# PA Woods Vivariums



## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

This is the thread discussing both the Western PA Woods and the Pine Creek PA Woods Vivariums that will have a pair of American Toads and a pair of Gray Tree Frogs. 

The Western PA Woods is a 125 Gallon native perennial and native wild amphibian enclosure that got it's inspiration from various townships in Western PA. This enclosure is home to Ace and Pious (Toads) who are around 2-3 years old overall and over 1 year in my care. Christian (Male Tree Frog) is the only tree frog in this enclosure because I haven't gotten a female for him yet. I have a baby frog I'm hoping to be a female to house with him. The climate of this enclosure will is
PA Woods Soil:
Plantation Soil
Top Soil
Leaf Litter
Sheet Moss

Fertilizer: Bloom Plus


125 Gallon Western PA Woods Vivarium Temperature: 
Spring/Summer
Highs: May-June 71 July-August 73
Lows: May-June 65 July-August 68
Autumn/Fall 
Consistent temperature
72-74°F

Humidity: 
60%
Feeder Days:Thursday & Saturday
Fertilize Days 2 Per Month
Temperature Control: Zoo Med Hygrotherm* 


This enclosure is supposed to copy the environment of the western woods. 

The Pine Creek PA Woods is inspired by a state park in Potter County PA the Pine Creek State Park. 
The difference between the two climates is the Pine Creek a few degrees warmer then the Western Woods and is higher in humidity also. This build will have a different emphasis as the Western Woods focused on an open woodland space where as this build will feature runoff from a hill that will run down and make a small water feature. My goal was to have fish in this but they will be in another build. This enclosure will house the largest male toad I've ever seen "The Golden Toad" Wellsboro his mate Belmont and the lone Gray Tree Frog Bane. I am still searching for another female for him. Bane and Wellsboro are the largest two of their species. These two are very serious hunters so it should be very fun to watch them team up and even rely on one another to hunt. 

The climate for this enclosure is

75 Gallon Pine Creek PA Woods Vivarium Temperature:
Spring/Summer
Highs: May-June 71 July-August 80
Lows May-June 65 July-August 67
Autumn/Fall
Consistent Temperature
77-80°F


Humidity:
70%
Feeder Days: Thursday & Saturday
Fertilize Days 2 Per Month

Right now the Pine Creek PA Woods is not built yet so all the amphibians are in the Western PA Woods until they hibernate and then I'll start working on the 75 Gallon so when the amphibians wake up their will be two enclosures for them to go. 

You can see the amphibians in this video
https://youtu.be/whF4NbHmZPI

These two enclosures will be featured heavily on the YouTube Channel and Facebook Page. I will have the link for the Facebook Page in the next post as well as more information on care articles and such I used for this build and more info on the YouTube channel. I hope that you can follow up with me as I update frequently on the status of these amphibians. 



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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Sources for care

Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/PAWoodsVivariums/

YouTube Channel
Top Videos Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_fcG-QIYgIiAG92gU0EFUdUrjjhEoK1



First PA Woods Vivarium
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...1&share_tid=34251&share_fid=8098&share_type=t


2nd PA Woods
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...8&share_tid=37658&share_fid=8098&share_type=t

Pre build of Western PA Woods
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...7&share_tid=38427&share_fid=8098&share_type=t


Toad Care
Reptiles Magazine
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Frogs-Amphibians/American-Toad-Feeding-And-Care/

That Pet Place
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...axyrus-americanus-and-related-species-part-i/

Part 3 That Pet Place
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...-american-toads-and-related-species-part-iii/





Gray Tree Frog Care
That Pet Place
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...-gray-treefrogs-hyla-versicolor/#.W2aH_skpA0M

Reptiles Magazine
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Frog-Amphibian-Species/Gray-Treefrog/



Both species in PA
https://www.fishandboat.com/Resourc...mphibiansReptiles/Pages/TheFrogsandToads.aspx


https://www.paherps.com/herps/frogs-toads/american_toad/


I will be creating a care sheet for both species and a mixed species care sheet featuring these amphibians. 









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

As I was looking through more articles I found that someone fed the Mealworm Beetle to their amphibians which really surprised me. I am going to attempt to feed the beetles to my animals to see if they will take them. I have an army of mealworm beetles and they may be a part of the next battle of the swarms videos. 

I have already begun work on the next video that's the second video of the Banded Crickets. I got some great video of everyone so every animal will be in the next video. The voting ends tomorrow and I'll reveal what the winner of the vote was for the next video in the Swarms Battles. 

Were you surprised to see how the toads and tree frogs reacted to an unfamiliar insect? 

Were you more surprised how effective Bane's strategy was or that a Christian hunts on the ground even though he is a tree frog?

What's one thing you want to see in the next video? 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

An update on devices, the enclosure and the next part to the Swarms Battle...


Before we get into this week post don't forget to checkout the new video in the link and follow us on Facebook!


https://youtu.be/whF4NbHmZPI

https://www.facebook.com/PAWoodsVivariums/

So I've been trying to get the Zoo Med Hygrotherm to work for me to accommodate what I need with my tank but it won't be able to do that at least in the summer. So I bought a Zoo Med Timer and I am going to attempt to have the fan on a day and night cycle along with the fan. I'm still debating what the best decision would be. I'm hoping to get the devices back up and running. So far just the light is working and up. I am reconnecting the Mister Fogger and Fan tomorrow. 

The enclosure is great and up and running. After the devices are connected next is the plants and insects. I need to add Woodlice and Scallions. My goal over the next year is to make this enclosure a true bioactive setup. There are worms in my soil and baby crickets from the banded crickets that were in the enclosure and produced offspring. There are too many toads for the Woodlice and Crickets to establish colonies. It wouldn't be good if there were say hundreds of crickets but about 5-20 would be good and when the crickets in the past survived there weren't more then that. There are 4 amphibians that would eat them now from different angles so there would be no way for the crickets to have that many. 

I think this would be a possible next year mini series trying to get different insects to colonize in the enclosure. What do you guys think would it be cool if I showed this?

The swarms battle part 2 is coming soon. I'm very close already to having the video done. I have some small stuff to do but it turned out great. You will see Christian shedding and then stop completely to eat a cricket. The shot I got of him eating is unbelievable how good the quality was. You will also see how I will introduce the animals so if your watching the video you will know the animals by name. After the next video is coming out the next one will feature from popular vote Earthworms, Waxworms, and the Mealworm Beetles. 


Has there been an insect you thought could work in your enclosure along with your animals?

What should I add to the next swarm battle with the worms and beetles? 
A) Fogger, foggy day in the woods
B) Mister, rainstorm


Is there something you want me to talk about during the video like care for one of these animals or something like feeding schedules or anything about the enclosure? Let me know!



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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

I have a bad situation with some devices but don't worry I have a plan...

Today I did in fact get my Mistking setup. The problem was then it started dripping and did not spray anymore. I have had my Mistking for over a year and had problems with it. I had an Exo Terra Monsoon for around 3 years and then had a problem. I think I'm going to go back to the Exo Terra Misting System for the Western PA Woods. Thank goodness I have a fogger still. The foggers have proven to be more consistent and reliable then misters. 


So I have figured out that I'll use my Zoo Med Repti Temp Temperature Controller for my Fan. I'll need to get a hygrometer and see how my humidity during the day is. I may have my fogger on a timer to run through the day on a low level just to keep my humidity near 50-65 just how humid I want it. I'm going to try and use the timer I bought but I had a hard time figuring out how to use it lol. So I have my humidity plan figured out and my fan will take down the humidity some and the fan and fogger will keep temperature down. When I get the monsoon up and running it will run once a day and maybe not every day I may have to only use it once a week because the soil stays moist in this setup. So for the next video my tank made it's own decision that I will have a foggy day when the PA Woods inhabitants battle the worms and beetles. 

I will give my Mistking to the animals in my hallway which are the exotic animals. I'll get it up and running again but for the Western Woods needing consistently upkeep there is no room for inconsistent mister production no matter the brand. The Five Lined Dumpy Family will love the 7 Sprayers that will be split up into their tanks. This means the old mister they had will be given to the Pine Creek PA Woods. 

One of the most unique interactions I've observed is how my young female toad Belmont follows my Adult female toad Ace. She follows her and it seems like Belmont and Ace have formed a bond as females. They seem to like each other's company. I'll have to get it documented in a video but it's so unique a toad is teaching another about life. 

In about two weeks the next swarms battle part 2 will come out finishing the battle with the banded crickets for 2018. The Swarms Battles will be a series next year also. After I do the next swarms battle the worms and beetles I will be doing shorter feature videos of the other series called perspective. For this video series I will only feature one or two amphibians and introduce them and discuss their care and as suggested feeding advice and other interesting information. 

In the Perspective series pick a number that you want to see in the premiere episode of The Perspective Series:

1 Ace and Christian (Cover Animals)

2 Wellsboro and Bane (Pine Creek Ambassadors)

3 Pious and Belmont









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

I have a bad situation with some devices but don't worry I have a plan...

Today I did in fact get my Mistking setup. The problem was then it started dripping and did not spray anymore. I have had my Mistking for over a year and had problems with it. I had an Exo Terra Monsoon for around 3 years and then had a problem. I think I'm going to go back to the Exo Terra Misting System for the Western PA Woods. Thank goodness I have a fogger still. The foggers have proven to be more consistent and reliable then misters. 


So I have figured out that I'll use my Zoo Med Repti Temp Temperature Controller for my Fan. I'll need to get a hygrometer and see how my humidity during the day is. I may have my fogger on a timer to run through the day on a low level just to keep my humidity near 50-65 just how humid I want it. I'm going to try and use the timer I bought but I had a hard time figuring out how to use it lol. So I have my humidity plan figured out and my fan will take down the humidity some and the fan and fogger will keep temperature down. When I get the monsoon up and running it will run once a day and maybe not every day I may have to only use it once a week because the soil stays moist in this setup. So for the next video my tank made it's own decision that I will have a foggy day when the PA Woods inhabitants battle the worms and beetles. 

I will give my Mistking to the animals in my hallway which are the exotic animals. I'll get it up and running again but for the Western Woods needing consistently upkeep there is no room for inconsistent mister production no matter the brand. The Five Lined Dumpy Family will love the 7 Sprayers that will be split up into their tanks. This means the old mister they had will be given to the Pine Creek PA Woods. 

One of the most unique interactions I've observed is how my young female toad Belmont follows my Adult female toad Ace. She follows her and it seems like Belmont and Ace have formed a bond as females. They seem to like each other's company. I'll have to get it documented in a video but it's so unique a toad is teaching another about life. 

In about two weeks the next swarms battle part 2 will come out finishing the battle with the banded crickets for 2018. The Swarms Battles will be a series next year also. After I do the next swarms battle the worms and beetles I will be doing shorter feature videos of the other series called perspective. For this video series I will only feature one or two amphibians and introduce them and discuss their care and as suggested feeding advice and other interesting information. 

In the Perspective series pick a number that you want to see in the premiere episode of The Perspective Series:

1 Ace and Christian (Cover Animals)

2 Wellsboro and Bane (Pine Creek Ambassadors)

3 Pious and Belmont









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

More understanding of what I'm looking for...

I have said the many features my 125 Gallon possesses and I'm proud of the hard work paying off for this build. My Mistking Mister has once again developed a problem so now the 125 Gallon has no mister once again to start September. This same thing happened a year ago and I also was having a hard to figuring out how to get the Hygrotherm to cooperate with my needs for my touchy climate. So the two most critical devices failed me. 

