Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently recieved a few broms for my 20 xtra high clown tree frog tank. The temps are 74-77 and the humidity is around 70-75%. I am also running a reptiglo 2.0 light. They are all mounted into great stuff foam and the roots are wrapped with moist sphagnum moss. Some of the very tips of the leaves are beginning to turn a bit brown. Is this normal? It's nothing serious yet, but I want to catch it in time to make any chacnges. What can I do?

It's fairly normal. Are you keeping the brome axils full of water? Misting daily? No problem. The older leaves will turn brown on the tips first, then gradually die back. This is normal.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

"Are you keeping the brome axils full of water? Misting daily?"

Yes I am doing both. Should I keep the axils full? I read that yellowing tips is a sign of inadequate water/moisture, and browning is a sign of inadequate lighting. Or maybe it's visa-versa? I forget. Does any of that sound familiar at all? Thanks.

Mist the axils. Keep them full when the frogs have tads in them. They should always have a little reservoir of water. I am speaking of the Neoregalias, and some others, but not for the whole bromeliad clan. The Bromeliaceae, the pineapple family, is diverse. We mosty use the epiphytic types that grow on trees and hold water in their axils for themselves and dart frogs. Neoregalia, some Vresia, are usually small enough or can be contained in vivariums. The Tillandsias and Cryptanthus are small, decorative, but not useful for frogs that like leaf axils for breeding and hanging out in. Many others, like Aechmea. Billibergia, Guzmania tend to grow too large for a small vivarium. (Between 10 and 135 gallons.)
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

Thanks, very informative. I may have asked this before, but I have some broms that I am not using in any vivs right now. I have them in small drained pots with gravel and a mulch mix from outside. I collected the mulch (more like decomposed leaf litter) from an area that has wild broms already growing in it. We have alot of large broms in the Florida Keys. Is this a good way to keep them? What would you suggests? Thank you very much again.

They should do fine in this, especially in the Florida Keys if the leaf litter isn't just damp and not wet, and has good drainage. If they are the vase type Neos and Vresias, keeping the leaf axils full of water will help. There are so many different bromeliads, it's difficult to generalize. If they are Tillandsias, I'd attach them to a branch and mist them occasionally. The Crypanthus would also do all right in the leaf litter in a pot. You just need to watch that you don't rot the anchor roots of the epiphytic bromes. I keep my extra epiphytes in pots of orchid bark in a ten gallon tank over wet gravel, but the humidity in my neck of the woods is very low. You shouldn't have to enhance humidity where you are.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus