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Looking for ideas on amphibian (either caudata or anura)

XenopusLaevis

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Hello, I am moving soon and I am getting a new room with new carpet... So that being said, I had some questions.

First off, I lack common sense sometimes, so I was wondering if anyone knew a way to do water changes and stuff without spilling water in the carpet. The carpet is brand new, and unluckily I am the only room with it (sigh).

So I was hoping to get an amphibian that is generally cleaner to keep... I still love laevis but I don't know how to keep them without messing up my rug. I am a bit of a klutz so I am looking for a fool proof method... I don't really know how to keep them in either.


The most space I could use is a 30gallon. Thing is, underneath the carpet is a wooden floor and underneath that is the basement...

I am not sure how much weight the floor can support. So I am hoping to keep it on the lighter side.


I wanted to keep a trio of ACF or those weird Spanish Ribbed Newts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ3Nr3axgfo

I like how they have their tank but I highly doubt you could do that with an ACF and it would be too messy-- they kick up too much sand and mess things up.


How do you keep the water quality clean? Like crystal clear, the way videos show.


I also like terrestrial amphibians but they're not so active and salamanders I rarely see... so land salamanders would likely interest me less.

I don't mind that a toad is inactive and same with something like a pacman frog-- because at least I can see them for the most part. I just wanted some display. For a terrarium, the largest I'd keep is one 40gallon terrarium(breeder ones) or one of those exoterras or w/e.


P.s. I like these too because it combines the best of both worlds- the chubby look of a toad and the look of an AFC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYUitLNh-A4

Though I think they're less active- they're more visible.

Still I have no clue how to keep those.

I am still iffy about keeping reptiles or amphibians because anytime I follow some guide, my stuff ends up dead within the year(not all). I sometimes even listened to other members of other forums. But the information is not set in stone so I don't know what is what...


Still I was hoping to keep something like the laevis or if terrestrial something visible
(or partially) but whatever I keep has to be known for being healthy.

I feel that maybe my stuff was getting sick because of where I got them from. (specialty petstores around here), or maybe it's the food that had something wrong with them...

Which brings me to another thing, I love laevis because you can stick to a pellet diet and it would be fine. (I still gave mine a mix of pellets with other things like wax worms, earthworms-- the nightcrawlers you get from walmart)


I just want to find the a guide that is fool proof and accurate...



Thing is, whatever I keep needs to stay in its enclosure...
 

Otterwoman

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I would put a large piece of plastic down around the tank (permanently) if you have to keep it on a rug and are concerned about ruining the rug.
.
 

XenopusLaevis

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I would put a large piece of plastic down around the tank (permanently) if you have to keep it on a rug and are concerned about ruining the rug.
.

How would you transfer the water though when doing water changes, or even draining the tank- without again ruining the rug? Could you show me a picture of what you mean about the permanent plastic? I didn't want to add anything to the house or mess with the walls if that makes sense.

What can I keep in a 30gallon aquarium? I like african clawed frogs, spanish ribbed newts, axolotls(illegal here, along any other larval stage newt/salamander), budgett's frogs, pacman frogs, giant pixie frogs(but eh kind of intimidated by the care, and the fact they poop a ton), american toads, small long lived toads, frogs would be appreciated, or aquatic newts/salamanders, and frogs.

Just has to be clean to keep and lack of odor.

Once had a cane toad and day 2 it lay a big "present" and it reeked, I had to scoop it out quickly, never had that issue with american toads, african claweds.
 

Otterwoman

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I'm thinking about thick clear painter's plastic, that comes in rolls, just spread it over your tank area with generous margins.Or a cool camo tarp. Or a very large waterproof mat of some kind, permanently placed under the tank. Just envision it over your wall-to-wall like a permanent area accent rug. For water changes, just be careful, use buckets and a siphon and be careful while siphoning into buckets that you don't splash it all over, and if you do, it lands on the plastic anyway. Don't let your cat or dog or ferrets run around knocking over buckets while you're siphoning/filling them (I speak from experience with the ferrets part). I use (used and cleaned) cat litter containers to age water and add back to m tanks every week (I refill them after my water changes, and they have a week to age). You can dump the used water into your kitchen sink if you don't have a yard, and refill them from your sink as well.
 

ndbug

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Hi, you mentioned that you have a hard time keeping pets alive, once you choose the perfect match for you make sure you read up on literally everything you can find about the species you choose. There are many factors that need to be met to keep your animal healthy depending on what it is, this can be food, lighting, temperature, water access, substrates, decorations, and so on. Once you decide what your going to keep let us know on forums so we can send you good info/experiences/links. Good Luck!
 