This year is different then last year. I have a better fan, I have a clutch Fogger that does the job and the Zoo Med Repti Temp controls the fan to shut off when the temperature I set is reached. The Temperature Controller will be able to control the fan which will save the life of the fan not running as much and I am looking into my timer to use the Fogger. I'd like to have it set in the morning since in Western PA it's foggy to start the day. Then I can toggle when I want the fog to come on. These 3-4 devices are clutch for survival of my life in the enclosure. 

The toads are good I haven't seen them much since I was on vacation. I will be excited to split up the toads once the 75 gallon is theirs. Everyone seems happy and healthy. 

The same goes for the tree frogs they are good too. Both are healthy and happy. I will be happy to see how both male frogs interact with a female and how that looks in their own setup. The baby tree frog is growing and hopefully is a female. Then I'd just need one more tree frog!

The second Swarms Battle is out now. 
The battle with the Banded Crickets was very fun to make and watch. I'm excited to see the next battle because there are a few feeders for these videos. The Earthworms and Waxworms won the vote to be the next swarm battle so they will be next. I will be excited to show more of the appetite the amphibians have with these insects because neither are fast moving so it should be a highlight reel. 
I may have something planned though for the next video. A guest appearance by a feeder insect. A swarm of them. 

The perspective Series will be coming soon and I'm sure you will love to hear more of the background of the amphibians. I will discuss many things about the specific animal that is being discussed. 

What is one thing you want me to talk about in the next videos? 

What are your experiences with the Mistking? What's better Mistking Mister or Exo Terra Monsoon?

Should I use the Fogger in the next video?

https://youtu.be/05RH4rbss88


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

More updates! Toad and Tree Frog Care Sheets coming in September...

In September I will make 3 care sheets. I'll try to start and finish an American Toad, Gray Tree Frog and an American Toad and Gray Tree Frog together care sheet. 

I will begin filming soon for the Second Swarms Battle and the Perspective Series Premiere video. 

So after I went through my ideas I felt I only needed 3 series for the PA Woods Vivariums. Swarms which is feeding videos, Seasons (coming soon) how the animals interact with a changing environment and PA Woods Vivariums which will feature Perspective Series videos and when I do Toad Week and Tree Frog week. The PA Woods series will cover many different types of videos in the enclosures. 

The first Perspective video title:
Animals of the Western PA Woods

Swarms Battle 2 
Worms and Beetles



Update on devices
So as I ordered crickets from Josh's Frogs I bought more tubing to fix my Mistking problem. I'm going to see how it works and if it's still a pain then I'll try using the tubes on my old Monsoon RS400 Exo Terra. I have to drill holes in one piece of plexiglass and hook up the other devices. The plants are pretty set except the Scallions. I need to plant those soon. I'm trying to get the devices setup then plants. I am excited to create care sheets and to try to finish the Western PA Woods and to make more videos of it! 

I'm excited to try and start the Pine Creek PA Woods planning for the spring too. 

The Pine Creek PA Woods will have a Rain Wall, Fogger, Mosquito Fish and pairs of American Toads and Gray Tree Frogs. It will be slightly warmer and have different plants. 

The Western PA Woods will be updated in the background since the toads dug into it. This will have a Mistking/Monsoon, Fogger, Drainage Pump, Speakers to simulate noises (Both tanks will be impacted by this), fan for lower temperature and humidity and Repti Temp Controller and Timer to regulate fan and fogger. 

Are you excited to see two PA Woods Vivariums? 

Have you ever seen a rainwall in a background?

What's your thoughts on a mixed species care sheet? 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

I finally got some devices working again...

I got the fan connected to the Repti Temp Controller and then I got the fogger connected to the Zoo Med Timer. So the good news is I put good use to some of the devices. The bad news is the Mistking Mister didn't work for the PA Woods so I took it out and added it to my White's Tree Frog enclosure. It for some reason worked fine in there so I decided to give it to the tree frogs. This means that I now have a decision and a lot of time to decide which Misting System I will use for my enclosure. 

The amphibians are doing great and the next video will be a Perspective Video on the Amphibians of the Western PA Woods 
Ace
Pious
Christian
The video will be featuring these animals and I am very excited that I get to share different information on these animals. 
Is there anything you want to know about any or all of these three amphibians? 

There is not much news on these guys I was focused on the animals of another enclosure all this past week but I can say everyone is doing well. 

One sad note. The baby gray tree frog didn't make it. I believe it was a female and it was about the size of my pinky nail. We still have a problem finding two females for Bane and Christian. Let's hope that we can find some for their sake so they can breed. 

After the first Perspective video comes out the next Swarms Battle is coming. One big thing is I'm going to a reptile expo tomorrow which could mean there is a feeder insect that I could choose to use in a Swarms Battle. I'll let you know if I find a feeder insect that will make it in a future video. Is there a certain insect if I find it you want me to get for a video?

I said in another thread about how this might be the year of my White's Tree Frog. Around Thanksgiving would you want to see a verses video between the Western PA Woods and the Dumpy Family and the enclosure who receives the most votes will be the winner?

What would you like to know in a perspective video featuring care of each specific animal or them as a group?

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Some takeaways from the Reptile Expo what I found and more...

So this was the third place in my area that held an expo and when I walked in I saw things I never saw before! There were so many enclosures and accessories and possibly inverts for my Skink Dynasty in another thread. I will share more of what I went for and some other important occurrences. 

I went to get more leaves for my enclosure and I did get some, however I made some connections with some vendors and the place I got insects from gave me advice on caring for a new feeder insect, gave me 100 free crickets and said they would possibly further talks of sponsoring me. What does it mean if a store and vendor sponsors me? It means first hopefully I save money and can get free feeders for my animals which would be high quality. Next I might be able to get some products they have and review them. Lastly it would be more exposure for the forums, my Facebook Page and YouTube Channel because that is how I would be able to partner with them. They gave me the number of the boss (owner) and said to call him because he's into working with people and doing this such thing. If I could only have feeders or products I would choose feeders in a heartbeat! Imagine going to the grocery store and getting what you want and eating comfortably and never having to pay for it! As I said there is a lot of talk that needs to happen but it would be great in many ways! 

So other then Crickets I got a new feeder and they told me they sell them cheap and are able to ship to me. So I have to research YouTube and Google to see if there are videos of American Toads and Gray Tree Frogs eating this insect. For the first time I have been able to get some Hornworms that will hopefully provide a very nutritious meal for the tree frogs and toads! So as requested I will post the next Swarms Battle with Earthworms and the Mealworm Beetles. The battle after that will probably be a one part battle with the Hornworms. These can get as big as a toad (4inches) so I got a small size and will allow them to grow so the Gray Tree Frogs can even eat the Hornworms. What are your thoughts on an upcoming battle with a new enemy? 

So there was something else at the Expo that I saw that hot me excited. I have been fascinated with Ants and love Ants Canada how he has so much information on the ants yet it's interesting to watch. These are not ants but something that I heard is a good feeder for tree frogs and toads. There was a vendor who breeds Earwigs! They are Giant Asian Earwigs so not zoned from PA but could be a feeder as well. I'm not sure yet what I would want to do if I would keep them as a colony but I'm thinking about it. A trusted herpetologist said an earwig is a valuable feeder for toads and I'd imagine tree frogs too. Have you ever considered using insects such as Ants or Earwigs?

I am going to begin shooting for the next Swarms Battle and the Perspective video that will feature the care of the American Toad and Gray Tree Frog. I'm really excited to get another video out for you all for more educational purposes. I am attempting to provide care sheets and document feeding encounters with feeder insects anyone can obtain but you can see an honest interaction if the toads and tree frogs will eat the insects. I can tell you now the Gray Tree Frogs won't eat a Red Wriggler Earthworm. I am hoping they will attempt the beetles but I believe the Gray Tree Frog must be opposed to insects that secret odors. My toads all 4 however don't care. This behavior is very fascinating because I have toads that will consume a foul smelling insect that's how opportunistic they are and many toads do not eat these worms so my toads will be showing that toads will eat this specific worm. My toads will consume things that many other animals wouldn't meaning they are very opportunistic hunters but even as they have gone sometimes long without food the same toads have a peaceful temperment not hunting the tree frogs. I truly believe I have some of the most fascinating toads of their species how opportunistic yet peaceful they are. My featured toad Ace is a beautiful color I've never seen and Wellsboro a featured toad for an upcoming build is golden and Ace's mate Pious is an ordinary looking toad yet he keeps growing. So I have colorful toads and unique with their traits. I'm also thankful for my tree frogs. I can't believe how friendly these two are how much they trust me. Bane in the first Swarms Battle hunted on a higher level then I thought a tree frog could. Christian the smaller featured tree frog for this tank is so active and he interacts with the toads. He's so fascinating because he will push the toads out of the way even just to get to wherever he wants. He has also come to the floor a lot at night to even sit among the toads. I can see Christian feels more comfortable with Ace and Pious which is good because those are the toads next year that he will be living with. 

So to end my rant I have all the devices set into place and have the feeders for more videos and still am looking for female gray tree frogs and am looking at what mister will fit this tanks needs. I may get sponsored by a company and on Thanksgiving the Western PA Woods will face the Dumpy Family for bragging rights as to who has the better setup. 

Have you ever used Hornworms as a feeder? 

Are you interested in voting on Thanksgiving for your favorite enclosure?

Are you surprised of my observations of my amphibians of their personalities?

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## RedBullBabe (Aug 22, 2018)

Hey!

I have a small colony of ants (Lasius Niger).

But, in regards to your ants as feeders query - you would have to have a very large colony actively running, and big enough to take some from without affecting the colony and causing them stress.

Having ants as pets myself - starting off with a test tube with a queen (some colonies can have multiple queen's), a few workers, pupae, eggs - watching them grow as a colony - emotional attachment to them grows as well (which you might not believe until in that situation yourself) - establishing and growing a colony of ants takes a very long long long time. Although, ant keepers will pick off some workers (to keep the colony size down if habitat size is an issue - I'm talking at the thousands mark here - or for boosting starter colonies of the same type or boosting other existing colonies of the species), and this can also include eggs, and/or pupae.

So, if you are going to be using ants as potential feeders, then you will want to be looking at getting a large established colony that has prolific breeding within the colony. You will have to keep the ants and care for them, as most ants aren't available for sale all year around, but only during the late spring and early summer. Some hibernate, so you will need to factor in if ants are going to be your primary feeder source for this/these particular animals, or if they will be getting a varied diet. Deciding what type to keep land there are a lot) is a very deciding factor (along with country regulations of importing and exporting - I'm in Ireland so I can get ants from the UK or Europe), plus their habitat, set up, and their diet - all which vary a lot.

Unless you're going to get an established colony that comes complete with everything already (moving ants to their different accomodation is not easy), then you will need to start of with a test tube system, gradually moving to a small nest, then adding a small outworld, then either expanding upon the best and outworld as the colony grows, or moving them to larger ones (and only when the time is right or they can get stressed with too much space to begin with, or overfill the best with rubbish and bits from the outworld - trying to extract anything rotten in a secured multi chambered nest is not easy - or they'll just slowly die off because the queen will either die or stop breeding); and it can be difficult to establish a colony - some will start with multiple starter colonies to account for some just not working out.

I don't know if the cost factor of their initial and growing or existing set up plus needs and sustainability would outweigh needing them as feeders.

If the reptile(s) your looking to feed does eat ants, I imagine it would require a certain type to eat, and not just any old ant. Some ants are great at defending themselves, and could even injure your reptile due to its toxic sting.

Because of the large variations within keeping them, you would have to research a lot; and also with size, as some ants are extremely small, and the smaller the size the greater the escape risk.

That's just all my opinion from my experience of keeping ants though, and imagining using them as a feeding source; and as no one, as of yet, had commented on using ants as feeders, I thought I would chip in my thoughts.


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## RedBullBabe (Aug 22, 2018)

Sorry, I put reptile instead of amphibian. My brain is still waking up.

Good luck with what ever direction you choose to take though.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

That was very well put and I'm really happy you posted that on this thread with how much care and time it takes with ants. 

Yes I know it would take a long time before I would be able to use any ants as feeders at least a year or two or more but I was saying I'd be interested in keeping the ants as pets and also using them as a feeder. So I would like to have a colony and raise the ants. They could eat the feeder insects that I have and they can eat fruit, honey and my secret formula for my crickets. 

I would consider two ants Camponotous Pennsylvanicus (American Carpenter Ant) 
Tetromorium Ant (Pavement Ants)
I'm sorry for the spelling errors. 

The pavement ants would breed fast which is good. Here is my idea for ants. I trust you are an advanced keeper just reading your post. So I was going to use a 40 gallon 36x18x16 and get a plastic bin and place it in the middle to give them a lot of substrate and then make an island for them and have water on all sides of them to prevent escapes as the first line of defense. I was going to get a native fish species that would eat the ants if they would fall in the water to attempt to cut down if the numbers get too much. I have 8 frogs and toads and 2-3 lizards that would eat these ants. The ants are a common prey item for each species as they eat both ants I suggested. Do you think either of these ants would thrive in a setup like this? I would like to keep them first as pets and second as feeders. 

If they won't I would be interested in the Asian Earwigs that were at a local expo. I can get into that more later but I'm very excited to have someone who keeps ants to reply to me!


RedBullBabe said:


> Hey!
> 
> I have a small colony of ants (Lasius Niger).
> 
> ...


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## RedBullBabe (Aug 22, 2018)

Hey!

With the Carpenter Ants, they will also need to have aphids housed with them. Besides the food you already mentioned, they eat the honeydew that the aphids create by tending to them; this also helps the aphids thrive. Or they will need extrafloral nectar from plants.

There are different sub species, so aphids might not be needed.

The set up you mentioned, in theory, sounds good for a very large established colony. But not all ant species will be pretubed by water, and a lot are very apt climbers, so you will need to deal with the top of the habitat also. A lot of barrier methods, used to prevent escapes, like Vaseline, just don't work, and some ants will just walk through/across it with no problems, depending on the size of the species. Fluon is a great alternative, but you have to make sure it always actively working and present.

But, being such an evasive species, I personally wouldn't want to risk it, and as you will be starting off with a starter colony, the set up won't be ideal and too big. You will literally just need a test tube - which they will come in (half filled with water with a cotton bung inside to prevent leaks),and another cotton bung in the end to prevent escapes (which you will be taking out to attach to a small outworld for foraging).

Right now, this is what my newest ones are in (with an empty toilet tube covering the test tube), but I actually have the test tube attached to a Byformica Nest (they are awesome 3d printed but out of production - though other companies are making similar nests now). But, they are refusing to move into their nest, as they are happy where they are, for now...

Once they have finally moved into their nest then I will attach it to their outworld (also by ByFormica) and looks like a mini vivarium complete with landscaping, and is just the size of a brick. And that set up will do them just fine for years and years.

I think you mentioned Ants Canada before, but I haven't looked at their recent stuff. I know they do clear stacking systems, which I personally don't like much, but they do offer the ability to block off passages within the nest, which you can then unblock as the colony grows and needs the space. I know they also have some round outworld, which you then sit the round nest witthin. These also come in various sizes, and the chamber's can be expanded upon.

AntsKitUK/AntKitsUK, I think, hand Ytong nests (which they can dig through also) surrounded by acrylic or glass, leading to an outworld on top. I know they all come in different sizes, and can be jointed together to expand the needs of the colony as it grows. You will just have to make sure anything made with Ytong is surrounded on all sides by something they can't chew through.

And if you join some ant forums, you will also find similar and different established habitat designs for purchase, or tutorials on building your own, for ant specific species.

I know you mentioned the Pavement Ant also. I left out TarHeelAnts for supplies, but I will mention them now, with a link - 

http://tarheelants.blogspot.com/2016/07/special-species-preparation-for-ant.html?m=1

They cover keeping Pavement Ants in the post, but it could be a different subspecies to what you listed. But, from there you will get to other information they have.

AntsCanada, Formiculture, are good forums to start, and you can Google for others that may be to your liking, and there are new ones popping up this year as well. And you will find the first two have a lot of videos on YouTube, and members of the forums will have journals specific to the species they are keeping - from the start of their colony, progressing with growth, and will also include any problems they came across, along with solutions. Other members will also have their own YouTube as well.

Just joining the forums and reading all you can on the species you are looking into is a great start. Like any other animal, you need to know if you can provide the correct habitat depending on its size at all the colony growth stages, and meet its nutritional requirements, as well it's environmental needs - especially where humidity is concerned. Alot can be trial and error, but most problems can be avoided from researching first.

I'm sure the set up you had in mind sounds perfect, and I know when I first started researching I had a totally different set up in mind compared to what I have now. For now, I am stuck uncovering just to feed mine, while I wait for them to move into their nest - then taking a quick picture after doing a growth colony count (workers, pupae, and eggs, and checking the queen looks okay). Being able to watch them go about their business in an outworld - I find that stage very rewarding, and a great stress reliever just watching them explore and forage.

Personally, I wouldn't say I have been physically experienced for years and years, but I have researched a lot of different species and lurked forums a lot, and read a lot of journal entries. Just finding the correct habitat for my species, then deciding which design direction to go was a very huge learning experience. And you can prepare a lot, but until you actually have them, you'll see keeping them from a different point of view. I have had my first colony in a few different setups - that were supposed to be esacpe proof, and ideal, but weren't at all - due to certain substrate just not being right for them at all, or escapees. Once I woke up on my back, to the dog upside down laying across me, and a little worker out scouting the area was walking on top of his nearest back paw. Now their habitat at the time was six odd feet away, with a lot of obstacles to circumvent between there and where I was. But, I have never had any escapes in their ByFormica.

Mine aren't the smallest ant species, but you will have to check the size of the ones you are looking into, and look at others that have kept them or actively keep them, to see what they have found to be the best nest and outworld setup for them to thrive and be contained within. Some set ups you just might not like the look of initially, but may change your mind about. You will also want to make sure access is easy to the parts you want - as you don't want it to be a struggle to feed the , give them water, or to clean out any leftovers they have ditched (which is why you need to have the best the correct size from the beginning and along the way - or they will ditch rubbish in sections that are inaccessible to you for cleaning without pulling the whole thing apart, or block off sections, or just not be happy and thrive due to too much nest space.

I'm sure you will enjoy just the aspect of ant keeping itself - just research in order to get the correct physical habitat needs, or you'll find you will waste a lot of money on setups that look great but may not be good for your species, or will be too big for them.

Good luck and keep updated here. Always nice to see someone get into the hobby and enjoy it.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

RedBullBabe said:


> Hey!
> 
> With the Carpenter Ants, they will also need to have aphids housed with them. Besides the food you already mentioned, they eat the honeydew that the aphids create by tending to them; this also helps the aphids thrive. Or they will need extrafloral nectar from plants.
> 
> ...


Thanks!
I will have to respond Friday night on my usual routine and I am looking forward to hearing more from you! From Friday to Sunday I will have time to really discuss more and give more updates about the PA Woods Vivariums!

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

This week was crazy...
So I was feeding my animals and as I was doing that some really crazy unbelievable situations happened. I'll elaborate more in this post but things have really changed. 

So I decided to use the Hornworms that I got at the reptile expo and I found some very interesting interactions. 

So when I first put the Hornworms in they were very small little critters. There were some that ate the worms. 
Ace, Bane and Belmont had decided to eat them. While I saw this I also learned more about my animals personalities and I Saw what happened in the tank while I went on vacation a few weeks ago. Let me explain what I mean. I saw Belmont change the ecosystem of the tank. She was the least likely that I thought to be the dominant animal in the enclosure. She actually bullied Pious to the point he climed up to get away from her. She took a Hornworm from Wellsboro the biggest male toad I've seen. She even showed dominant behavior with Ace. Belmont has single handedly caused all the amphibians stress. Tonight was the first time I saw the tree frogs come to the ground. Sadly I will not be able to keep her with the animals of the PA Woods because she is too aggressive and as a juvenile toad she is harassing adults and that could be terrible when she grows up. I'm going to see if I can find her a home and if not I'm going to have to release her. She has come a very long way with how dominant she has become. It's very disappointing but I'd rather release a healthy strong willed one eyed toad then lose all the other amphibians I own. In the next Swarms Battle I was supposed to have the Earthworms and I filmed that but I saw a lot to help people who own toads and tree frogs. So I am going to put out the Hornworm battles.

So outside of what I saw from my toad the few amphibians that did eat the Hornworms the first time once the worms got bigger they wouldn't touch them after they grew a few inches. I think the toads thought they were poisonous or the little horn they saw on the back deterred them from eating the worms again. This shows that the toads understand that there is something dangerous to them and they will not just eat anything. Another example of this knowledge is Ace who had eaten a Hornworm just a few days ago and she had two chances to eat another. She came up to the worm like she would eat it and she just followed it and she was contemplating on whether or not to eat it and she decided not to. I saw a lot of the intelligence by the toads and once Bane saw it he didn't even try again to eat one. So the next video is going to be of the Hornworms and I'm going to say my opinion of whether or not that someone should use the Hornworm as a feeder. 

What do you think I should do with Belmont?

What do you think of my findings of the Hornworms being used as a feeder?

There was more info but I'll talk more about it tomorrow. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Thanks for the detailed response!
The two species of ants are a natural prey item for both species of amphibian I want to feed them to. 

I can either try and get an already established colony in my backyard actually as the Carpenter Ants have been living in our yard for years. So I could start out with a bang or purchase one queen and I actually bought 20 test tubes. I was trying to keep ants but I didn't have a queen but it did give me a good experience. 

If I start a small colony I'd be okay with having a small setup to start. I'm still not sure yet if I'm going to keep the ants or the Earwigs. Both are interesting and would be a good feeder for my animals. I am watching each week the videos of Ants Canada and am learning a lot about ants that way as well. 

I believe the fish I have would be able to catch the ants before the ants could get to the other side. I would have a backup plan to contain the ants if they somehow got on the sides. 

I really hope you will keep checking on this thread and feel free to contribute and ask/answer questions!


RedBullBabe said:


> Hey!
> 
> With the Carpenter Ants, they will also need to have aphids housed with them. Besides the food you already mentioned, they eat the honeydew that the aphids create by tending to them; this also helps the aphids thrive. Or they will need extrafloral nectar from plants.
> 
> ...


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

The toad care sheet has been started! I have begun to make the care sheet for the toads. I feel that the next two Swarms Battles will be great lead inns for the perspective video of the animals of the Western PA Woods. I think the Swarms Battles are very important because I'm going through the feeder insects that are captive bred and offered as feeders universally for all amphibians and reptiles. Hopefully if you watch these videos you see how the different insects are important to the amphibians I keep and it can be applied to others with similar needs for care.

My care sheet will be different because I want to help you look at your weather conditions if you caught one of these animals as the ideal way to try and keep it instead of giving you some numbers. I will have my own criteria for telling you what temperature and humidity it should be but I really want that to be a last resort. For instance as a quick teaser of my information for the care sheet I believe the low temperature average would be ideal for keeping the toads and tree frogs. They like it cooler and come out at the coolest part of the day. The humidity would be something more of a generalized topic but just for temperature for the toads now you can see the direction I'm coming from. There is a lot more to it but that's a general idea of one part of my care sheet. The video on these amphibians will be very important because I can continue to refer people to read and watch which could make this more effective. 

No contact with the possible sponsor yet. 

So I said I had unfinished business from yesterday so as I said no amphibians except Belmont ate a Hornworm. Ace continued to follow one around and she kept trying to figure out whether she would eat it or not. Unlike in the first Swarms video when she tasted the Banded Crickets she did not attempt this for the worms. 

So I also found that the Ace has a preference for one tree frog over the other. This was massive in gathering information on personality of these toads and tree frogs. So Bane came close to the Hornworm on the ground and Ace felt like he was going to eat it and she snapped at him. He immediately felt threatened by her and kept his distance. As he climbed up the tank I saw she was watching him and seemed to be standoffish with him. So I went and got Christian. I wasn't sure if Ace was snapping at the gray tree frogs or if it could just be Bane. So I didn't want to take a chance with Ace eating Christian since he's the smallest amphibian. I took him out of the tank and let him climb on the glass from the outside of the enclosure. He crawled right in front of Ace and was next to the Hornworm but on the outside. Now as he climbed around on the outside she ignored him completely. I put him in the tank and Ace didn't seem to be bothered. Christian has come down and actually sat on the same rocks as the toads. Pious has shown favor of Christian as he climbed up the plant Christian lives on and the two sat together side by side. I've seen Christian also push Ace in order to sit next to her or to get into the water. I believe the toads don't see Christian as a threat and they just seem to tolerate him just like another toad. So it's good that Ace and Pious like Christian because those three are living together and Bane and Wellsboro will have a 75 Gallon together next year. They have no problems. So the matching up I did of the animals I ended up to be exactly right as to who would be best to live together. 

Now Ace may have been stressed by Belmont and snapped at Bane because she was tired of missing out on food. That could be out of her being hungry more then territorial behavior. Ace has never done this before. This could be the only variable. 

After I had this experience with Belmont being dominant over the entire ecosystem and King III trying to eat the tree frogs I felt that it would be best to just have Ace and Pious mate and get a female offspring from them as the mate for Wellsboro because they are both very peaceful toads and then it increases the chances of a more peaceful toad. So I will not be looking for another toad for Wellsboro he will be living the single life until I get to be a grandparent of toads! I do plan to get two Gray Tree Frog females because it's crucial for my two males they don't have any related to them so they can breed in the wild together to have pure genes and it doesn't cause any diseases or health problems of offspring. I am learning a lot about personality of these amphibians this year more then ever. This could be cool to share in another video too. What do you think? Would you like to hear of my personal experiences and opinions of personalities of these animals?

What do you think the real reason Ace the toad snapped at Bane the tree frog? Was it from stress and frustration or her showing she does not accept Bane? 

Do you like the idea of breeding a sexed pair and using one of the offspring as a mate with another unrelated toad? 



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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

There will not be any update tonight as I am working on the video for the next Swarms Battle and possibly other videos! I'll have an update tomorrow for sure and possibly a video!

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

This is the post you have been waiting for...

I have decided to go with the Red Wriggler Earthworms and Hornworms for many reasons. This up to this point has been the most important and educational video I've made because you get to see the intelligence and personality of my amphibians. There may be people wondering whether or not to use both of these feeder insects and I am confident my findings and video documentation will really inform American Toad and Gray Tree Frog keepers. This will be the last video appearance of Belmont the One Eye Toad. You will see what lead to this decision I made to have to take her out if the PA Woods Vivariums. 

This was the longest video ever made for the PA Woods Vivariums too so I hope you don't mind watching a 15 minute documentary style video. 

This week I'm going to email the vendor from the Reptile Expo. I wanted to wait until I had something to show them before just asking to work together. 

I finally got my refrigerator!
This was one of the last 3 on sale so I was very happy and lucky to get it. This was kind of sad because it means in just a couple months these animals will hibernate and I risk everything trying to give them more then I ever have. The goal now is getting things measured so I can have one or multiple hibernation bins. While the amphibians are asleep I'll update the 125 gallon and build the 75 gallon. One toad will not hibernate. Wellsboro will remain active and hibernate next year because I am going to breed my toad pair Ace and Pious in an attempt to produce a female that Wellsboro can have as a mate. I'm hoping this offspring will take on the personality of Ace and Pious so she will be peaceful not like the past few toads. The other goal will be getting two female gray tree frogs. I am very excited to be preparing for the future for these amphibians and the enclosures. 

The new video will come out this week! I'm working on the advertisement soon tonight!

Did you know most people are misinformed about feeding their toads Red Wriggler Earthworms? They think the toads won't eat them but we will put that to the test in this video. 

Did you know toads and tree frogs can discern if they think a food item is dangerous or poisonous? You'll see this in the video too!

Is there a feeder insect that you want me to try next?









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Checkout the new Swarms Battle
https://youtu.be/-9iy7J0ygGQ

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

The main point of the video was to recommend the Red Wriggler and to discourage the Hornworm as feeders. I am not sure if anyone caught this but this video is crucial to toad owners because it shows what a dominant aggressive toad does and others who see similar behavior will know they need to separate the toads. The other main point for both species is how the same amphibians that ate Hornworms the first feed decided not to the next time. This shows the memory, the judgement and intelligent of both species. They did not just keep eating the Hornworms they saw them as dangerous or perhaps looked similar to another type of caterpillar that both species may have known to be poisonous. This was very important for displaying intelligence of Toads and Tree Frogs. 


An emotional farewell...
Today I had to do something I was dreading and tried to hold off for 2 weeks. I had to release Belmont where she was from. I fed her really good and let her go in a spot where there were some nice bushes. She was not a bad toad and was very tame. She didn't want to leave my hand when I set her down. After five minutes went by I encouraged her to go and she stayed by me for a while. Then she finally went into the bushes. I still keep thinking about her I really tried to find a home for her but nobody would take her. I have hope that I will see her again and she will be full grown. It would be one of the most humbling experiences if I see her again and I hope I do. Now I have to move on to the updates or else my night will be ruined. 

The PA Woods is doing great and I am prepping the tank for two more videos. I will do the perspective video and the next Swarms Battle. The Woods will be more open without Belmont but she was not supposed to stay in this setup anyways. It will be interesting to see how everyone else will handle the extra space and food. I am hopeful to see the environment and ecosystem return to normal now and to see Pious more active on the ground. He was very stressed by Belmont and now I am anticipating he will stay out more. With more space I may be able to add some Woodlice by the end of the month. They are one of the most important and beneficial assets to a bioactive setup like the PA Woods!

I'm not trying to spoil anything but I already decided on the next species for the Swarms Battle and I have decided again on two species. The Mealworm and the Waxworm. I am also going to show the other stages of their lives. Beetles and Moths. I am hoping to encourage Christian to be in this video as I missed him from the last video making a brief appearance. I think the moths will become bait for the Tree Frogs and I have never seen either species consume a Mealworm Beetle. Maybe both will or both won't. I am hoping to have another component to the Swarms series as we have had a great run so far. We saw Gray Tree Frogs choose the best strategy to hunt Banded Crickets and we just saw American Toads eat an earthworm many say they will not. We also saw toad behavior and tree frog and toad intelligence. We have seen some very good and educational videos within the series. 

I am going to email the Vendor from the Reptile Expo and show them the video with their Hornworms. I am hopeful for the best. 

The care sheet is just about finished for the toads. I have to clean up some spelling errors and put in pictures but it's ready. I will be starting the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet this week! I am excited to put my thoughts and the sources that have given me much of the information I use and apply to my amphibians. I am excited to create a mixed species care sheet between American Toads and Gray Tree Frogs. I think it will be very informative and even if some do not agree with mixing species I'm extending a hand showing my experiences how hard it truly is doing something like this. It is not to encourage others to do it it's to educate people on the challenges and struggles as well as to prove that this species combination is successful. It's something to be observed not replicated this is not for the faint of heart with some decisions that are very emotional and hard to make also it's a risk to attempt something like this. I am very educated and experienced with toads and I have a lot of former experience with Gray Tree Frogs in captivity. I'll go into detail in the care sheet but I think everyone will be able to appreciate the effort and research it took to build this. 

I am almost ready to set the Refrigerator up for the amphibians to hibernate in the upcoming months. More info on that to come later. 

If you could share the video that just came out of the Swarms Battle that would help me a lot!

What do you expect the aftermath in the enclosure to be from releasing Belmont?

From watching the swarms battles what have you observed from them? Is there anything you really enjoyed or were surprised by? 

https://youtu.be/-9iy7J0ygGQ

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

The first day back in the woods...
Today I did notice that everyone was out more Ace who was hidden for a few days and both Gray Tree Frogs as well as Wellsboro who looks to be more relaxed. Pious was sleeping a lot today so it seems there is a lot of rest happening right now and healing for the amphibians. It is unknown what is next for these 5 remaining amphibians. One thing is certain and that is nobody else is leaving! 

I was unable to clean up the enclosure today but I just wanted to watch and see how things went and it's as if the ecosystem took a deep exhale. The goal now is to get everyone fat and ready for the winter. This will be a very important winter actually the most important one of my life with how I am attempting my first time to hibernate frogs and toads which is all or nothing. They could all die or all live and it's important for research of keeping these two species there can be some missing information that can be filled in if hibernation should be a must or if it prolongs life even. I want to give my animals the most natural life I can so I am going to try to hibernate them for them to do what they would in the wild and I also want them to breed which is why I am so focused on accomplishing this. 

The greatest opportunities will be with adding insects to the soil finally. This is a crucial factor for a bioactive setup and it will make the videos more enjoyable. The one thing between my attempt at building the 75 gallon compared to the 125 gallon is that the 75 gallon had a wide variety of insects that thrived and colonised in the enclosure. We are getting closer to what the actual number of frogs and toads will be which means more insects will have the chance to hide and survive. The greatest feeling for me is not just that the amphibians and plants are thriving but also for me I want to have insects because that is one way to tell your setup is healthy with a variety of insects. I truly miss this as one of the most epic parts of a setup and I feel it's very overlooked by many who have live bioactive enclosures. There is nothing like seeing Woodlice (Isopods) living alongside Springtails and Crickets and now two different species of crickets! And also alongside Earthworms! These are the most noticable insects. Crickets are opportunistic and I understand the risks of keeping them but when the Crickets have food in the setup it is really incredible to see the Crickets just living like they would in the wild and watching struggles of survival and for my frogs and toads the struggle for food. It's great to see how different the animals hunt as well. It's easy to catch something that is dazed and confused but once it knows the land it's a whole different story. You can look forward to seeing this as it is something as important to me as hibernating my animals. 

In the next video for Swarms I will talk about adding the waxworms as a complimentary part of the staple diet. There is a bit of misinformation about waxworms and I feel they need to be used as often as Crickets or Earthworms alongside the main feeder to make a complete meal. We will also talk about the Mealworm and more information about using them with amphibians. 

I will be trying to get the other two care sheets up also. 

So I will be hibernating the amphibians and I will be trying to establish various insects in the Western PA Woods. All is going well for the amphibians as they are recovering from Belmont. The care sheets are in progress and I contacted the vendors and am awaiting the response. 

Did you ever hear of using a complimentary feeder with a staple feeder for your animals? Let's say you feed crickets and Waxworms one day on a schedule and the next feed you use Earthworms and Mealworms or something like this. Or have you just fed one feeder at a time? 

Are you surprised to hear that the amphibians seem to be in recovery mode since Belmont has been removed? 

Do you think my idea of including different insects in my setup is interesting, crazy or your not sure? 



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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Swarms Battle 3 is going to be my favorite video, response from the vendor from the Expo and a huge increase of subscribers on YouTube...

