Fake Plants ok to use in a viv ?

[saltwater232001]

I'm considering 2 cobalt tincs for a medium size exoterra. Is this too small ? Last question, are fake plants going to be sufficient or should I go with live ones ? If its not completely necessary I would like to stick with artificial for now.
Thanks.

[MattySF]

I'm just a newbie myself but, IMO. They use fake plants in the pet stores and they are not very attractive. You can score real plants for 2-3 bucks from hardware stores or garden centers. From what I learned when I first started researching keeping darts was that live plants are beneficial for reducing stress in the frogs, keeping up the tank humidity, and disposing of waste. If your worried about expensive lighting. I believe Pothos and philodendron will be good for low light. Once you moisten your substrate you should only need to mist daily for watering.

[Enix]

also not an expert, just chiming in here...

i picked up 6 cobalt juvies last week. I'm trying to get a pair or two out of them. tincs are among the larger of the dart species and i think a 1 gallon is far too small for a pair of cobalts. from what Ive been reading the past few months, there is no species of PDF suitable for that size enclosure. there is a gentleman that has posted about his "5 gal hex" terrarium (looks really nice) project. people are saying that's even too small.

also, with a smaller viv / space, it will prove more difficult to control temperature and humidity than with a larger tank.

How I understand it- from researching the various PDF forums, a 10 gallon tank is the smallest enclosure recommended for any frogs and then, only a pair maximum.

About the plants: I use real plants. they look better. and when people come to see your frogs you can also show off your horticultural skills (even though it takes very little skill at all in terrarium setups)

I'm sure fake plants are fine, but i wouldn't want to have to worry about the metal wire that runs through each stem and leaf either rusting or potentially harming one of my frogs.


hopefully someone with more experience will confirm or correct this for you.

[tn88]

I would get a larger tank, and not use fake plants. Just because you can keep 2 frogs in a 1 gal tank doesn't mean that they'd be MUCH happier in a 5 or preferrably 10-gal. Using real plants will make a more naturalistic environment for them, and help keep up humidity as well. There are several live plants that are easy to keep.

[JadedRapport]

I believe it was just a typo...isn't the med exoterra roughly 18 gallons in size ?

[Philsuma]

Real plants hold / retain humidity MUCH better than plastic, "fake" plants.

[Todd S.]

Agreed, your frogs are going to do a lot better with real plants long term than the would do with fake plants.
Personally if you are going with a pair of Cobalts, I would get an 18" cube from Exo Terra or ZooMed.
This is a pretty great size that fits awesomely on the bakers rack system.

Todd