65G Hyla versicolor Northern Woodland

[hydrophyte]

Can I post a terrarium journal thread here so my friends will see it? I hope that's OK.

65G Hyla versicolor Northern Woodland

This is a tank that I have had set up for a while, but I want to take some time to get some better pictures. It's actually set up at the local children's museum where I volunteer and I'm going to go over there tomorrow to work on it some. I have some interesting observations on the plants. I'll try to post again tomorrow night.

[demonbreedr16]

Oh wow! That's very awesome looking!

Do any animals live in there?

[Cardinal Tetra]

Wow very nice! I wish native tree frogs were more commonly available other than Hyla cinereum... I remember searching for months before I could find gray and barking tree frogs.

[150EH]

You can post anything you like, some have even posted what they want Mom & Dad to get them for Christmas, so your terrarium is far from out of bounds, very far.

That looks really nice and I've seen your ad for the set up but I know I have seen this before, so is it in a new inclosure or why do I think I've seen it before?

I think I see a deer antler in there and what is the glass bit? Also the plants look very North America native but being in the landscape business I know there are hundreds of different ferns available.

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by demonbreedr16

Oh wow! That's very awesome looking!

Do any animals live in there?

Thanks! Just the single H. versicolor is in there. It's a lot of space for one frog. I considered add a second one but I didn't want those plants to get so trampled.

Originally Posted by Cardinal Tetra

Wow very nice! I wish native tree frogs were more commonly available other than Hyla cinereum... I remember searching for months before I could find gray and barking tree frogs.

Actually I think that somebody caught that individual and brought it to the museum. Sometimes in the summer they are common around here.

Originally Posted by 150EH

You can post anything you like, some have even posted what they want Mom & Dad to get them for Christmas, so your terrarium is far from out of bounds, very far.

That looks really nice and I've seen your ad for the set up but I know I have seen this before, so is it in a new inclosure or why do I think I've seen it before?

I think I see a deer antler in there and what is the glass bit? Also the plants look very North America native but being in the landscape business I know there are hundreds of different ferns available.

Thanks! Which aspect of this have seen before? Did you mean the false bottom?

The green glass thing is an antique electric line insulator. I set it up on an old mossy post to make it look like something you would find out in the woods.

Yep I am observing that most of the native ferns are trying to go into wonter dormancy. I am going to replant with these houseplant species and I hope they will stay green for me. I found this great list of WI-native ferns...

http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/her...ern_list01.htm

A lot of the houseplant ferns resemble the wild native ones quite a bit.

[hydrophyte]

Well I got this replanted and now I'm processing pictures.

[hydrophyte]

Here is one shot real quick...

[hydrophyte]

Well I just replanted this thing and I have some interesting observations to relate on the native plants that I had going in there. Some were trying to slow down for a winter dormancy, while others still look nice and green and are actively growing.

The plant below is a nice little fern that I found in the woods at my brother's place. It has been growing ever since I replanted it and still looks great now in mid-December the winter after I got it. I need to figure out what it is and I also want to divide it and replant again.


The wild ginger (Asarum canadense) has been looking pretty sad for a couple of months. If you look close you can see the single new bud that will start its next year's growth. I removed this plant and put it outside.


This Carex sp. sedge isn't the most attractive plant, but it's still growing with new leaves and new roots. This thing stays more or less evergreen through the winter. I want to try out more native Carex this way and try to find some better-looking ones.


The walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum) still looks very good, but I haven't seen much new growth from it for a couple of months. This really isn't the best kind of habitat representation for this cool native plant. If I were to use a lot of it I think I would get some nice rocks from vivariumworks.com.


The native maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) still looks pretty good, but as it grows new leaves they just keep getting smaller and smaller. It might need a winter dormancy. I'm not sure.

Here's the whole deal after I replanted it. I'm not crazy about the new plants that I got and I might try again.

[hydrophyte]

Here's just a couple more quick pictures.

Those new plants that I got don't stick up high enough in the layout, but they look nice viewed from above...



Here's a similar view, but with the leaf litter rolled back to show the false bottom assembly...

[aXio]

I think the new arrangement looks pretty nice actually.

[hydrophyte]

Thanks! I think I'll like it better if I can get some more vertical plants into it. The shadowbox background will also help. I don't like that plain black.

[chad320]

This thing is pretty freakin cool. I like it. Have you looked into any local liverworts? I know you guys got Asterella and such. They might be a cool addition and do well in this setting.

[karatekid14]

What is that blue plastic thing? Is it to place the food for the frog?

[chad320]

Its an old wire insulator for old powerlines.

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by chad320

This thing is pretty freakin cool. I like it. Have you looked into any local liverworts? I know you guys got Asterella and such. They might be a cool addition and do well in this setting.

Thanks! This setup is too dry for liverworts and they would be better planted on a vertical rock surface. I have actually thought it could be cool to do a setup like that with water below with fish and with walking fern planted on the fabricated rockwork too. We have a few other ferns that might work for that also.