I had a chance to see exactly how a week without Belmont went and all the animals actually were more calm and relaxed. It's actually to the point it was so noticable others in my house even commented on it. I was pleased to see every amphibian got plenty of food. Pious and Wellsboro ate and are looking healthier. Even though I feel bad for letting her go I see how important it was for my animals. 

I hands down am excited for the video content of the next video. I hand fed my one tree frog Christian and I got an awesome video of Bane the other tree frog waking up and going after a Mealworm. I got some good footage of Ace eating a mealworm too. I think this will be good footage of both feeders that people use as a side food source. I will explain the difference between both and talk about which one to use along with staple feeders every time for the best results. I am very excited I think I have one problem so far fixed because the shots were taken clear with minimal to no focusing. I am hoping to have a solid commentary for this video and try to make it the most complete video. This is a really great video showcasing the toads and tree frogs. I hope you will enjoy it as well. It's coming soon maybe before the end of the month! 

I got a reply from the store and they told me they would be interested in working with me. Idk what that means yet the marketing department told me to email the owner of the company so this week I may call or email him. They said he would most likely be interested he is into that stuff like working with people. I am very excited because we are one or two emails away from PA Woods Vivariums getting supported by a reptile business. I'd love to checkout new products or feeders if we can work it out. I have a lot of really interesting info about this but I want to wait for the details to all come out then talk about what's going on. 

I have had a big out pouring of support from various places as I think I picked up around 6 Subscribers in like 28 hours so it's really cool to have a noticable gain. I've seen the first Swarms Battle get a lot of support by various audiences. The last video that came out (Swarms Battle Episode 2) has blown up as well! Thank you guys for supporting me and my videos because it's meant for the education on these animals and entertaining content for people who just find it fascinating. I hope to get to 100 subscribers sometime soon and that would be awesome for that to happen! I'm more happy because it means these frogs and toads will be better cared for by keepers watching my channel and it will be beneficial to the conservation of these amphibians. 

A quick update on care sheets
The toad one is about done but needs some pictures and I'm starting the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet tomorrow night. I'll try to have the mixed species care sheet done near maybe the middle of October. I got some great photos of my toads and tree frogs last night I'm going to use. 

I don't have any questions for this update lol let me know what you think about this update!


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

In the next Swarms Battle it will be the Mealworm and Waxworm. So for the next featured insect I have a few options and I was wondering what you all think? I have some options and let me know what you think?

European (Common) Crickets

Butterworms

Nightcrawlers

Superworms

Repti Worm or Soldier Fly

So I will be spending some time this week working on the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet. 

For the Perspective video of the PA Woods Vivarium will be another video coming soon. After this next video it's 4 Swarms Battle videos so should I take a small break and release the 2018 version of the Perspective Video of the enclosure and the animals that will live in it? I want to show you some of the most unique behavior of my amphibians and the ecosystem that I have created. There will be only 4 in the 125 gallon. There are 5 now so it's as close as I'll get to having the desired number. So now I would like to include the Woodlice and have two species of crickets in the setup. The Banded Crickets are breeding and it's been around a month and a half since I needed any new Crickets. I'd like to have them and the Common European House Crickets establish a colony in this setup. I'd be interested to see if they work together to survive or if they would compete with one another. I will show you as I attempt this and I'll show you the fogger that turns on in the morning and the Repti Temp Controller that controls the fan. I'll show you the plants as well. I want to incorporate this perspective video with my care sheets about these species. This video is supposed to feature the amphibians individually from their perspective and challenges, and it's supposed to show you more about the environment in the setup. 

I am excited to make the perspective video and to make another video of my exotic animals I just wanted to see what the response is from you before I made the 5th Swarms Battle. 

One major accomplishment I have been successful with is to create enclosures with native plants from the northern climate which before I came on to the scene in forums back in 2014 nobody really had much success with keeping native plants. I am proud to have inspired various keepers to attempt their native plants and animals and find joy in what they have instead of the normal exotic animals everybody has. It's going to have a part in my perspective video. I have exotic animals but I am more passionate about the native species and I thought getting people interested in them and there habitat and recreating it would bring more positive attention towards them and people would want to make sure to keep them around. 

Let me know if you want the 5th Swarms Battle and what insect you want to see or the Perspective Video with something you want me to talk about. 

The 4th Swarms Battle is near it will be released soon. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

This is the biggest weekend yet...

I am working on the last Swarms Battle and will be finishing the toad care sheet tonight. 
This is the biggest Swarms Battle video ever! It's not one with intense action but literally the one taking up the most storage. The Mealworm and Waxworm video will be very beneficial for frog, toad and smaller lizard owners! I hope you will enjoy the up close shots of the toads and tree frogs in this video. 

I earned my Gray Tree Frog Christians trust this week. I hand fed him some Waxworms and it got to the point days later I took him out of the enclosure while he sat patient on my hand and ate. He even gave me a clear sign he was done eating. He put his hand up and turned his head. It was to coolest thing seeing him communicate with me. I thought I recorded the interaction but sadly I did not. I will do this again and record it for the next video. I was blown away how bold he was being the smallest frog I own and how he let me hand feed him. 

Today I will be messaging the owner of that company and hoping for a quick response that's a step forward in making progress to get sponsored. 

I picked up a book to help me with the care sheet for the Gray Tree Frogs which I'll be working on still. That will be coming soon!

It was a good week I got the refrigerator put in and I started thinking about this process. It's going to be crazy that I will be preparing the amphibians to hibernate and then to bring them out of it and then breed them. I think this will be very beneficial to anyone watching my YouTube channel while this is all going on. It will help people and educate them on this experience. 

I am very excited for this process and after this Swarms Battle I will be doing a video called perspective which will be made to talk about the vision and origin of the enclosure. It will also follow the animals and describe the origin of them as well and future plans. I will end the regular filming for this year with the first video to another playlist called Seasons. I will talk about the process getting the animals ready for hibernation and show them as they go into the refrigerator. That means the first video will be Winter next year describing how things are going with the hibernation and what updates are going on in the tank and how Wellsboro is doing because he isn't hibernating this year. The next video will be the video named Spring the next chapter to the Seasons Playlist. This will be about breeding and how the hibernation went and revealing the updates. 

I will have more updates tomorrow as well!

Are you excited to hear about the Seasons Playlist coming?

Have you ever been able to tame a tree frog that it will eat on your hand? 

What are you most excited for from all the updates?

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Messaged the owner, completed toad care sheet, working on commentary for video...

This was a great weekend getting a lot accomplished! I just sent a message to the company and I am awaiting a response! Let's hope it goes well! I have been hearing even more good reviews about them. 

The toad care sheet is completed and I am excited to see it become a care sheet you all will share on here. This was a great experience and I am very thankful for Reptile and Parrots Forum for allowing me to create care sheets and I plan to work on the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet next and a few others! 

The video has all the clips in it I'm trying to find a good way to order this so it's easier for commentary. I sat down for like 30 minutes and couldn't come up with good commentary so I'm making small changes. I want this to be the most complete video of the playlist. I'm very excited for you all to see this video!

I am very happy with the progress being made it was a very big week for the PA Woods Vivariums! Every amphibian has gained weight and the enclosure is more peaceful now. It seems food was distributed evenly also. I am excited to to be thinking about the perspective video I think it actually fits well with everything. It's a good time after 5 videos to share more back story of the origin of the vision for the PA Woods and it also will be good if I partner with that pet store. They would have something to support me with because it shows the vision as well as the best features of the 125 Gallon. This is all setting up nicely!

So I am now a care sheet contributor and hopefully next spring a breeder and potentially sponsored by a store. This is all really great and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to do all of this. I have worked hard and this week was a great example of that. Hard work pays off!

I am very excited honestly to build the Pine Creek PA Woods Vivarium which will be the sibling enclosure of the Western PA Woods Vivarium. I can't wait to see a waterfall and rain wall with fish in the Pine Creek PA Woods! It will be really awesome with videos and seeing how the amphibians in their different ecosystems and if the amphibians will go after prey whether one enclosure will prefer something over another will be really fascinating. it will be interesting to see how the feeder insects will interact with the different climates as well. 

I have big plans for next year the Swarms Battles, the Seasons Playlist and other miscellaneous videos. Some feeder insects will return each year like the staple feeders for the Swarms Battles. You will get to see how the Swarms Battles progress and new armies of swarms. There are many insects that I will not get to display this year. I will be focusing on the plants more and will be able to show how to introduce certain insects to be active in the ecosystem of each enclosure. I'm excited to work on Toad week and Gray Tree Frog week! There will be a lot of great things coming next year. I hope to have a misting system that works! I also will have to think of how to create two enclosures for my amphibians to breed. The uniqueness of my builds I'm trying to get the frogs and toads to breed in their own enclosures not a rain chamber. I will be excited to welcome female gray tree frogs and some offspring! 

I will get better while I'm focusing on The Five Lined Dumpy Family for my video production which will make my PA Woods Vivariums videos better!

Did you know the Waxworm is a delicacy for amphibians? 

What would be a good idea to include in my upcoming video perspective? What would you personally like to know about a specific animal or the enclosure etc.?

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Ace and Pious had a date night! Bane came out and wanted to photobomb some pictures Below 









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

October 5th the day that changed everything...

Today started out as a usual day with nothing out of the ordinary going on. Then around 10 am that all changed. I checked my animals in the PA Woods Vivarium and I was shocked by what I found. 

When I saw my toads they were all together and I was surprised to see this because Wellsboro was sleeping and hiding for days and Pious climbed to a spot high in the enclosure. They came down and alerted me to the problem. Ace was having a seizure. I was very shocked to see how the other two toads stayed by her side and how they looked concerned for her. So I took her out and rushed her to the vet. My vet thought this was because of a deficiency in calcium but I use so many supplements I couldn't believe it. She had to checkout another patient and she left me with time to just watch Ace and think about what could have happened. Just yesterday she was perfectly fine eating and climbing around. Then I understood from watching her what had happened and I didn't think it would be possible but I was proven wrong. 

When I am wrong I am the first to admit I made a mistake and even if people are not happy and disappointed with me they at least can't say that I lie. This is one of those times and it doesn't feel good because it will change my YouTube Channel, my Facebook Page and the PA Woods Vivariums. I promise that I have researched every animal that I own and I have made sure that they would work either among themselves or with other species. The White's Tree Frogs and Fish, Southeastern Five Lined Skinks with Squirrel Tree Frogs, Millipedes and Snails and American Toads and Northern Leopard Frogs or Gray Tree Frogs or Skinks. I made sure to prepare for the unexpected and to make sure nobody got eaten or poisoned. Everything I have done up to this point has worked. Same species and mixed species setups. Today was the day that would not allow me to say everything has worked. This time it didn't and that's okay because it will help others who think about this in the future. 

So when I saw Ace in the enclosure I immediately got a bin filled it with water and placed her in it. She immediately responded positive to the water. After seeing her at the vet's office in the water soaking I noticed her getting better but still having muscle spasms. I thought back to a night when both Bane and Christian had sat in one of the water bins for hours and then how Ace went in the next day after them. Then it hit me that Ace had been poisoned by the toxin from the Gray Tree Frogs. This by no means was the Gray Tree Frogs fault they didn't do it on purpose or to be mean they were just being normal happy tree frogs. I didn't change the water which I usually do and the toxin from the tree frogs just sat in the bin and must have been strong. 

The reason why the water was helping in my opinion is because she was flushing the toxin from the tree frogs out and absorbing fresh clean water. I also was told by the vet to put a UVB light over top her to let her absorb the vitamins from the light which also I think will help flush the toxin out. The odds of Ace living are 50/50 but she's doing much better now and seems to be recovering from what I can see. She's very strong, active and because of how well she was doing before this she might be able to pull through it. It's unknown if she will make a full recovery but she has movement in all legs as they all work and she is very very alert. She still tried to jump out of my hand when I picked her up. 

