Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Goose]

anyone seen these: http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=20001&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&searchTerms=propagator

looks great for rearing froglets.
_________________
Tom



peace, love and captive breeding

[MJ]

that minus the electricity is perfect for the job.. just ask peter parrot
_________________
Paul

For all your Tropical plant and Naturalistic Vivarium needs please enjoy Urban Bromeliad

[Peter Parrot]

I have all my dart frogs currently housed in propagators. It`s a temporary arrangement whilst I await to move house.

The frogs don`t seem to think so however and are laying eggs on a regular basis in them.

I will be keeping the propagators once moved and the vivs are set up, for quarantining new frogs, as well as hopefully rearing young frogs as has already been mentioned.

The propagators are serving their purpose very well. I wouldn`t go for the electric ones as Paul has already said however. They are likely to get too warm and the temperature control is nowhere near accurate enough. Homebase sell the bog standard propagators which cost £2.99 each. There are also larger ones available made by a company called Stewart, which I have seen for sale in Wyevale garden centres for around the £12.00 mark. These larger ones are plenty big enough for some species to live permanantly in.

The only modifications that I have made are three rows of tiny holes high one end, and low the other to provide a little cross ventilation. I have also drilled a few such holes around the top of the tray to aid with what little CO2 may need to escape.

Furniture is just a 2" layer of LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregate) overlaid with moss, and oak leaf litter. Water is added, and cuttings of Scindapsus and similar plants have just been poked into the LECA and water. No soil is needed. The water combined with the frog poop, and lighting causes the plants to grow like wildfire and they have needed trimming back several times. I just use the cuttings to start another propagator, and in fact am doing just that now.

One long fluorescent tube sits on top of 5 propagators. Heating wise I provide none at all as the room that they are in is heated sufficiently. Turning the lights off provides enough of a night time drop. If the room that you have your frogs in is not warm enough to operate like this, a long thin heat mat/strip, with a reliable thermostat which has the temperature probe taped to the centre of the mat with insulating tape, will also fit 5 propagators in a row on the one mat. You will obviously need to adjust and perfect the temperature control before adding the frogs.

Feeding and spraying are easily done through the sliding hatches in the propagator lid which are provided for adjusting the humidity levels for plants. MAKE SURE THAT YOU NEVER LEAVE THESE OPEN AFTER FEEDING, however as frogs can and will get out of them. I use a plastic funnel when feeding, poke it through the open hatch, and tip the feeder insects through the funnel into the propagator for the frogs.

For any maintanance that needs doing inside the viv, take the entire propagator into the bathroom and place it into an empty bath (with the plug in) before removing the lid to do your maintenance for ease of recapture of invitable escapees. The only maintenance that I have to do is partial water changes, (the water levels build up with the spraying, I simply insert a large Syringe into the LECA and draw up the surplus water once a fortnight) the occassional plant thinning session and also checking for eggs.

It has been very frustrating looking at my empty vivs whilst owning such beautiful frogs, and I am really looking forward to setting the vivs up hopefully later this month. The propagators have been ideal for the designated purpose however and I couldn`t reccommend them more highly as temporary accomadation. For quarantine accomadation or for small groups of young frogs they are ideal in my opinion.
_________________
YSBRYDOLI POBL, GWELLA LLEOEDD
INSPIRING PEOPLE, IMPROVING PLACES
www.btcv.org
Visit our website - Gwelwch ein Gwefan
www.btcvcymru.org
Llinell Gymorth / Helpline: 08702 40 48 41

[Rickeezee]

They are also good for growing plants in!
_________________
www.rickslivefood.co.uk

[Peter Parrot]

[Rickeezee]

I still have Pothos, maranta and various other plants storming away in my homebase propagators, handy as, as they retain humidity well and you dont need to water them that often if you are raising them hydroponically. Also superb for raising small frogs! Pete kindly set a few up for me on his visit to wild Kent. I think he just wanted a go of my manly drill really, for the ventilation holes
_________________
www.rickslivefood.co.uk

[mark]

just the heating wouldnt be ideal as there would be no cold side
_________________
boas and burms

[Peter Parrot]