XenopusLaevis

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I'm thinking about thick clear painter's plastic, that comes in rolls, just spread it over your tank area with generous margins.Or a cool camo tarp. Or a very large waterproof mat of some kind, permanently placed under the tank. Just envision it over your wall-to-wall like a permanent area accent rug. For water changes, just be careful, use buckets and a siphon and be careful while siphoning into buckets that you don't splash it all over, and if you do, it lands on the plastic anyway. Don't let your cat or dog or ferrets run around knocking over buckets while you're siphoning/filling them (I speak from experience with the ferrets part). I use (used and cleaned) cat litter containers to age water and add back to m tanks every week (I refill them after my water changes, and they have a week to age). You can dump the used water into your kitchen sink if you don't have a yard, and refill them from your sink as well.

The tarp idea sounds good. The bucket idea not so much- as that's what I used to use... Even with a lot of care water would end up splashing onto the ground that way. I was hoping to see if I can make a siphon that's long enough that I could dump the water into the shower as to avoid direct messes.
 

XenopusLaevis

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Hi, you mentioned that you have a hard time keeping pets alive, once you choose the perfect match for you make sure you read up on literally everything you can find about the species you choose. There are many factors that need to be met to keep your animal healthy depending on what it is, this can be food, lighting, temperature, water access, substrates, decorations, and so on. Once you decide what your going to keep let us know on forums so we can send you good info/experiences/links. Good Luck!

To be honest, I think half of it is the source of where I even got my stuff from. Some was from chain petstores, some from local petstores which some were found to be nefarious....

Some where from online and it's all so confusing because you can't tell which source is a good source... I suspect that from having a few different animals, getting them from certain sources probably got them sick or something.

I've had a cane toad from a local pet store that the day I brought it home, it threw up and died. The very "colorful" individuals would not accept a return because the animal was dead...

I don't really know who to trust. This is a dumb idea and I wouldn't do this as this is a joke but... I think I'd have much luck catching my own frog/newt or whatever than just buying it... that's how bad it is because I don't think an animal should die the very first day you get it unless you like purposely tried to kill it... Things like disease take time to build up.

I also don't know which source of information is wrong... because the internet apparently never lies(also a joke) and is full of "experts"...

I am going on here because I feel there should be some successful keepers.
 

stanleyc

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Once you've decided on a species, check out this page if you decide on a caudate. More likely than not, it should have a caresheet for your species. Should help in making up your mind on a species as well, reading up on them.

Caudata Culture Caresheets

You should also look at these articles for general info on housing, illnesses, and food options.

Caudata Culture Articles

If possible, avoid petshop animals. They're often wild caught and cared for by people who don't actually know what they're doing. So you will often get unhealthy animals. There is a for sale section on this forum where you may be able to get some captive bred animals. However, there is currently a ban on interstate transport of many caudate species. There has been a recent ruling on it that might invalidate the ban, but I'm not sure if the details are in yet.
 

XenopusLaevis

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Once you've decided on a species, check out this page if you decide on a caudate. More likely than not, it should have a caresheet for your species. Should help in making up your mind on a species as well, reading up on them.

Caudata Culture Caresheets

You should also look at these articles for general info on housing, illnesses, and food options.

Caudata Culture Articles

If possible, avoid petshop animals. They're often wild caught and cared for by people who don't actually know what they're doing. So you will often get unhealthy animals. There is a for sale section on this forum where you may be able to get some captive bred animals. However, there is currently a ban on interstate transport of many caudate species. There has been a recent ruling on it that might invalidate the ban, but I'm not sure if the details are in yet.
Ugh is it the PETA crud? I have to censor myself because this is a family forum but honestly they're a bunch of idiots who probably think lions should be eating grasses and not fed meat. :l They're the kind of idiots who want to abolish the pet trade- including keeping dogs, abolishing things like dairy cows, egg laying hens, etc... and probably want you to turn into a vegetarian.

In short they're the worst, they're radicals to say the least. I've heard of their little escapades...

Anywho... I am not really sure on what I want 100% yet. Does this only apply to caudata? Or does it apply to the whole reptile hobby?
 

stanleyc

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No, it's in response to the chytrid fungus that is affecting amphibian species worldwide.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...mander-trade-transportation-effect-month.html

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ity-ethics/108873-usark-lawsuit-ban-over.html

Even if the ban is still in effect, it doesn't include all salamander species. Ambystomas are not affected, so you're talking about species like axolotls, spotted salamanders, and tiger salamanders. In the second link, it talks about a recent ruling that may invalidate the ban, not sure if it's safe to ship yet though.
 

NewtsMcGee

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When I had a large aquarium I had a hose that screwed into my sink faucet and could be switched to pull water from my tank into the sink, and then reversed to fill the tank back up. I would put a small towel on the floor to catch any drips, but hardly any water spilled. You need a sink with an aerator that can be unscrewed.

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