I could be wrong and this could be a calcium deficiency but you guys have seen how much these Amphibians have eaten in the videos so to me it's unlikely but possible and it might not be the tree frogs at all. I guess further research is needed.
She did seem to respond positive whenever the UVB light was on her for a few hours. If this is the case and it is a Calcium deficiency if she's able to make it to Monday whenever the doctor is back in the office I will ask the doctor to give her a dose of a calcium supplement and after she gets the dosage of calcium if she makes a dramatic recovery we will know it was from a Calcium deficiency and not the toxin of the tree frogs. If that's the case then the tree frogs are innocent so for right now everything is up in the air. If it was the tree frogs she should either make a recovery very fast like probably by a week or less and all will be normal for her and then I'll have to most likely release Christian and Bane into the wild. If it's a calcium problem she will continue to show signs of having the same symptoms and if she's able to hold on then on Monday I will have the doctor give her the dose of calcium and the tree frogs and toads can continue to live together. The ecosystem of the PA Woods vivariums can become drastically changed depending on what happens next. 

On Monday if it survives and gets the shot and she is perfectly fine we will have our answer but if she dies before then the answer goes unsolved and for the sake of the other toads the tree frogs will have to be let go. Two out of three possibilities could mean the tree frogs have to be let go but there is a slim chance it could be a calcium problem and if that's the case we will find out on Monday.

Moving forward I am working on getting a plan of action for each scenario depending on what happens I am optimistic that Ace will make a full recovery and I am taking the best care that I can of her. 

The next swarms battle has been put on hold before it is released in case the worst happens it is ready to go but most likely the result of what happens Monday night will determine the future of the PA Woods vivariums forever.

But one thing that I'm thinking about and after writing all this out it is important to remain neutral and say the toxins of the tree frogs are innocent until proven guilty for this situation. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

There is a small sign of hope. Ace is seemingly doing much better and she appeared to be done twitching. 

I have some optimism for the Gray Tree Frogs. 

So it seems to be the general consensus of those closest to me that they don't want me to get rid of the tree frogs but they don't want them to live with the toads. I initially thought I was going to release them but I have a few options first. So the pet store that gave me the tank might let me setup a display in their store and this would be good for both me and the tree frogs. They could potentially get free crickets and I could still work on their tank and bring other feeders for them and I could potentially setup a PA Woods Vivarium enclosure at the pet store which could be good for marketing for me and I still get to have my frogs they would just be in a different place. This is my first option I'm looking to try Thursday. 

My second option is contacting a local reptile rescue that takes in amphibians that people can't keep for various reasons. I really like this idea and would be willing to partner with them because there is a need for an organization like them. I would still want to maintain the right to come see them and bring food and document them for videos. The reason this is option 2 instead of 1 is because of what my mom said. "if you want someone to watch your baby when your away who are you going to trust more?" "Someone you know or a stranger?" She was right. 

My third option is to keep them if I'm able to find the room for a 5th and final enclosure. It's towards the bottom but still possible if nothing works out. 

My last option is to release them because I've had them for so long now and I'm building trust with them. I'd hate to lose that now. 

So this could all pan out for Ace and the Gray Tree Frogs. This is not a normal update because everything that once was is going to come to an end. The tree frogs and toads will be separated soon and then comes the question what will come of the Western PA Woods Vivarium and Pine Creek PA Woods Vivarium? I will take a break for some time and focus on the exotic animals while things get built up almost from nothing again. I will research this whole winter coming on deeper care for toads and will be researching hibernation and I will make my decision about what made this enclosure different Mixed Species. I learned my lesson about what logically sounds good and even what others experiences of success were and my own knowledge and understanding are not going to guarantee anything will workout. So if you are wondering if I would do another mixed species native setup after this experience I'd say I'm not in a position to answer that right now. I'd 100% go back to one of the animals I previously kept with the toads that I know ate safe but I'm not feeling to excited about it right now. I'll reveal this whenever the time is right in the spring. The hibernation is off for this year also so if Ace survives she can build strength and recover fully. I will also I still plan on building the 75 gallon for Wellsboro and the Mosquito Fish and updating the 125 gallon. I'm going to make sure what I do next does not cause fatalities or make me seem less credible. As things will wind down on here I will focus on the exotic animals for months so time can heal this regardless what happens. 


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Ace has made nearly a full recovery and she encouraged everyone in my home...

Ace was hopping around and when I took the lid off to see her she looked up at me. Around 9am she looked like she was taking a poop and some brown liquid came out and made me think it could possibly be the toxin? She has full balance and is not twitching. I'll attempt to feed her tomorrow! The UVB and fresh water has made the difference. The UVB helped her to synthesize Calcium and D3 while the water helped her to possibly flush out the toxin? I'm not sure yet what the problem was but let me say that the vet told me if it was a calcium problem she would have died within the first 24 hours and we are far away from that. The UVB light has really helped but so has the water so it's hard to say what the problem was. I can say she peed out a brown substance and was looking much better. Today was just a huge day seeing how Ace recovered. 

If she was poisoned then to my knowledge she is the first amphibian to be poisoned and survive. She is a fighter and brought encouragement to everybody who was watching her. Just how she had the will to survive is something I can't even begin to explain how special that was.

So we've just about come to a conclusion on what we are doing with the tree frogs. First I'll say I truly understand more cautions with keeping animals together even though I've done it before and had both species, this experience has made me change my perspective more and even though I was never for people asking if they can do it and I didn't support it as being something for everyone to do, I am more specific what I know what works and what theoretically works like the Gray Tree Frogs and American Toads. Yes others have kept them without any problems but it's something that has too many ways it can go wrong this combination is not worth attempting. Trust me I may have almost lost my toad because of it. So I will say I believe some mixed species setups are beneficial like Lizards and large Millipedes and large Snails or non toxic tree frogs and fish I think that has benefits and I have these types of ecosystems for my exotic setups. As to the native species tanks I'm not saying I will or won't have something living with the toads but it would only be with something I had previously not trying something new but would be going back to the old and reliable. But I also might keep just the toads. I'm not really opening this part up for discussion because I need to personally evaluate where I'm at with these types of setups after this. I'll have my answer in the later months. Near the spring most likely. 

There are going to be 3 PA Woods Vivariums


Western PA Woods (125 gallon)
Ace and Pious





Pine Creek PA Woods (75 gallon)
Wellsboro 
Offspring of Ace and Pious





PA Woods Paludarium (30 gallon)
Christian and Bane

No the gray tree frogs will not have fish because I am not sure that I want to risk the fish being poisoned possibly. The tree frogs are still very great pets and will be given a beautiful setup. I'm not sure about females yet but I know that the Gray Tree Frogs will get the best I have and I'm thankful to say I'm keeping them. 

One final announcement I have is that I will make a video describing what happened to Ace and how everything has changed and what's going to happen next. I think it will be very interesting and will bring peace and do justice for what's going on and to report it for everyone to know what's going to happen next. Thank you to everyone who has expressed their care for Ace and had nice comments I really appreciated it! I was restless for a few days now and while there was so much uncertainty with how Ace was going to do, and the nice comments helped me to stay optimistic. Thank you all for the support. This will not happen again and I will be spending this winter getting back to researching and digging deeper then what I have before. I am going to make this video also for the people who cared so they can see how Ace is doing. 

Ace seems to be getting to 100%

3 PA Woods Vivariums

Tree Frogs are staying

New video to document what's happened

More research to come for me and I will make the decision what I'm going to do next. 

The Gray Tree Frogs vivarium is the only setup that's got it's inhabitants confirmed. 

More information to come within the next two weeks. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Ace seems almost 100% and the Gray Tree Frogs have their own setup...

I just wanted to give a quick update for everybody regarding Ace. This will not take away from the next two days of updates but I felt since there was a big update between all my enclosures I wanted to give a small update now just on the most important stuff. Starting off with Ace she's doing much better she is very hyper and back to her normal self. She actually went for a swim for the first time since having the seizure. She did something a little more uncharacteristic but it's okay because what she did the other toads have been doing and that is climbing up to the top of the tank. If she's in that good of shape to climb that high up then she must be doing pretty darn good! The next challenge I have is to get her to start eating crickets again and earthworms. I'm hoping I can get that accomplished tomorrow and have another big milestone for you all tomorrow. There was a small update done to the Western PA Woods or in other words the 125 gallon. There were some leaves added and some holes patched from the plexiglass lid and water was added once again.

As for Christian and Bane they had a different kind of an update. They are currently sitting in the 30-gallon and are a little bit confused as to why they're in a different tank but they seem to be very curious of their surroundings and seem to be okay with the new setup. I think many of you will like this and this is not how it's going to look as a finished product. I still have other branches I want to put in there from the pet stores but I just don't have the money for that right now and it's not necessarily something that they need at the moment because they have a lot of ground cover and a lot of thick foliage. I'm really excited to show you guys they're setup! I think it is something that you all will enjoy looking at I was really proud of the way it turned out and it only has room to get better. So without further ado I introduce to you (in these pictures) the New PA Woods Vivarium...









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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

Is that a Hydrangea is there?


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Yes it's I believe a southern Hydrangea that shouldn't get too much bigger. It's been this size since March.


Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> Is that a Hydrangea is there?


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

The ones sold here in the UK are for outdoors and get very big indeed. Never seen one inside a tank before. I know you can buy them as houseplants, but the flowers all die, and then when planted outside they thrive. It is extremely toxic.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> The ones sold here in the UK are for outdoors and get very big indeed. Never seen one inside a tank before. I know you can buy them as houseplants, but the flowers all die, and then when planted outside they thrive. It is extremely toxic.


I keep many native perennials in my setups. Is I'm assuming you mean it's toxic if the frogs would digest it right?

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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

/www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=170&c=5#.W8BCYmhKjIU

I don't know whether the Frogs would eat it not, but no UK variety of Hydrangea would thrive in those conditions for long.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> /www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=170&c=5#.W8BCYmhKjIU
> 
> I don't know whether the Frogs would eat it not, but no UK variety of Hydrangea would thrive in those conditions for long.


I'll check out the link but frogs don't eat plants so this shouldn't be a problem. Pothos is toxic and is one of the best amphibian plants because they don't eat it. 

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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

AAronCap said:


> I'll check out the link but frogs don't eat plants so this shouldn't be a problem. Pothos is toxic and is one of the best amphibian plants because they don't eat it.
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk


Well, no, or absorb something through their skin? 

'Hydrangea contains a cyanogenic glycoside that is TOXIC to all animals and can cause gastrointestinal upset and bloody diarrhoea.'


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

I have read about cyanogenic glycoside and it's only if the hydrangea is chewed like the leaves or any part. The frogs will not eat the plant and I have not found anything about the plant being poisonous to frogs I've seen pictures of frogs on these. I'll look more into this tomorrow but for right now it doesn't appear to be a threat to them. I'll let you know what I can find though I appreciate your concern!


Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> Well, no, or absorb something through their skin?
> 
> 'Hydrangea contains a cyanogenic glycoside that is TOXIC to all animals and can cause gastrointestinal upset and bloody diarrhoea.'


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

This is a positive update finally...

Here is the best news that everyone has been waiting for about Ace. She finally ate tonight for the first time in a week!! She ate two large crickets that were dusted. She had some problems at first seemingly still disoriented still from the seizure. She had no help and did catch them on her own and I'm wondering if she is just a little off her aim because of the seizure and will get back to normal or if the seizure has permanently effected her ability to be as precise in using her tongue. Regardless of the situation she will still be able to eat but it would make me have to adjust my thoughts with my game plan for next year. Ace ate and I'm excited just to see some progress and it's the best thing I've been able to see. 

