Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK.....i've been keeping a few reptiles, but am starting to go into darts.....i dont know that much about keeping them (i'm still reasearching), so to start.....
1. What exactly is the use to keep a drainage section? To prevent mold? And is it neccesary?
2. What exactly is a false bottom, and is it necessary as well?
3. What plants do you recommend to keep in a 20 high? And do you guys keep them in the pots, and plant the pots in the soil? (i'm going to use moss)
4. What substrate is best other than soil? Or is soil the only necessary substrate? And can i only use aquarium gravel?
5. Whats the best beginner type species to keep?
6. How do you guys construct a pond? (not a waterfall, just a small pond with no pump, and nothing too fancy)

Sorry for all the dumb questions, as i said before...im new to this, so dont yell at me if your frustrated with the questions.......

Hi,

1) The dranage substrate is used as a place for extra water to drain into so that the soil doesn't become saturated with water. You will be spraying the terrarium with water at least once a day and over time this builds up in the bottom of the tank.

2) A false-bottom is like raising the entire insides of the terrarium up an inch or two which forms a place for water to collect below. This is just another way to prevent the soil from becoming soaked with water and turning into mud. The pros to using a false-bottom are that it is lighter, it makes it easier to break down and clean out the terrarium and it can be cheaper. It doesn't look as nice though.

3) There is a wide variety of plants availible. If you are looking for plants that grow well and are hard to kill give pothos and philodendrons a shot. Once you start keeping dart frogs, chances are you will start to get interested in plants and want to learn more about them and try keeping more difficult species.

4) Use a substrate that holds moisture and won't spoil or go bad easily. Gravel can be used in part of the terrarium but shouldn't be the only substrate in the cage. I have always used a soil mixture.

5) Everyone will have their own oppinion about this. Dendrobates azureus, leucomelas and tinctorius are all large, hardy and bold frogs that are fun to keep.

6) There are a few different ways to construct ponds in terrariums. I think the easiest way is to slope part of the substrate down and then fill the tank with an inch or so of water. This is another reason you might want to use a dranage substrate like gravel. The gravel can be shaped so that in one corner it slopes down to about a quarter inch. The terrarium is then filled with enough water to create a pond. Its kind of hard to describe, have a look at http://www.amphibiancare.com/frogs/images/terrarium44.jpg for a picture. Good luck!
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Devin
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com

I'm a newbie myself and I just finished my tank. What I did was put a layer of pea gravel (washed out the mud of course) and then put a screen layer on top of the gravel and then put soil on top of the screen. The screen keeps the layers apart. Also, what's great is that because I have a pea gravel bottom layer, I put soil in about 2/3 of my tank and the other 1/3 is left for my pond/waterfall. You can "mold" the gravel so there is a little pit for your pond. Also, you can use bigger rocks to build a border around your pond so the soil doesn't spill into it. If you want a great site, go to www.tincs.com. Under gadgets, you can find a page on basic tank construction. I've, for the most part, followed the page and I'm stoked with the finished product. Good Luck!
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~jason

1. What exactly is the use to keep a drainage section? To prevent mold? And is it neccesary?
it gives water a place to drain into, so if you dont want soggy soil, and or rotten roots use one.
2. What exactly is a false bottom, and is it necessary as well?
you dont need it unless you want a water feature.
3. What plants do you recommend to keep in a 20 high? And do you guys keep them in the pots, and plant the pots in the soil? (i'm going to use moss)
alocasia, bromiliads, pothos, philidendron, rainforest catus (yes there is such a thing i saw it in costa rica) moss, other tropical plants the list can go on and on and on.
4. What substrate is best other than soil? Or is soil the only necessary substrate? And can i only use aquarium gravel?
ive herd of people using aquarium gravel, but ive had the best luch with bed a beast, but theres different mixes for different plants, in my lil 10 g (im going to a 29 soon)i have pothos and they like the water and the soil.
5.Whats the best beginner type species to keep?
captive bread tincs, luecomelas, azurs, terribilis, if you want to try thumbnails vents and imatators are a good bet.
6. How do you guys construct a pond? (not a waterfall, just a small pond with no pump, and nothing too fancy)
i made a false bottom that covers only part of the tank, then layed some gravel on it (the fb so the tank didnt weigh so much) then sloped it where the false bottom doesnt extend to.

Sorry for all the dumb questions, as i said before...im new to this, so dont yell at me if your frustrated with the questions.......
hey no questions are stupid.... well maybe i lied, but these ones arent ^_^

ashley