Hey hey, looking for advice.
I built a beautiful paludarium recently and thought the ecosystem was stable enough to add red-eyed tree frogs.
I've never dealt with a bacterial infection with frogs before. They did not make it.
I bought Turtle Fix. Added to the water for a few days, but last frog died and I stopped.
There was a build up of fuzzy something under the waterfall. And now the grapewood is getting moldy, maybe?
The grapewood and other wood is from a pet store, but the stone is from outside. I'm guessing it's from that? I did clean the stone, but didn't bleach it or bake it.
So.
Has anyone dealt with something similar?
Were you able to fix it? Do you think it was the stone? Or maybe the wood wasn't clean enough?
Could the frogs have already had it?
(With the understanding that this group isn't about frog care)
I'm planning on pretty much disassembling everything and bleaching it out. And relocating these plants just in case.
Thanks for any help and advice.
by Double-Ad-8477
6 Comments
Is *this* the enclosure you put red eye tree frogs in? Did you take a ton of stuff out of it to take this picture?
Sorry for being blunt. They likely got a bacterial infection because you put them in a soaking wet environment. They are arboreal, and putting them into this tank was a bad move on your part.
Don’t put any new herptiles in this tank, it’s not suitable for any.
Without knowing what type of infection, it’s hard to say if you should reuse the decor.
Please research more if you’re getting more pets.
As others have mentioned, this setup is not suitable for RETF. All also add that grape wood rots extremely quickly in a humid environment.
Do you have a vet near you and the funds? If not, it’s not realistic for you to own any more exotic animals right now. Also please research species care before putting them in a tank.
While this enclosure is definitely not suitable for RETF, if you want to stock again in the future, there is no need to clean everything out, though I would definitely remove the grapewood, as it is not suitable for this wet environment. I agree that the bacterial infection was due to the excessively wet environment for RETF. However, there are other frog species that will be fine in this habitat, as they are more suited for a wetter environment. Cinnamon frogs, reed frogs (multiple species in this group), amazon milk frogs, and vietnamese mossy frogs would do well, as they all should be housed in a tall, semi-aquatic tank.
Regardless, all of these frogs would prefer a much more heavily planted tank, so definitely get more plants. Ensure that there is cover all the way to to top of the tank for them.
A better idea would be reed frogs. In the wild they actually like big pools of water.