Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was going to make a florida native tank to house green anoles green treefrogs and gray tree frogs and i was wondering if there was anyway to sterlize plants collected from the wild

How big will this tank be? Having so many species in one tank could cause alot of stress to each of its inhabitants.

Anyways, I don't see why native plants can't be used, as long as they are free of pesticides (and remember that pesticides travel a long way in the wind, so if its in your backyard, make sure nobody in your area uses it) Keep the plant in the soil that you would plant them in, watering with the frog water (not tap water of course) I would also wash the roots and leaves gently, in order to make sure there are no residual traces of fertilizer and things like that.

It may be easier, and a bit safer, to get your plants from home depot or walmart, or a local nursery that doesn't use pesticides.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:3

While "serilizing" isn't feasible, as the term means killing off all life forms, that would include plants, of course, sanitizing is quite possible, especially with plants you can start from cuttings with a new root system. And you can certainly remove pesticides and fertilizers along with most insects and insect eggs with the following method:

Take cuttings or dig up small plants with roots where cuttings aren't feasible, then wash them off well. You can also slosh them around in relatively hot, soapy water,(about 110 degrees F. is safe for most plants, except the delicate ones such as ferns,) cleaning off the leaves and stems with your fingers. Then rinse them several times in clear, warm water. You can use tap water for this, although you will want to use declorinated water later for watering and misting, of course. Then root the cuttings in either brown sphagnum moss or a clean organic compost. Remove two or three leaves from the lower end of cuttings, and make sure a couple of the leaf nodes are down into the rooting media. For rooted plants, trim back the damaged roots with sharp scissors, and also trim off the top of the plant to match, or remove some of the lower leaves, if the top nodes are essential, and replant in the fresh media.

Some people have suggested a very weak solution of Clorox for sanitizing plants, but this is more toxic to the plants, and the soapy solution should remove the "bad stuff" pretty efficiently without damaging the plants as much. Unscented dish detergent seems to work, although I used to use "real" soap, such as Lux or Ivory Snow. I'm not sure "real" soap exists anymore.

Here's a little trick that assists rooting plants and stimulating cut back roots, if you have access to any kind of live willow twigs. Strip off the bottom leaves of the willow twigs and put them in a bucket of water. They will begin to put out roots. Then use the water from the bucket to water the new cuttings and transplants. The rooting willows exude a rooting hormone into the water. I can't remember exactly what this is, but it does truly work.

Good luck, and let us know what happens. I won't comment about the animals you are planning to put together, because I know nothing about the ones you mentioned--only that I wouldn't mix them with darts, but you either have that information already or will get it first.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
6 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
6 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris