r/paludarium

I asked a frew days ago, if i should cover the expanding foam Background and it absolutely was the right choice. Hopefully everything will grow in nicely. Currently there are only springtails in the land-section. when everything has hioefully grown in and stabilized i will add a few snails to the water-section. I also would love to add just a few shrimps as well, if everything works out. Really happy how it turned out. Due to some bad planning by myself i had to chose a different spot for it than i had planned, so now i just need to find a suitable light for it 😅 (ignore the cable 'management' pls)

I have added 3 vampire crabs and everything is growing in very nicely. The salvia is growing everywhere, and the peacock moss is adding great touches. I am very happy with this build and am maybe thinking of getting a 36x36 for some emerald tree skinks.

Any other recs more than welcome to hear from!

I know it's sad but I was excited to find out there's a website called "cut my" that allows you to upload custom designs for acrylic sheets and cuts them for you. I ended up using Claude to generate a DXF file for my pump housing. It's probably something I could've done myself to a far worse degree but thought I'd give them a go and pretty happy with the results.

Didnt document the build process, but this is how it turned out. I hope its not to much water area. However I noticed with my adult geckos that they barely Use the ground and Stick to the vertical climbing options.

So far no Baby geckos in here as this needs so settle. In the maintank I Found one Baby gecko dead and I assume it got killed by one of the adults. Lemme know what u think.

I was looking back at some pictures to share with a friend and thought a little progression post would be fun. My first aquascape that grew into paludaruims thanks to this group and eventually some terrariums. I’ve had so much fun with this hobby! Thanks to everyone who inspires me with their posts here. Picture one was my very first and they go in order from there (hopefully) 😂💚

I finally had some time again to work on my newest tank. I finished the stonewall, that will hold back the land-feature and carved out the background out of black expanding foam. it contains two little places on the upper sides and will feature a small waterfall feature on the left. I do like the black, kinda lava-rock look, but what do you think? should i give it a finish with silicone and coco-fibre/something else or just leave it be and let the plants crawl along on it?

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share the story of my dart frog terrarium. Hopefully someone can learn from my mistakes and maybe get some inspiration from the rebuild.

About five months ago, I built my first serious dart frog terrarium. I spent countless hours researching, planning, building, and planting it. The first photos show what the original terrarium looked like.

After finishing it, I purchased a pair of dart frogs. Unfortunately, they arrived carrying parasites, and my biggest mistake was not quarantining them before introducing them to the enclosure.

At first, my frogs started losing weight even though they were eating. I couldn't understand what was happening. Eventually, after having fecal tests done, the results confirmed parasites.

Of course, my first concern was getting the frogs healthy again. Thankfully, parasites can be treated with proper medication. The difficult part was realizing that I would have to completely tear down the entire terrarium, disinfect everything, and start over from scratch.

The next photos show the dismantling process.

Honestly, when I first got the news, it was pretty devastating. I was incredibly proud of that terrarium. But after the initial frustration, I started thinking about all the things I would have changed if I had the opportunity. Suddenly, this disaster became a chance to improve everything.

I removed absolutely everything.

Every piece of wood, every coconut hide, every hardscape element that I wanted to reuse had to be boiled. Every plant was removed individually, treated, disinfected, and quarantined separately. It was a massive amount of work. Tearing everything apart was hard, but rebuilding it took even more time.

As I rebuilt, I focused on correcting the things that had always bothered me.

One of the biggest issues was the large trunk structure in the center. The upper level and lower level felt too separated visually. To fix that, I removed roughly 30% of the trunk by cutting it down and reshaping it.

Another thing I wanted to change was the waterfall. In the original build, the waterfall was on the left side, and I felt like it wasted a lot of usable ground space. During the rebuild, I moved the waterfall completely to the right side and added a large branch that acts as a natural pathway to the second level.

Now the frogs can use the entire lower area much more effectively. There are multiple hides, coconut huts, and a lot more usable territory underneath the structure.

Basically, I took everything I didn't like about the original terrarium and replaced it with something better.

The final photos show the result.

Today is literally Day 1 of the new parasite-free terrarium.

My frogs are currently still in quarantine, and I won't introduce them until they have tested negative multiple times. I want at least three or four clean fecal exams before they go back into the enclosure.

The terrarium isn't completely finished yet. I still want to add more climbing vines and several patches of different moss species.

Interestingly, while the silicone was curing, I took a trip to Costa Rica and spent time hiking through the rainforest. I took hundreds of photos and paid close attention to how plants, vines, roots, and epiphytes naturally grew in the jungle. When I came back, I used that experience as inspiration for the rebuild.

A lot of the vine placement and plant arrangement in this terrarium was directly inspired by what I saw in Costa Rican rainforests.

I honestly love the result. If I liked the original version, I think this one is a million times better.

Now I'm just excited for the day my frogs can finally move in.

For now, this is Day 1, and we'll see how the terrarium matures over time. Right now it looks very full, but as most terrarium keepers know, not every plant will thrive. Some will die, others will take over, and eventually the plants and microclimate will find their own balance.

You could say this is only the second terrarium I've ever built, and I'm extremely proud of it.

In about a year, I'm planning to start a giant paludarium project, and I honestly can't wait for that challenge. But until then, I'm going to enjoy watching this terrarium grow and evolve.

And if there's one lesson I learned from all of this:

Always quarantine new frogs. It can save you—and your terrarium—a lot of heartbreak.

Thanks for reading!

About 2months into planting. It is comming along nicely. Gonna take a looooong time to cover all the wood and walls. Really trying to dial in water section as I have no prior Aquatic experience.

Please don’t judge too harshly as it’s my first time doing one of these after years of aquariums. My main question is what would you stock it with, if anything, and what would you add to help those animals.

I think I've resigned to waiting for vampire crabs and leaving the lid off this baby. We'll see how wild the plants get out of the top 😅 I'm running out of room for the props and I'll be damned if I throw those away!

Hi everyone, I finished this enclosure for vampire crabs (20gallon long) but debating if I should leave the dirt as is or cover some areas with moss. Also appreciate any feedback to make it safer for them. Thanks!

Hey guys I’m starting my first paludarium inspired by Serpa Designs Fire Belly island! I’ve been mostly going off of YouTube videos but I’d like some advice from people in the hobby so that I can provide the best care possible for my animals.

My tank is a 40 gallon breeder with about 10 gallons of water. The tank is at 70-75 F and 60-70% humidity. Ideally I’d like to put in 3 Fire belly’s, 6 cloud minnows, and a few shrimp/snails.

I’m worried that once I add the toads and fish won’t have any place to hide because my plants are still very small.

Should I add any other aquatic/terrestrial plants that are more mature or is there a different way for me to create some hides?

My island substrate is saturated almost up to the top. Is this an issue? My plants are all able to grow in wet conditions or are epiphytes that can grow on the background.

My plants list is:
Anubias Nana
Anubias Nana petite
Java moss
Mini bolbitis
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Brown
Brownie Phoenix
Black rabbit fern
Tiny tears

If there’s any other advice anyone has for me I greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!

Hey! I live in San Antonio and I was hoping to make a vivarium! I have been wanting to make one since I was 9 😅 and now years later I am going to try and make one!

So far I have thought of a vampire crab paludarium but I am open to other ideas! (No spiders).

Here’s a list of some things I am hoping to get from this vivarium:

I would want it to look good in my mid century modern room so rich greens and browns are perfect.

I don’t want the drainage layer to be obviously shown from the front.

I would like the main critter to be interesting and active so I could look at it. (Something that hunts is perfect).

I would like it to be low maintenance and not going over 400$ in budget.

I want the build to not be difficult (no pipes and stuff) due to this being my first build.

I would love if it was self sustaining!!!

If you guys would bless me with some ideas I would love that!!! I will respond to you guys if you want details.

Just completed my first paludarium! But as the title says, it feels like something is missing, please suggest some plants that I could add.

Hello! My friend grabbed this used free paludarium for me off FB Marketplace. The wood is cork. How should I properly clean this tank before setting it up?

Thank you!

TLDR; given how much of the top ledge is occupied by a water feature, is it still a functional basking area for a green keel bellied lizard. If not, how can I fix it.

So I'm building a vivarium for green keel bellied lizards and had the idea to do a vivarium with a 2 level water feature. Water flows from 2 minor sources on top, pools on the ledge, and then waterfalls over the ledge into a false bottom leading to the drainage layer.

Then I have a larger water area on the bottom of the tank that takes up about 1/5th of the bottom area. The lower area is kept shallow so the soil can be placed well above and not get soaked.

Here’s my concern: I’m taking a second look at the ledge and about 70% of the flat area is taken up by the top “pond”. There’s an area to the right that’s dry and flat, and an area above the pool that’s dry but pretty vertical. I’m concerned that it’s simply not enough room to lie on for heat/UV basking. I’m also concerned that, despite the fact it’s well separated, the amount of water may mean it’s not a sufficiently dry basking area (tail dips in or something).

I’m also increasingly concerned that this is just… not right for a green keel bellied lizard. I have been vv careful to isolate the wet areas, so they have lots of dry ground and arboreal areas, but still.

Looking for thoughts/ideas, mostly on how to improve or change it while keeping the idea intact but if you tell me it simply can’t work I’ll listen.