delurk First Viv

1710 Views 20 Replies 9 Participants Last post by markpulawski, Nov 20, 2011

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · Nov 9, 2011

6

As a bit of a plant nerd and animal lover so it was sort of inevitable i'd have a viv sometimes. So after a long time lurking I decided to build one. Its an exoterra small tall, the background and some structures are kitty litter clay and peat. There is a water feature that ends in what i'd call the wet pebble section so not really a pool. Photographing it was a bit difficult because of the lights. So bear with me.

how cute is this one?

I'm waiting on my neighbours magnolia to drop its leaves before adding some leaflitter. The photo's don't really show it but there is more floor area than you think. The 20th there is a reptile show in my neighbourhood so I think i'll get some inhabitants then. I/m not decided yet but i'm thinking auratus or azureus. Ï'm a bit worried about the supposed shyness of the auratus as the viv is located on a table next to the couch so it would be a fairly high traffic area.

Any comments, pieces of advice and questions are welcome

See less See more

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

MrFusion

· #2 · Nov 9, 2011

Great looking setup! Based on my own experience, I would recommend getting smaller frogs like Pumilio or thumbnails instead. I had a really nice planted display viv and unfortunately my Azureus trampled my plants to death. The smaller frogs will utilize all the levels in your viv and be able to interact with your plants without destroying them.

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 9, 2011

Aren't thumbnails considered more of thing for more experienced dart frog keepers?

ExoticPocket

· #4 · Nov 9, 2011

Pumilio yes and some of the smaller ranitomeya like reticulata/benedicta but vents and some imi's are ok for begginers.

MrFusion

· #5 · Nov 9, 2011

That really depends on who you ask, but I've kept a plethora of frogs and their care really isn't all that different from one another at all. Seed your viv with microfauna and feed vitamin dusted wingless melanogastor fruit flies. I think the concern is more of an issue of price per frog than anything, but I think they are worth the extra money.

B-NICE

· #6 · Nov 9, 2011

I can't see your viv because I'm at work, but hes probably making a suggestion because of the viv size. I have an R. Variabilis and it is small. You might not know how small some darts are until you see them in person. My thumbnail is the size of a cricket (pin head).

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 9, 2011

well i'm off reading more caresheets so when i see whats available at the reptile show i'll have some idea of what would be appropriate for this viv. (today i added some springtails to the substrate)

brinkerh420

· #8 · Nov 9, 2011

Awesome Nepenthes! Best looking pitcher plant I have seen on this site. Just amazing!

freaky_tah

· #9 · Nov 9, 2011

B-NICE said:
My thumbnail is the size of a cricket (pin head).

Your frog is this big (pinhead cricket size)?!

See less See more

Reactions: 1

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 9, 2011

brinkerh420 said:
Awesome Nepenthes! Best looking pitcher plant I have seen on this site. Just amazing!

its looking a bit down so I hope it will be happier in the viv. Strangely enough it's a relatively new hybrid (I think it's called bloody mary but i'm not positive) that was bred specifically to deal with the lower humidity of a living room, but it just did not look happy amongst my orchids so i thought to see how it would do in this set up.

DragonSpirit1185

· #11 · Nov 9, 2011

freaky_tah said:
Your frog is this big (pinhead cricket size)?!

I seriously boubt it. I was about to call him out on it myself.
I bred crickets and pin heads are no bigger than the tip of a ball point pen

ExoticPocket

· #12 · Nov 9, 2011

B-NICE said:
I can't see your viv because I'm at work, but hes probably making a suggestion because of the viv size. I have an R. Variabilis and it is small. You might not know how small some darts are until you see them in person. My thumbnail is the size of a cricket (pin head).

??? I have a juvenile varadero and he is around the size of your pinky nail. I doubt that he was much smaller when he morphed out so I'm finding it hard to believe that your frog is that small.

Reactions: 1

DragonSpirit1185

· #13 · Nov 10, 2011

ExoticPocket said:
??? I have a juvenile varadero and he is around the size of your pinky nail. I doubt that he was much smaller when he morphed out so I'm finding it hard to believe that your frog is that small.

exactly....
you should see some of his posts on here...they are lulzy
no disrespect or anything but some things make no sense.

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 13, 2011

Next week I'll get the inhabitants. By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for nice small ferns?

GRIMM

· #15 · Nov 13, 2011 (Edited)

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this yet, but that clay section up top left, and the ledge on the bottom left could pose potential risks. No doubt they will fail over time. They will either slide down slowly over time, or all at once. I would seriously rethink that section of the tank by adding more clay for support.

Also, planting nepenthes and jewel orchids directly into holes made in the clay might end up suffocating them over time. It'll also keep the clay way to wet and it will become very soft.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Its definitely a good looking tank right now, but I dont see it lasting very long unless some things are changed.