The American Toad Care Sheet is Finished!
Finally I can share with you all one of the things I'm most proud of which is my care sheet for this species! Once the link is created I will post it below this update! It's long I'm just warning you now but hopefully you'll learn more about this species!

A new video on the way. The Perspective video will be made soon and I will discuss what happened to Ace and the New PA Woods Vivarium for the Gray Tree Frogs and what's coming next. This will be the video that you won't want to miss. It will bring everything to a head and explain more details for more background information about the PA Woods Vivariums and the vision behind them. 

The future of the YouTube Playlists
So the Swarms Battles will return in full force earlier then what they were this year. I will be able to make more with a lot more feeder insects. This time there will be a difference in size variety so all the amphibians get the proper sized prey. The miscellaneous videos of the PA Woods Vivarium playlist will still go on. The Gray Tree Frog Week and American Toad Week will go on. The Seasons Playlist will also go on. Here I will get to show something very special. This playlist I will not be able to get to this year but it's okay. The uniqueness of these playlists will be swapping and viewing all 3 PA Woods Vivariums and how different the ecosystems are. As I said I'm not sure yet if I'll include another species with the American Toad or if it'll just be for them. I will not experiment I promise it would be with a species I've used prior to the Gray Tree Frogs. But I may not use any other species. I am not doing this just because I can I really believed that the tree frogs brought something to the ecosystem and complimented the toads but there were complications. If something I feel first lines up with the vision and it will compliment the toads and it's an animal I've owned or own then I'll consider it. But I'm in no rush to decide and that's a good thing. 

This update is filled with positivity and has good news. I am going to email the reptile business and see if they have made a decision as to working with me and what not. 

I have no questions for you in this update but I'll be attempting to finish my White's Tree Frog Care Sheet tonight as well! I hope to have more good news for you tomorrow!

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

The American Toad Care Sheet

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=20324&share_fid=51775&share_type=t

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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

AAronCap said:


> The American Toad Care Sheet
> 
> https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=20324&share_fid=51775&share_type=t
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk


Did you proofread it first?

I think it might be preferable to post it as a separate item. Not sure how much interest you will get on here as a UK based Forum.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Yes I have I see some mistakes and I'll update it and fix those mistakes before I post it as a stand alone care sheet. I also wanted to include it in this for anyone who reads this so they have access to this as well! 



Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> Did you proofread it first?
> 
> I think it might be preferable to post it as a separate item. Not sure how much interest you will get on here as a UK based Forum.




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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Today was a slow day but I have some updates still...

There really was no activity in the Western PA Woods Vivarium (125 gallon) as I let Ace rest and she did. Everything seems to be getting better. I have some crickets and Waxworms on the way from Josh's Frogs hopefully coming soon. I'm going to let my animals gorge on waxworms. I must emphasize this is not something that should be done unless you are encouraging weight gain which I am. I want to fatten my amphibians and Skinks up so I will be using the Waxworm to do this. I've had low numbers of crickets and my complimentary feeders didn't last too long so my amphibians are a bit hungry. I'm hoping Ace and Wellsboro will especially eat as much as they can because they are a little thin. I will be using both crickets over the winter and I'll be breaking up the sizes for the crickets. I'm going to try to get medium sized of both species for my toads and White's Tree Frogs and I'll use the small crickets for the Gray Tree Frogs and Skinks. I feel this will help to fatten up the animals if they hunt appropriate sized prey. This week I'll be hoping to film and make the Perspective video and to create the ad for the video also. I think once I release this video you will see how complex the PA Woods Vivariums are and how much in depth research and years of experience went into this idea and I am excited to share my vision that started my passion to build and share these types of enclosures. I think it will explain better then me writing it out!

I think now I'm going to attempt to break up the updates by separating and talking about one enclosure at a time. So this way the updates are more clear and you know which enclosure I'm talking about. I'll say the name of the enclosure and in parentheses the actual enclosure. 

The New PA Woods Vivarium (30 Gallon) is doing well! It doesn't have much I want to update but I am excited to share it with you. Christian and Bane are doing well and I think it's very fascinating that they are staying together. They haven't explored the tank I think they are nervous but they have stayed next to one another which makes me think they must feel more comfortable together. I was not aware that these tree frogs were communal like the Whites Tree Frog but perhaps this could be something I should look into more! I have not seen their tank late at night so they could be moving around and I just don't know. They look a very bright gray because they are sitting under a T5 light and are sitting very close to it. I managed to hand feed Christian still but Bane will not let me. He refused to eat if I hand it to him. I'm excited to feature these guys in their enclosure and to see for myself what the ecosystem will be like with a smaller top predator. Remember I have American Toads and White's Tree Frogs which get 4 inches and Skinks which are around 5-6 Inches with my make topping out around 8-9 inches. So the Gray Tree Frogs are the smallest amphibians that I have ever made an enclosure for. I think I have something special in store for you all with this setup. Mark my words this setup will have one of the biggest surprised that I haven't shared with you all just yet!

So for the 3 Vivariums I will be featuring them in videos next year. Yellow Creek is where the Gray Tree Frogs are from and I will be showing you where that is and why I chose to build the enclosure after this area. I will be showing the area of Stony Creek and where Ace and Pious are from and where I rescued them from. I think you will be surprised to see where they are from. Lastly I will be creating the Pine Creek enclosure for Wellsboro which will have the Mosquito Fish in it. I will make a waterfall as I pay homage to the place in my state that is basically THE PLACE where people go to fish. I wanted to make sure that I created a slightly warmer environment because the average high is slightly warmer and I think Wellsboro will be happy. I can't wait to show you this place because it's breath taking and you'll see where Wellsboro is from. I don't know why I chose to pick places that have the word "Creek" in them. 

I will be looking to see what care sheets to announce next. Obviously the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet is one of the next ones. I want to apologize for spelling errors I spent two days looking to fix that but I missed some. I will be looking to make sure I spend more time editing and looking for mistakes so this doesn't happen again. 

I will be reaching out to the reptile business this week to see if they have made a decision yet! I have gone through a lot these past 2 weeks so I'm not sure what all they've seen but I'm hopeful that things can still work out. Even if they don't I have other places I'm scouting as potential partner businesses. I'd like things to work out but if they don't I'm happy to have Ace alive and to have published care sheets and to have been able to keep my tree frogs. I am considering that I might use the Gray Tree Frogs as a substitute for Thanksgiving to face the Whites Tree Frogs to make it a battle of the tree frogs! What do you think? 

Wish me luck as I start another crazy week optimistically looking at another good week and adventure with the animals of the PA Woods!

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

What a week...

This week had a lot of good and crazy moments. None were better then seeing Ace make a full recovery! That's right she has caught large crickets this past week! Finally she is able to move around and she has regained stability and strength. She looks good! I gave her waxworms and she got some weight put on her! I fully documented this and it will all be in the Perspective Video coming soon!

Wellsboro looks thin so I'm going to work with him now. He's not used to being awake this time of the year. His metabolism has slowed down so I will be trying to help him. 

It was a good week I got to see the Gray Tree Frogs moving around the enclosure and I gave them a lot of crickets to hunt yesterday and when I saw them tonight they had full tummies. The toads got crickets and I saw Pious look very impressive how much he ate. I don't have a lot yet of the Gray Tree Frogs that's exciting but they will be the only active enclosure with updates after the perspective video so there will be plenty of time to watch Christian and Bane in their new home. 

I reached out to the reptile store and I'm waiting to hear back. I'm not sure what to think but that's okay if things don't work out. I had a lot happen the week we were talking. That's when Ace had her seizure. 

My American Toad Care Sheet is still being revised. There are some parts of the care article that are a little controversial as I am talking about some behavior that these toads have and while there are not articles on some of the content I have been able to ask an expert about some of the more controversial parts. This is still a quality care sheet but I am making sure to take my time on this matter and I will attempt to have this up soon!

I will be starting work on the following care sheets next:
Keeping Wild Gray Tree Frogs
Northern Leopard Frogs
Giant American Millipedes
Virginia Land Snails

These are some of the upcoming projects! Some care sheets I'm waiting to write for a later time also. Thank you to the Reptile and Parrots Forum for allowing me the ability to create these care sheets!

I will be looking to reorganize my YouTube channel playlists and will be most likely creating a new thread in the spring because now this info is a little outdated with the Gray Tree Frogs living in their own enclosure so I will be looking to make sure that I am organizing and making my updates and my content as organized as possible. 

I will be planning on having a big 2019 with these animals. Remember there will be 3 PA Woods Vivariums and I'm going to have two of them similar like mirror images with their respective differences. The Gray Tree Frogs are the different PA Woods Vivarium so I will be figuring out if I will have a separate thread for them or if I'll include them. I want your feedback! Do you want me to give one PA Woods Vivariums update including all 3 enclosures or do you want me to separate them with giving the gray tree frogs their own thread? Let me know!!

I am very excited with updates coming to the 125 gallon enclosure and the build for the 75 gallon. I'm very excited because I am upgrading the tank and will be preparing it for it's new look for next year! I'm not giving spoilers but I will say I have to change the enclosure from an arboreal/terrestrial setup to a terrestrial setup. I'm excited to breed Ace and Pious next year and to begin this project into the second phase of my vision. I'm very excited to get a new mister! The enclosure I'm the Most excited for is the 75 gallon. I'm building a setup for toads and fish. That's pretty awesome! I'm looking forward to the challenge of building a waterfall! 

I will be explaining with bullet points what I wish to accomplish with this build. 


Let me know what you think about having two different threads

What do you think of my upcoming care sheets? 

Checkout Christian on the accessory for the first time!









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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Focusing on what's next...
So apparently the parts of my care sheet that was more controversial I asked a herpetologist (one who studies reptiles and amphibians) and a zoologist about what I have suggested and again he affirmed my theory so my care sheet has two subjects that nobody has written about. If you want me to show some of the conversation I would be willing to do that. The person I asked these questions was the guy who has the most articles about these toads and he inspired me when I was first starting out with creating the PA Woods so he is a very qualified and trusted source for information and I'm very happy to have reached out to him and gotten a response. I will ask him this week more about hibernating these amphibians and hear his opinion of that. I believe he may have more tips or something to share with me that I may not get from anywhere else. So I am very excited to be able to ask him these questions. If you think I should put it as a resource in the care sheet I can do that but if you want to see the conversation with what I can share with you I would be happy to share it. 

I'm excited to say that the case is being made for the Gray Tree Frogs to have their own updates. They will come up in the thread talking about the 125 gallon and 75 gallon and in the thread of their own these two tanks will show up occasionally. These 3 enclosures share the native theme and have plants and the ecosystem to match. I am gaining more knowledge on Gray Tree Frogs as well and I'm enjoying the observations of watching mine. I am also very excited to share a Tree Frog battle this Thanksgiving. Instead of the Western PA Woods (125 gallon) facing the Dumpy Family (White's Tree Frogs) the Gray Tree Frogs will take their place. Maybe I'll through a small update on the 125 gallon in that video. I will need some help thinking of the categories that we can compare both species of tree frogs and their enclosures so let me know if you have something in mind whether it's something like who is the better hunter or who appears more intelligent or something like best hunting strategy. Let me know what you think!!

I am hoping to work on finishing the Perspective video this week. Some of the goals I am attempting to accomplish I will talk about and here are the personal goals I accomplished




Goals already completed





Successfully find a method for growing perennials

Encourage others to keep their native species 

Keep predators and prey in same enclosure

Successfully create a mixed species ecosystem

Create Care Sheets for featured amphibians

Help others care for their amphibians


What I will share next week is what I am working to accomplish now. 

