# Leaf litter.



## dbaydush (Jul 5, 2014)

How important is it to have leaf litter in my vivarium? Does it depend on my frog species? I want epipedates anthonyi 'Santa Isabel' morph.


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## The Mom (Jun 1, 2013)

It's pretty important. The microfauna, springtails and isopods, need it to survive. It also keeps your frogs out of the dirt. It is a big part of their environment, I can't imagine not having it. Since they deposit tads at ground level you need leaves in their water too, the tads do better with the tanins.

I use almost all oak, because I own oak trees, but magnolia are also popular choices. I also leave any cuttings in there if I have to trim up any od the plants. 

If you want a healthy and clean viv you need leaf litter.


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## SuperFastSlug (Jul 17, 2013)

Yes, leaf litter provides the micro fauna a home and provides hiding spots and visual barriers for your dart frogs. As The Mom stated, oak and magnolia leaves are good choices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dbaydush (Jul 5, 2014)

But can I cover the whole ground with moss instead of leaves? Or do they specifically need leaves?


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

The moss is for you....the leaf litter is for the frogs


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## dbaydush (Jul 5, 2014)

Awesome thx


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## dbaydush (Jul 5, 2014)

Enlightened Rogue said:


> The moss is for you....the leaf litter is for the frogs



Best answer I've gotten so far imo


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Don`t get me wrong, you can have some moss as an accent on some wood or even small area`s on the floor if you wish.
If you look at the frogs habitat in the wild you will mostly see leaf litter. I have some wild moss I collected attached to some wood and it looks really nice.
If/when you decide to add micro fauna they will feed on the decaying leaf litter and also clean the waste from the frogs.
For me there`s nothing better then seeing iso`s under the leaf litter.
Another reason for me was I could never keep the damn moss alive.
Enjoy


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Enlightened Rogue said:


> The moss is for you....the leaf litter is for the frogs


I've heard that somewhere before...
Your frogs want leaf litter, and lots of it. They want it on the floor and they'll appreciate it if you cover as much of the floor as possible with it. There is plenty of space on your backgrounds and wood features, to grow your moss. 
I used to want the same thing, many years ago. I thought that a lush field of green was a healthy, beautiful tank. 
I've come to find that there is no shortage of places to grow moss, while still leaving the floor of the tank open. This allows the field of leaf litter to do it's job producing food, and providing an endless supply of hiding spaces for your frogs. When your frogs feel more secure, and they _know_ that there is _always_ a hiding space one hop away, you will see them more often. They will be much braver, and that of course, is what we really want, right? More visible, more active frogs. 
Don't forget about that additional food source. Springtails and isopods will thrive and their populations will bloom nicely for you. This is a great insurance policy for you and your frogs. If your fly cultures crash and you find yourself completely out of flies, will you panic? I won't. My frogs will be well fed on springtails and isopods until I can get a friend or sponsor to get me some new cultures. As far as food supply goes, in an emergency I could walk away from my tanks for a month, and my frogs will still be well fed. **important note** That would be an extreme exception. Don't forget that your frogs *require* properly dusted flies to get their vitamins and calcium.
Leaf litter is an amazing tool. It is simple, cheap, easily utilized, and it's benefits/paybacks are huge. I would never again run a vivarium without large amounts of leaf litter. I like a nice 2" deep bed.


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## JayMillz (Jun 27, 2012)

I found about half a trash bag full of oak leaves from last fall in my garage today. If you live in the US and want to cover shipping costs, $7-10?, I can stuff a small box for you. Bake or microwave them and you will be good to go.


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## dbaydush (Jul 5, 2014)

JayMillz said:


> I found about half a trash bag full of oak leaves from last fall in my garage today. If you live in the US and want to cover shipping costs, $7-10?, I can stuff a small box for you. Bake or microwave them and you will be good to go.



Thanks but I already got some


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## Frog Town (Oct 8, 2013)

Leaf litter is incredibly important to dart frogs. Most beginners just can't see spending money on dried leaves to stick in their vivariums. I think in their minds dried leaves just don't seem like something you'd find in a tropical jungle.

Here's a post by thedude that shows leaf litter in the jungle.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/95055-trip-peru.html

Stemcellular put up a post several years ago that was picture heavy and it shows quite a few photos of dart frogs on the jungle floor and you can see the amount of leaf litter. I tried to find it but I couldn't. It's there but I just don't remember the exact date. If you research his username I think you could find it.

I have a trio of D. Leucomelas that crawl all over the vivarium underneath the leaf litter. My first imitators laid eggs on a magnolia leaf that was covered by live oak leaves. I was expecting them to lay on the glass or on the Neoregalias.

Try looking around this forum;

www.fieldherpforum.com


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## Frog Town (Oct 8, 2013)

I found that post for you. As you look at the pictures pay close attention to the overall environment. The plants, trees, the way the ground looks. Notice things like fallen trees or limbs. This is the world our frogs live in.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/60381-peru-trip-ue.html

Good luck!


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## chuckpowell (May 12, 2004)

Leaf litter isn't needed and the frogs will do fine and still breed. I think they do better with it - are more comfortable with it. Back when I started in the mid-80's it wasn't used. I started using magnola leaves in the late 80's and wrote about it in the ADG Newsletter. Since then its been a part of most terrariums, but as I said its not needed, especially in a well planted terrarium. 

Best,

Chuck


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