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 13, 2011

GRIMM said:
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this yet, but that clay section up top left, and the ledge on the bottom left could pose potential risks. No doubt they will fail over time. They will either slide down slowly over time, or all at once. I would seriously rethink that section of the tank by adding more clay for support.

Also, planting nepenthes and jewel orchids directly into holes made in the clay might end up suffocating them over time. It'll also keep the clay way to wet and it will become very soft.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Its definitely a good looking tank right now, but I dont see it lasting very long unless some things are changed.

The jewell orchids and the nepenthis are not actually planted in the clay. The section where the ludisia is planted is a raised section with substrate not clay ( its behind a piece of wood) . for the nephenthes I made a 'clay pot' and it's filled with coco substrate and then stuck to the wall, there are even drainage holes. I'm not a complete amateur you know. As for the background upper section its actually quite thickly applied, there are a few cracks because of the first few days when i didnt have my door yet so the lamps dried it out a bit, it's quite stable now because it stays wet after misting.

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #17 · Nov 13, 2011

Plus when I get my orchids Ill make a cork section which should provide some extra stability for the floating clay sections

DragonSpirit1185

· #18 · Nov 14, 2011

tessa_leonie said:
Plus when I get my orchids Ill make a cork section which should provide some extra stability for the floating clay sections

yeah but it will only give support at the bottom or wherever you put it.
I have seen on here where people try to use a support but it still falls.
Once it detaches itself at the top it will be top heavy then it will just topple over the cork bark.
the cork bark would have to be at least half as thick as the clay or more for it support it and not to fall.
I still don't know if it will be enough support if that piece of wood is resting on the clay....I just noticed the wood so yeah it will definitely be top heavy if that wood is resting on the clay.

Is your water feature made of clay?
If so that clay will eventually begin to break down and pretty much start to turn mooshy and have a landslide effect ...unless you are barely running it and letting biofilm build up to protect the clay from the water.
You might get lucky tho but it has happened to a few people on here.
Clay backgrounds are tricky from what I heard and I don't think I will attempt one for a while.
Most people wait until they gain experience before attempting clay backgrounds.

good luck tho

See less See more

tessa_leonie

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 20, 2011

6

Big disappointment today.

Today was the reptilica fair, and I was stoked to get some inhabitants. I actually got up early this morning and tweaked the viv a bit. I thought I could be stubborn and keep the viv the same or be save and not risk getting a big hunk of clay falling on a frog so I relocated the nephenthes.

Alas at Reptilica there was count them... one dart frog. A sole auratus was the only dart frog I could find. there where thousands of snakes, lizards even a good selection of fire bellies but no darts in sight. So to ameliorate my disappointment somewhat I went wild at a plant stand. They had really cool things (orchids! yeah) unfortunately nothing was named. So here are a couple of pictures, I might still tweak a bit (or a lot i''ve not figured it out yet). Here it goes:

besides 5 new orchids i've added a begonia (next to the water feature) a fern (came with one of the orchids) and a cool species bromeliad.

does anyone have a clue what its name is?

I think at least one of the orchids is a bulbophylium but i'm have no clue as to the others. If anyone has an idea please let me know (Blooming would make ID ing a lot easier but just a hint to the genus would be a great help)

this one is tiny

I suspect this is a bulbo, it was living with the fern

THere are two different ones on this piece of mossy cork

Well thats it, my quest continues

See less See more

DragonSpirit1185

· #20 · Nov 20, 2011

tessa_leonie said:
Big disappointment today.

Today was the reptilica fair, and I was stoked to get some inhabitants. I actually got up early this morning and tweaked the viv a bit. I thought I could be stubborn and keep the viv the same or be save and not risk getting a big hunk of clay falling on a frog so I relocated the nephenthes.

Alas at Reptilica there was count them... one dart frog. A sole auratus was the only dart frog I could find. there where thousands of snakes, lizards even a good selection of fire bellies but no darts in sight. So to ameliorate my disappointment somewhat I went wild at a plant stand. They had really cool things (orchids! yeah) unfortunately nothing was named. So here are a couple of pictures, I might still tweak a bit (or a lot i''ve not figured it out yet). Here it goes:

besides 5 new orchids i've added a begonia (next to the water feature) a fern (came with one of the orchids) and a cool species bromeliad.

does anyone have a clue what its name is?

I think at least one of the orchids is a bulbophylium but i'm have no clue as to the others. If anyone has an idea please let me know (Blooming would make ID ing a lot easier but just a hint to the genus would be a great help)

this one is tiny

I suspect this is a bulbo, it was living with the fern

THere are two different ones on this piece of mossy cork

Well thats it, my quest continues

I'm glad you toned that chunk down

I have still read tho that it really isn't about size and that the smallest of pieces of clay fall from being placed in small patches.
I'm sure that wood isn't too heavy but I would have siliconed both the wood and the cork bark to the glass so there is no additional weight on the clay then put the clay around it.
I hope it works out for you tho, it's a beautiful viv

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.