Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

I'm not having the easiest time finding some plants suitable for the dry terrarium. Mainly for my P. sauvagei, not darts. I use pothos, snake plants, bird's nest snake planths, jade, etc. but can't seem to find any other good ones. I'm thinking of making a huge tank (possible up to 600 gallons) so tall plants/shrubs/tree species are reccomended if you know of any. I was thinking maybe a ficus? Also, if they need more water than required for the frogs, I was going to nstall a sprinkler kit in the bedding, so the sprinkler heads would poke of of the ground near the plant(s). Thanks for all who reply. Also, if you read this Homer, can you give me some tips with fiber glass resin? thanks.
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P. vaillanti
derekb15.tripod.com/tropicaltreasures
4.2.0 P. sauvagei
3.2.7 P. hypochondrialis
2.0.0 P. vaillanti
0.0.3 P. aurotaenia
2.2.0 B. orientalis
0.0.10 S. pustulosa
0.0.3 B. americanus
0.0.1 M. laevigata
0.0.1 M. milotympanum
1.0.0 T. horsefieldi

Humidity is an issue right? You need to keep it low because they are a savanna species? So even by adding extra irrigation in the bottom you would still increase the humidity. Also I would use a drip system rather than sprinklers.

As for plants try Pteridium aquilinum (Bracken fern). It would only work in large set up where you could provide a lot of light, but it is a good savanna type plant. Small fan palms would be suitable (Sabel, Serrenoa, Acoelorraphe, among others), though you would need to remove them as they got to large and adequate lighting would again be an issue. The Ficus that you find commonly would tolerate the dry conditions, but with each drying/re-wetting cycle it would drop some of its leaves. You could definitely use all sorts of Tillandsia, the gray ones anyway. Epiphytic cacti would work as would Ceropegia. “Bottle Brush Tree” might work too, it is an Australian native sold as a landscape plant in Florida. It has large showy clusters of flowers with extended styles making the inflorescence appear as a bottle brush. If you kept the soil dry enough Adenium would work (see www.tropiflora.com). It is an African native with a large swollen trunk (cuadex) and showy tubular flowers. As far as orchids several species of Encyclia and Epidendrum love savanna conditions. You may even want to try Vanilla. Everything, except the Ficus, needs strong light to thrive; much more light then is normally provided to a rainforest setup. Pelargonium might work as well. The genus is predominately South African, with many species adapted to dry rocky areas.

Hope this was useful, and do let us know how it works out.

You might look into some of the succulents like Haworthia, Sedum, Kalanchoe, etc. Some of the African Euphorbias (spineless types) might also do well if there's plenty of light and low humidity. The choices to try are nearly endless. Mesembrianthemums might add some interest. (Also need lots of light and dry conditions.) The Ceropegias, and maybe even Rhipsalis cacti will grow where Tillandsias will grow. If you like ferns, Pelea rotundifolia does well in dry conditions.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
3 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
4 D. leukomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus pending

From what I can tell, the tank you are planning sounds like it will be too wet.

Personally, I have never kept this species, but I do have a few friends who have. One has successfully bred them. I know how they kept their's....it was on a papertowel substrate, with a ton of biovine, and some fake plants.

I would contact Mike Novy (kermit5103@aol.com), of Rainforest Junkies. He will be able to answer your questions.
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Quality Captives

Too wet for what? The plants? Or my frogs? I have kept P. sauvagei for about 3 years now, they need about 95*F basking site, 50-50% humidity and bone dry. The reason why I'm asking about dry plants.
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P. vaillanti
derekb15.tripod.com/tropicaltreasures
4.2.0 P. sauvagei
3.2.7 P. hypochondrialis
2.0.0 P. vaillanti
0.0.3 P. aurotaenia
2.2.0 B. orientalis
0.0.10 S. pustulosa
0.0.3 B. americanus
0.0.1 M. laevigata
0.0.1 M. milotympanum
1.0.0 T. horsefieldi

Are you planning on using the fiberglass resin to coat plywood for waterproofing? I found that using marine epoxy along the seams when screwing the sheets together really helped seal the edges. I then coated everything with fiberglass resin after stapling fiberglass cloth to the bottom and on up the sides.

To make a long story short, the fiberglass cloth was overkill. You can paint the resin onto the wood as a waterproofing agent in several coats. However, you will need at least 3 coats, and I found that the resin tends to bubble and leave tiny pinholes where water can leak through. Eventually, I had to buy some epoxy paint (if anyone is interested, I can post some sites for reasonably priced epoxy paint) which did the trick. I would suggest a long cure time for either of these products, and I washed my tank out with hot RO water several times to remove any residues.

If anyone is interested in making a large show tank from plywood and glass, I would be more than willing to share my experiences. Additionally, if anyone lives in the Indianapolis area, I have some large pieces of 3/8" glass that is tempered, but would work nicely for this type of setup (and I have too many pieces to use all of them on making tanks without my wife killing me first).
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense