with a filter to power my waterfall. Here you see some of the plastic tubing run from the access point to the top of the waterfall area. I planed on using Great stuff foam to create my background and water feature. I left a small gap between the false bottom and the glass where i could put aquarium gravel to hide the white plastic.








I dont know why I forgot to take pictures of the unfinished foam but for whatever reason we can skip right to the coco mating finish. I used DAP bronze silicon for the sides and back, spread thin with a putty knife. One of my small mistakes was to not work in thin layers of Great stuff... I just mounded it in there. The end result is still nice but I think I would have had more terristrial room had I took into account the expansion of the foam. To add depth to the background I have put in a piece of grape wood, drift wood, and slate pieces i got from a local masonry supply. (free by the way). I really played around with how to make the waterfall, tried to use plastic to press a trench into the half cured foam....that doesnt work well. I decided at the last minute to set a piece of slate half into the foam and ended up puncturing the harder outer layer. The unexpected result was for a rather large void was created by much of the interiour foam expanding outward while leaving the outer crust intact. A little persuasion with a knife and rotary tool and I was able to take advantage of the space to make a rather nice waterfall area. Not what I had invisioned at first but I have found out that the picture and in your head and the finished product may not always match perfectly.








Top view








Side view








Waterfall/lagoon area close up








Ok, so I've waited one full week for all the silicon to dry and cure and I'm ready for my first plants. I decided to put in a couple of small peat pots wich got foamed in next to the grapewood. In one I took a cutting from a Wandering Jew I already had. The other was a $2 african violet from Lowe's. Washed the roots well to dislodge all the white styrofoam and fertilizer. I've also gotten the waterfall working and added the gravel to the sides and pond area hiding most of the egg crate.








I puchased a 24" Exo Terra compact light hood and put in a 5.0 sunglow flourescent, a standard 25watt incandescent for ambient heat, and decided on a flourescent coil blacklight for the night time that I bought at menards. My new plants just arrived from back2eight. I would highly recomend her to anyone looking for air plants. She was a joy to work with, plants are beautiful and very well priced. She is a member here so please look her up for your planting needs.















And its almost done...I've put in some dry frog moss I found at Pet supplies plus that should come back to life when the conditions are right as well as some dry spahgnum that i hope decides to grow again as well. Used toothpicks to set the air ferns on. According to my source they should affix themselves to the background in time. Now to let it grow in a bit and add my new friend Timrek the Austrailian Green Tree frog, aka White's green tree frog, aka Dumpy tree frog, aka...ahh you get the picture. Thanks for reading my post and if anyone has any questions or if I left anything out please feel free to ask. If anyone has any suggestions or see's any critical errors in my construciton please let me know. My main concern is having a safe and fit habitat for the animal. I've run out of picture room on this post but perhaps it will let me attach a few more if i reply to myself.


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## gretchenellie (Aug 7, 2007)

you have a very good start, but remember that frogs in general are a "look at but dont touch " kind of pet.. 

the oils from your skin, etc have the potential to harm the amphibian and may possibly even kill it..

their skin also rips and tears easily making the spread of bacteria and disease a possibility, not to mention fractures from rough handling and accidental falls.. 

if they are wanting to hold something, perhaps a leopard gecko?


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## TimrekWTF (Oct 19, 2008)

Noted and agreed. I will closely supervise the minimal handeling that does go on. Always with washed, well rinsed and damp hands. Other reptiles may come in the future but the girs know that Timrek will not be comming out to play often.


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## pilo0024 (Aug 22, 2006)

I think that you have a great start on that tank. Just to warn you, your white's will probably trample most of those plants. Clean, damp hands is a good choice for handling. They are a unique frog in that they can become very tame and even enjoy the warmth of your hand if you handle them often.


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## TimrekWTF (Oct 19, 2008)

Do you have any suggestions for plants to replace these should they become ground into the turf? I just bought my baby today and he's quite small. I have him in a temporary viv untill i'm sure the big one is ready. Seems like today he's not gonna trample anything...as a matter of fact im not sure he's moved from his spot under the plant yet lol. Maybe I should nudge him a bit and wake him up.


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## gretchenellie (Aug 7, 2007)

if you just bought him.. i would give him at least a week to settle into his environment.

this means placing his temp tank in a low traffic area of the house, and not handling or disturbing him for a full week ( except to feed, mist and change out water )..

this is a crucial time for them, especially being so young, there is a potential for him to "starve himself" if he feels threatened... 

enclose three sides of the viv with dark paper..

then work your way up as far as handling goes.. start with once weekly health checks..

they are nocturnal, and will sleep all day, so i hope you dont mind having a viv full of plants to look at all the time, because a healthy whites is rarely seen during the day....lol

good luck!


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## pilo0024 (Aug 22, 2006)

hmmm plants....I am currently having this same problem with the viv I am setting up. On a side note I just bought my white's yesterday, and they are amazing.

Check out:
pothos
heart-leaved philodendron
prayer plant (possibly)
peace lily (gets big)

that's just to name a few and they're not very exciting plants. You basically want to find plants that are sturdy enough not to get crushed when the frog is full grown. Some vines growing on the back wall if planted securely would be sweet. White's like to jump and land on plants, so ground plants need to be sturdy and wall plants just need to be secure because there isn't as big of a risk of getting trampled


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## TimrekWTF (Oct 19, 2008)

Oh, sad day...poor Tim was found today upsidedown in the very shallow water dish. I dont understand what the problem could be. His mini viv. was at an ideal temp day and night. At least 2 pinhead crickets are MIA presumed eaten. He was quite active today moving from the side of the glass to his water dish for a soak and then to the glass again. Returning him to the pet store for a replacement now. Boiling his water dish and small piece of driftwood and removed all the sphagnum from the soil. Hope this doesnt happen again. Anyone else have poor luck with thier first?


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