# whites tree frog - always covered in soil



## eddy (Feb 24, 2009)

my recently acquired whites tree frog seems to always be covered in dry bits of soil

i change his water bowl daily, & he spends alot of time in it at night

i mist the tank a couple of times a day, to keep the humidity about 70, temperature is about 75

there is a heatmat underneath the tank & a light bulb in the canopy - 12 hours on, 12 off

the soil began to dry out & it was becoming difficult to keep the humidity up, so i soaked the soil abit to get some moisture back in there, which has helped with the humidity, but im finding that despite all his washing, when i get home from work & he's asleep, he's always covered in bits of dried out soil, which presumably are sticking to him coz they're wet or he's wet, fresh out of his bath...

is this a problem? is it normal? on peoples pictures their whites always look quite clean... any advice would be appreciated.


while i'm here, i have bits of bark for him to climb on, as well as some fake plants along one side of the tank. i'm finding that where the bark stands on the soil, it's becomign very mouldy underneath & i'm constantly changing the soil there. anything i can do to prevent this?

cheers guys


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Cover the eco earth in leaf litter or moss. Oak leaves are good, take ages to decompose.

If you do this, place the bark on top of the leaves, should solve your problem.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Whites are buggers for getting dirty, i made my viv to have NO soil at all, heres a thread with piccies if its of any help?

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/amphibians/388137-new-whites-setup-pic-heavy.html


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## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

Yeah they are dirty beggers, one of my boys used to perch on the front glass and poo down it all the time.
Mines always dirty until she wakes up and has a wash at night then shes clean again.

Everything you describe is normal.

Marina


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## eddy (Feb 24, 2009)

thanks guys, good to know he's not doing anything out of the ordinary.

i'm giving some thought to a soil-free tank like you've described, would like to do a waterfall, but think i'll need some assistance with that, but regardless, thats a job for when i've got more money. maybe next month =)

i reckon for the time being i'll try that with the oak leaves, and here comes the (potentially) stupid question... where do i get them? ie. can i just go out to the park, climb a tree & pick a handfull? or do i run the risk of contaminating my tank/hurting the frog?


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

I get mine from Dartfrog Landscaping & Decor Price List


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## eddy (Feb 24, 2009)

thanks =)


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## andaroo (Nov 14, 2008)

I've said this before in a few other threads about how i keep my white's dirt free and prevent them ingesting any particles after trouble with a few different types of substrate.
Even had a period where i didn't put anything on the floor so they would be sat on glass :lol2: but this didnt make the tank look very good.
I found the perfect solution 
coco panels :flrt:
normally used as a background I bought these to act as a natural looking carpet for my tank, its made of coco fibres and non toxic natural rubber and you can pour boiling water over it to clean it, leave it to dry and then use it in the tank again. It's absorbant so I have a undertank heat mat to help keep it dry so it doesn't get damp.

I've had the same panel in my tank for 4 months and i've washed it several times and it hasn't fallen apart or anything. Alot of places sell them but I got mine from here Livefood UK Ltd. They come in a pack of 4, 50cm square for a 45x45x60 exo terra or you can get 30 cm square if you have the 30x30x45 tank.

Here's some pics of how my tank looks so you can get an idea.



















Like I said, keeps em dirt free and cant be ingested

Hope this helps u out : victory:


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## eddy (Feb 24, 2009)

that looks smart as f*ck, i really like it!

how is it for holding humidity? looks as though you'd be misting almost non stop...


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## andaroo (Nov 14, 2008)

i dont mist it and it is always at around 50% in the day and 60 at night. Whites dont need humidty as long as they have fresh clean water to get moisture from they are all good :lol2:


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## eddy (Feb 24, 2009)

wow, theres so much conflicting stuff about humidity with whites, i've read LOTS of caresheets and the recomended humidity has been anythign between 50 and 80! mine seems to be always at 60 if i've not misted for a day, so i guess that should b ok. =)

love the substrate, i'ma order some as soon as i get paid. along with some more plants. woop!

cheers for all the help guys, case closed!


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