Great news. Before we were using the Exo-Terra setup, we had frillies #1 and 4 (see my previous post) in 20L tanks.

The first photo shows them hanging out in the big cage before #1 got too skittish and had to be put in an Exo-Terra by her self. They are 13 months in this photo.

The last two photos show what was my first successful setup using a 20L:

20L tank, left side has Exo-Terra 16W Desert UTH on 24H. Cage carpet on bottom. White foam is taped on the back and sides. On top are, left to right, 60 W ceramic heat emitter, 60W incandescent, both on 14H during day, and on the right is a 60W heat emitter on at night. There is a Zoo-Med 10.0 UVB tube in back. Note how top is sealed up to keep heat and moisture in.

Back then, these were the only cages in the room, and we kept the thermostat at 63' during the winter, hence the high wattage. Now a days, there are more cages in this room and the room is quite warm all year round.

Two female frillies, #1 on the left and #4 on the right, same age, in identical cages. It was common to see them basking, running around and just acting exactly the same. Kind of like a synchronized swimming team only they couldn't see each other, just acting on instinct. They were about 6 months old at this point.

The humidifier in your setup might not be as much of a help as you'd think. The same water content that yields 70% RH at 70' is only 31% RH at 95'. It would be helpful to put a humidity gage near where your frillie hangs out and determine an accurate RH.

I have read about RI problems due to high humidity but that is one problem that has not occurred with any of my frillies. For a while, I was misting the cages every day, and the humidity was staying around 60-80% where they hang out. The cork started growing moss and the cages just started to smell musty. Thinking that this wasn't a healthy environment I started doing the wet/dry cycle. When they are shedding I'll make sure they get extra misting.

A vertically oriented cage is desirable, but a warm cage is mandatory. Once your frillie is doing well in the 20L, then you can start to make small changes to his environment. Spend a little time researching the weather in New Guinea and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Mike

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]