One important husbandry tool.....

[Philsuma]

List one item or tool ect, that you have purchased in say....a hardware, craft or even a restaurant store that you wish to pass on to the masses as possibly indispensible or newly discovered.

I'll go first...

2 speeds, variable positions and the best part...the clip..a Godsend for my baker's rack systems. I bought a dozen...

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Holmes HACP9 Oscilllating Clip Fan

[gary1218]

InfraRed temp gun.

I orginally bought it when I raised tropical fish but I use it all around the frog room as well. Just point and shoot and you get an instant temperature reading.

[eLisborg]

Space heaters, especially for northern folk. My whole house remains a constant 58F in the winter months but the frog room is kept at 71 with a 20 dollar space heater. I have only used one model but it has worked great so far. It shaves a lot of money off the heating bill each month.

The only bad thing is that you have to manually turn it on/off, it doesn't adjust based on the temp in the room. There is an "eco setting" where it automatically shuts off after 4 hours, otherwise you have to either put it on a timer or adjust it manually.



I got mine at target, not sure if they still carry it though.

Holmes HEH8001-U1 Energy Efficient Eco-Smart Space Heater... review at Kaboodle

[hexentanz]

Turkey Baster (sp?).

[rozdaboff]

I can't limit myself to one thing - so I'll list two (well actually three)

Sterilite storage shelves and Solo 5oz. cups




At least for the species that I work with (mostly thumbs) - this setup allows me to keep individual tadpoles in a very confined space. 3 racks fit perfectly across a 48" metal rack. I use 6 shelving systems (18 shelves) and each shelf can hold 16 5oz. cups - or 288 tadpoles in a 48"x24"x18" area. Lately I haven't even filled 20% of that capacity, but it is nice to have it.

Also - a Vornado fan. Great for circulating room air. Works in the winter and summer to keep temperatures more even in the room. While I do take advantage of natural temperature gradients by keeping the species that like the warmth higher up, in the winter the temp near the floor can get a bit cool. This fan does a great job at leveling things off. I think they also make them attached to heaters for those that need them.

Oz

[Derek Benson]

for catching frogs...

[jubjub47]

Hey Phil, I've been considering some of those for my rack to help cool the lights a bit. Is that what your doing with them?

[Philsuma]

Tim,

I have the ubiquitous baker's rack system as you know.....I plied them with two 48" WalMart florescent fixtures for $10.00 each and am using some type of Phillips plant lights T 10's that do not throw of much heat.

2 rows of lights for a total of 4 bulbs per shelf with 4 shelves utilizing the lights for a grande total of 16 bulbs per rack!

Even with all those ballasts, I really don't get a big temp increase. My tiled concrete floor stays @ 72F and my ceiling temp is @ 78F. Ambiant room humidity is sometimes 50% !

The fixtures are flex tied to the bottom of the wire racks and there is a very interesting thing at work here...when tied tight, there is a nice 1/2 inch space between the top of the shelf and the fixture, creating a nice heat dissapation pocket.


But to answer your question, I use those fans for everything:

• a little cooling
• directed on the vivs for air exchange even with a glass lid
• directed on floor spills to speed evaporation
• to stir up FF in or near vivs

you name it....they are that handy.

PS...I have a nice Sony DSLR camera....maybe it's time I learned how to use it so I could post some picks of my frogs and vivs and racks...

[Enlightened Rogue]

One of those pressurized pump sprayer`s for misting and cleaning.

John

[flybuster]

digital timers , couldent live without them!