text: Leaf Litter Importance? | Dendroboard
  Leaf Litter Importance?
  I see many successful small vivs covered in leaf litter, but most of those vivs are for darts or tropical frogs. I'm going to be keeping some pond frogs and there isn't much leaf litter where they live. Their habitat is filled with tall grass. So I'm wondering if leaf litter is really important to species that don't usually have it in their habitat. I know it's probably a good idea to have a few big leaves for the frogs to hide under. If lots of leaf litter isn't important to some species, then should I plant things that are more natural to their habitat, like tall grasses? What are some other options to maximize surface area in a small tank?
  your pond frogs eat larger food, right? leaf litter is excellent for breeding microfauna that your frogs might ignore. i think you're right on trying to emulate their habitat.
  good drift wood and a background with "shelves" will help add surface area.
  cant wait to see them morphed out.
  btcope said:
  These pond frogs are the size of larger darts. They grow to around 1.5 inches. I've read that they eat microfauna, but that was only one website. The rest said they mainly eat crickets and that is my experience from the past. I think younger ones may eat small bugs like springtails, but I have a screen coer on the tank and I don't want bugs in my house. Will springtails crawl up the back wall or do they stay on the floor?
  I was going to make some ledges on the back wall, but my great stuff overheated and melted all over the place, then I ran out of great stuff. I have two pieces of driftwood, one of which is one of those great pieces with lots of shaping. I'll throw a few large leaves on the floor of the viv and I'll find some pond grasses to grow in the water plus some tall land grasses.
  springtails won't escape from the top. they stay in the moist lower regions. they can definitely hop, but only a few inches. i've never seen them climb up the glass before.
  I'm just worried they'll climb up my background since it has lots of places to climb on.
  It may be helpful to tell us exactly what you are looking to keep so that we can best tailor our advice.
  Springtails will stay at the bottom of the tank under leaf litter eating decaying matter.
  So they aren't able to crawl up the Great Stuff - Black Silicone - Peat Moss background and out the screen? Sorry for asking again. I just have to be EXTREMELY sure they aren't able to. I can't have springtails crawling around in my house!
  Springtails are so small you wouldnt notice if a few got out..
  That said, they wouldnt leave the moist substrate. If they did, they wouldnt last 2 minutes out of the vivarium. They dry up and become dust.
  Good luck with your Pacific Chorus Frogs. Post some pics of them!
  Good to know. I'll get some leaf litter to keep them in. How many should I put in the tank to start a culture, or to feed the frogs for a long time? Will a culture start in a small pile of leaf litter because I have moss covering most of the viv's floor? I have a few places where I could put the leaf litter in the front of the tank, and behind the driftwood in the tank I can completely cover in leaf litter.
  Will any kind of leaves work as leaf litter? If so, are dried or living leaves better? If living leaves are better, will they stay soft and moist if I mist them daily?
  I have a vivarium build thread here. My oldest tad has all of his legs and 2/3 of his tail left. I may put him in the viv by tomorrow if he's ready to breath a bit of air.
  Unless they take up residence in your sinus.. see Biology of the springtails (Insecta ... - Google Books go down to page 3 and read...
  sneezing out springtails would be one hell of a party trick for frog day...
  Reactions: JPccusa and frogface
  Is that even likely unless you are holding springtails and you wipe your nose?... If there's a possibility then it may be best not get get springtails... I don't want to die from a nose infestation of springtails lol.
  It was due to using a malfunctioning Pooter.
  Okay then I guess I'll get a few springtails over the weekend when I have a chance to make it to the vivarium store. For now I'll just feed crickets.
  If you read the real report, springtails were the least of the problem...
  Discussion Starter · #17 · May 15, 2011
  I found two trees yesterday that looked like oak to me. I just wanted to make sure they're oak before I boil them and dry them to put them in my viv as leaf litter.
  Here's the first kind of leaf I got. It has those little tiny threads on it like spikes just like the one in the picture does...
  And my second type of leaf looks like this one. It is more oddly shaped, as some of the pieces of the leaf are huge and others are really small...
  Are those safe for my viv? I have a few hundred magnolia leaves, so if magnolia would be better I can use just those instead.
  I probably came to conclusions too quickly when I read that
  that second one is oak and will work if you sanitize it. You can't go wrong with mag leaves, though.