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Frogs and fertilizer?

I have always tossed around the idea of getting a pacman. It happens that I might have the materials to build a terrarium to replace my two ten-gallon tanks that have been home to my neps and orchids. I have also been envious of dart-frog setups and how lush they are.

So, I'm thinking of something like a 20 gal wide tank (think two ten gallons side by side.) Potted plants buried in substrate on top of something like some hydroton. Would this be suitable for a pacman frog? Would the small amounts of miracle gro in practically every bag of potting media I have access to mean death to a pacman frog sharing a terrarium?

Any tips for a burgeoning frog keeper?
 
The fertilizer will kill the frog rather easily, amphibians are very sensitive.


Don't use it.
 
Thats the answer I was expecting.

If I was able to locate some non-fertilized media, would everything else be suitable?

Anyone have any clues as to how much rinsing it would take to remove the fertilizer from a bag of Miracle-Gro brand orchid/cactus media? Is it possible to test for it?
 
Tom good luck with your pacman and no fertilizers please :) u know there are other cool exotic frogs out there like the some thing horned frog, it may be better if u take a little time for some research then go for the baddest u can find!!!!!
 
Forget about using the Miracle Grow at all, you won't be able to remove all the fertilizers from the soil. Frogs absorb water through the skin and if they're sitting on wet fertilizer laden soil... Get a package of Eco Earth/Bed A Beast (coir) or plain sphagnum peat from Home Depot/Lowes even Walmart sells it out back by the bags of manure and topsoil. If you're gonna spend $30 on a frog, spend $3 for a bale of good/safe peat. You can also grind up LFS and use that as a substrate, and it will come back to life in a humid and well lit vivarium.

The frogs poo will fertilize your plants in the vivarium. You can also put oak leaf mold (crushed oak leaves) into the viv soil and sprinkled ontop. As this all decays from daily misting it will leach a small amount nutes into the soil.
 
Forget about using the Miracle Grow at all, you won't be able to remove all the fertilizers from the soil. Frogs absorb water through the skin and if they're sitting on wet fertilizer laden soil... Get a package of Eco Earth/Bed A Beast (coir) or plain sphagnum peat from Home Depot/Lowes even Walmart sells it out back by the bags of manure and topsoil. If you're gonna spend $30 on a frog, spend $3 for a bale of good/safe peat. You can also grind up LFS and use that as a substrate, and it will come back to life in a humid and well lit vivarium.

The frogs poo will fertilize your plants in the vivarium. You can also put oak leaf mold (crushed oak leaves) into the viv soil and sprinkled ontop. As this all decays from daily misting it will leach a small amount nutes into the soil.

the great mind of swords speaks to us commoners :p:-P-:
 
Thanks for the substrate ideas Swords!

The coconut bedding would have been my first choice. The fertilizer comes into it because I was trying to have this terrarium serve double duty. For my baby orchid collection as well as having a cool pet. I have a hard time finding orchid media that isn't contaminated, probably because I haven't checked with any local nurseries either.

Looks like it'll be one or the other but not both. As far as $30 for a frog, I'm pretty sure I seen some baby albino pacmen for $15 at the last herp show :-D

Miguel, it is my understanding that what is labeled as Pacman frogs in the pet trade is either one of two species of Horned frogs, or a hybrid of the two.
 
Thanks for the substrate ideas Swords!

The coconut bedding would have been my first choice. The fertilizer comes into it because I was trying to have this terrarium serve double duty. For my baby orchid collection as well as having a cool pet. I have a hard time finding orchid media that isn't contaminated, probably because I haven't checked with any local nurseries either.

Looks like it'll be one or the other but not both. As far as $30 for a frog, I'm pretty sure I seen some baby albino pacmen for $15 at the last herp show :-D

Miguel, it is my understanding that what is labeled as Pacman frogs in the pet trade is either one of two species of Horned frogs, or a hybrid of the two.

I was thinking about something like this Tom http://reptilesmalaysia.com/images/...7/malayan_horned_frog_megophrys_nasuta_03.jpg
 
the great mind of swords speaks to us commoners
Yes, bow before Lord Algol commander of the Gnosis Engine! LOL :D

Those Malaysian horned frogs are cool! Been looking at them in the for sale ads on Kingsnake but haven't done much research on them yet. I wish I knew how loud the calls of the various frogs are that I would like. I'm hoping to be rid of crickets to avoid extraneous noises. Some of the dart frogs have pretty awful calls from what I've seen/heard on you tube, good luck sleeping through all that racket!
 
  • #10
i would avoid the Maylay horned frogs unless you can find someone breeding them in the US or dont mind risking just throwing money away......Pyro and i got a group of wild caught ones a couple years ago....they appeared healthy when they arrived but they keeled over rather quickly(within a couple months) even with us heavily researching their needs before hand......

Untitled-3-10.jpg


Untitled-6-6.jpg
 
  • #11
That's a shame. Any idea what was wrong? Stress level of being caught/imported, parasites, that fungus (Cythid sp?) that happens when frogs are kept too warm (or is that only in SA frogs)?

I do prefer CB for anything, plants or critters.
 
  • #12
no clue looked healthy and happy when we got them.....they were eating fine aswell......but they started dropping off after a couple weeks.....Pyro and i put alot of effort in to reading everything we could find before actually acquiring them aswell....he also had help of some amphibian experts on his end but IIRC i had the last frog standing....but only by about a week or so.....
 
  • #13
Yes, bow before Lord Algol commander of the Gnosis Engine! LOL :D

Those Malaysian horned frogs are cool! Been looking at them in the for sale ads on Kingsnake but haven't done much research on them yet. I wish I knew how loud the calls of the various frogs are that I would like. I'm hoping to be rid of crickets to avoid extraneous noises. Some of the dart frogs have pretty awful calls from what I've seen/heard on you tube, good luck sleeping through all that racket!

sounds something like u are getting lured to the herp /t hobby pretty quick! CONGRATS i now have hopes of u actually drowning in it like me:p
 
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