There was no activity from the toads they were lazy today so I let them rest. The Gray Tree Frogs were having fun jumping around I am happy to see how much they climb around on the bark accessory I got them. 

This week I'll be working with Wellsboro, finishing the Perspective Video and American Toad care sheet. I will be working on the Gray Tree Frog care sheet and awaiting the response or the reptile store. I'll also be reaching out to the herpetologist to ask him about the hibernation process for these toads. I'll be thinking of how I can build the 75 gallon waterfall and background. I will also be thinking about having two different threads for the PA Woods Vivariums. As the updates will be winding down the care sheets and other things will be more of the focus. 

Let me know what categories you can think of for the tree frogs faceoff. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Another week of progress...

I am working on the Perspective video and I think it will be around 20 minutes. I am breaking down a 56 minute video to 20 so it's been a very daunting task. I am excited to talk about 3 big topics such as Ace, Wellsboro and the New PA Woods Vivarium. I will also be talking about what my goals are with my enclosure and to give you all more background knowledge on what makes me passionate about a bioactive and native setup. The video is coming along good and should be out I'm hoping in the next few weeks before the Thanksgiving Day faceoff.


Ace is back to normal and along with Pious they are very healthy and appear to be putting in good weight. Wellsboro is still struggling to put on weight. 

Tonight I'm starting the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet! I'm still writing the American Toad care sheet and compiling research and looking for the best way to explain fact from assumption. I am excited to finish this care sheet and to start the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet. I have been learning so much about the native amphibians and more about their habits. I think this has been beneficial because it will allow me to make enclosure updates that will be more authentic to the desired habitat for my frogs and toads. 

I got an odd email from the light company that I bought my light from. I told them that I was using their light and how I enjoyed it but this was months ago. I'll keep you all updated on what will happen with the light company. 

I have not had any massive updates or changes to really report on just small stuff. I am still working on reaching out to the herpetologist to find out his advice on breeding. I am very excited to hear his feedback. 

I hope to have more information and updates next week for you all. As of now everything is going well! 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Some interesting observations...

Before Wellsboro came Pious was the top hunter in the enclosure and then Ace slowly caught up to him. Surprisingly Pious has emerged as the top hunter once again. I was at the far left side of the enclosure and he was at the far right. He travelled the entire length of the enclosure and sat at the front of the glass looking up at me to feed him. As soon as I dropped in feeders he ate them. Some weren't even moving! Pious is very strong I have seen him snipe large crickets with just his tongue. Ace and Wellsboro can't even do this. Pious has put on some weight and I'm very happy for him. Ace is doing great and she put on some weight as well. She has a little belly. She has been eating so well that she she'd last night! This means she is growing! 

I am trying to finish the video of the Perspective video and then start the commentary tomorrow. I'll keep working on the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet tonight as well. I will be trying to proof read the toad care sheet this week. 

The Gray Tree Frogs are doing wonderful. Bane croaked last night and the Banded Crickets I put in the tank, some of then are beginning to call for females and the tree frogs are looking around the enclosure for the crickets. I have been seeing them together every night. They seem to be hunting and sleeping together. It will be really really interesting to see when the baby tree frogs are big enough to go into the New PA Woods Vivarium. We will see how 2 families will handle each other. Will they get along and live peacefully or will they cause competition for all Gray Tree Frogs? I will make sure to document this and share my observations with you all. Do you think they will get along?

Have you ever heard of a male toad becoming the dominant inhabitant of the enclosure? Pious is around the same age as Ace and he has now twice passed her up to become the top hunter. To me this is incredible because I've never observed a male toad being able to compete with a female, but Pious is special. 


Are you excited to hear the story of Ace and to actually see her from before the seizure to after it?

I'm so excited to share this video coming out with you all. I believe this is something that will really help to give me something to get everyone excited about for next year when I have my PA Woods Vivariums up and running. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Another good week...

I think it took me a while to figure out what it would take to get Wellsboro to eat but finally he started eating. It took an insect I have never fed him before which was the Butterworm. These are the fastest way to build fat. If you ever need to build fat remember this that Butterworms are the best for this. I am very happy to see him eating again. 

The Butterworms have helped Ace and Pious put on weight. They look heavier then they did in the summer! My White's Tree Frogs are getting a little belly from these so I am going to cut them back on the Butterworm. Ace and Pious are doing wonderful. 

The video is still being edited. It's not going to talk about some things I wanted to because of the way I had to edit it. It's going to be more of a conclusion video explaining what happened and what is happening to all the animals in the future. 

We looked at the Refrigerator and the temp starts at 46.5 and down. This is great because I can set the temp after experimentation for a little bit to what temperature I need and think is the safest for the toads! This is a year away but a good update!

I have been looking at the devices and what's next for the animals of the PA Woods Vivariums and I am going to try to switch to LED lights to create a thunderstorm in all 3 PA Woods Vivariums. I'm going to see if the tree frogs will get a fogger or mister. I have a lot of it figured out! Last year was more about the enclosures and this year will be about the accessories like Foggers/Misters and Lights. That's really what my focus is on which will also be cheaper then buying massive enclosures like last year. 

So I have been researching heavy the past month or two and been getting some personal and precise advice from a herpetologist and the guy who practically wrote the most in depth care about native frogs and toads of my area. He has been helping me understand more advanced behavior of my toads especially. I have asked him this past week about something special that I do not want to ruin. I think he was surprised how much I already knew and he gave me a green light moving forward as I can accommodate my enclosure for it's future and build the 75 gallon to match what the 125 gallon will be updated to. I have really understood more breeding patterns and habitat preferences as well as diet preferences. This will be very beneficial to create care sheets like me updating my toad sheet and creating the Gray Tree Frog Care Sheet!

So let me ask you. Do you think it's time we moved on from this thread and started the two threads of the PA Woods Vivariums?

The New PA Woods Vivarium
(Gray Tree Frogs)

PA Woods Vivariums
Western PA Woods (125 gallon)
Pine Creek PA Woods (75 gallon)

Let me know what you think?

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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Just saw the thumbnail below and read the text as ' another wood geek ' !! 
That's my dyslexia kicking in early ..














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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Absolutely love this one by the way .. how was it created ??











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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Zincubus said:


> Absolutely love this one by the way .. how was it created ??
> 
> image
> 
> ...


I believe it was 3 or 4 years ago my designs were inspiring a few keepers on the Frog Forum and I believe somebody was trying to create a native Minnesota set up. I helped out a little bit with the idea but the keeper designed the enclosure specifically the way they wanted to and I was very supportive of the idea.

there was also someone who contacted me and was inspired to do a California set up being a native to California and somebody wanted to do an 8th of Australia set up not being from Australia but just wanting to do the same idea. Since being on the forums in 2014 I have been able to help keepers draw inspiration from their own backyards or to want to do a project specifically tailored to one area.

I will be designing to Native setups by the end of the spring. So I will be busy with a lot of work to do. I am getting ready to post one more video and then I am going to create two separate threads. One will talk about the new gray tree frog setup and I will have that on the tree frog sub forums and amphibian forums so you can find it. The other two will be under the same category I am undecided yet as to where I will put it in a category but I will make sure to give updates on the current thread for a links to where I post the new threads.

I'm hoping to encourage more Keepers to give feedback and input also to start a new thread with basically new enclosures with old ideas. Sorry for a long text I am using my voice command on my phone because I felt this would be the fastest way to respond. I hope that whenever I create a new friends that you will follow those and give feedback and everything else because I look forward to reading responses from you and other keepers. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Minor setback with new video...

So I was trying to finish my video tonight and actually surprise post it, but when I listened to the commentary I just couldn't. This means I have to redo audio like commentary again! I'm really just working tomorrow hard on the video. It'll come out soon! I'm going to work hard on it! 

Wellsboro ate some more Butterworms and looks to be growing a belly and is gaining an appetite. Pious looks like he needs a diet lol. 

I put a cup in the tree frogs enclosure and they jumped right in a ate up all the Butterworms. They both were eating them up. 

I am going to try to possibly finish a care sheet tonight and tomorrow. I'd like to have something to show for because I have a lot of stuff floating around but don't have as many finished products as I'd like. 

I am looking to create two new threads once the video is complete then I will separate into two threads.

I have found some more feeders for the Swarms Battles 2019 that I am sure will interest and entertain you with new journeys and challenging battles. I believe the Swarms Battles will be more informative and provide more care for keepers. 

I am still looking at having another series the Seasons. I am going to try to get the same light for all three enclosures to make them more connected and to all have the same experience. I am looking to have Foggers and Misters for the enclosures as well. I have given a lot of thought already to what I will be trying to accomplish and what I want to document and how I want to educate others. 

It's going to be a winter of preparation and updates and a spring of execution with being more consistent at videos. As I turn my attention to recording the exotic animals behind the scenes ill be pushing for the updates. 

I don't have any questions for this update I just want to have more things completed asap and that's kind of what I'm focusing on tonight. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Gray Tree Frogs Care Sheet!

Check it out!

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=20595&share_fid=51775&share_type=t

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Another positive week...

So someone told me that if my channel were to say get 20k+ views then unintentionally people could want to take some of the animals from the wild even though I don't support that. So the amphibians that I have that are native I should be happy because I don't have a species that could be harmed by poaching. The Gray Tree Frogs are almost impossible to find in the wild and the American Toad is one of the most widespread animals in America and is into Canada. If I were to have another species I was told I should be mindful of this. I wasn't really looking at this aspect but now I am taking it seriously for the safety of the animals I am trying to protect. Like I said the two species currently are safe with how abundant they are so I would have to make sure I the species is safe somehow just in case my channel gets bigger I don't harm any species. 

I think it's good to think about this now before it's too late! 

It was a good week where everyone was just normal. Ace has gotten so fast and is catching prey at a record speed. Pious is heavy and he took it easy because he ate so much he wasn't as interested in eating more! The Gray Tree Frogs are doing wonderful. Bane and Christian are doing so well and the babies are getting bigger!

I am looking forward to what is coming for the PA Woods Vivariums! Like I have been saying we are going to go back to the basics this time. Nobody necessarily knows what I mean by that but you'll get very excited with it. 

The Perspective video is going to get worked on tonight and hopefully done tomorrow. I'm probably just going to post it since it's so late and start on the Thanksgiving Showdown with the battle of the tree frogs. I have some good news that the three Whites Tree Frogs are all seemingly coming out and getting more friendly. My Gray Tree Frogs are always confident and photogenic. They might get a terrarium in the spring because it would probably be easier for me. 

I have some massive plans for the Swarms Battles next year. I am very excited to see Predators vs Predators as one of my favorite insects will make a guest appearance as a feeder for Ace, Pious, Wellsboro and the rest. I also found other good feeders to use which will be really fun to see how my animals hunt them. Frogs and toads week is going to be really fun I think we are actually going back to where Wellsboro is from and I get to show you where Ace and Pious came from. I'm excited about the opportunities I have next spring and summer to show some really educational footage and to help others care for their frogs and toads. 

Do you think it's important to think about what impact a native species oriented setup could have on people?

Have you ever seen Shark Week on TV? What do you think about a Frog and Toad Week? What would you want to see in it?

What do you think about me switching to terrariums over aquariums? Does it surprise you? 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

American Toad Care Sheet

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=20324&share_fid=51775&share_type=t

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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

Does anyone in the UK keep these?


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> Does anyone in the UK keep these?


There may be people from the US that do. 

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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

This is a UK based site though.


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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

Shellsfeathers&fur said:


> This is a UK based site though.


Yes but Australian animals and US animals are common in pet trades. I didn't intend to frustrate anyone with posting this. If you wish to take it down I understand. 

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## AAronCap (Jan 16, 2018)

The Perspective Video

https://youtu.be/Epk7bfhCtbg

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