6 Ways to Spruce up your Vivarium

Dart frog vivariums can be great additions to any home. Here’s 6 easy ways to spruce up your dart frog vivarium!

Add some flowering plants! There are so many different types of plants that will actually bloom and add some beautiful colors to your vivariums. Josh’s Frogs has a wide range of blooming plants and we’ve been able to get pictures of their flowers so you know exactly what it will look like. Take a look at all of Josh’s Frogs plants that with survive and thrive in dart frog vivariums here!

Change your lighting to LEDs! LED lighting may seem pricey at first but LED bulbs use less energy, last longer and do wonders for your plants. Many plants will become more vibrant under the bright LEDs. Below is a picture of 2 different Neoregelia 'Superball' – it is the same type of plant but grown under different lighting conditions.

Get some black contact paper! Just apply the contact paper on the outside of the terrarium to cover up anything you don’t want everyone to see. Contact paper is a great way to cover up the layers of substrates and standing water in the bottom of the tank. It can be placed directly onto the vivarium or cut to the curves and hills in your viv (shown in picture below). If you built your own background, the glue/silicone can usually be seen from the outside and is sometimes unsightly or if you’ve built a waterfall the inner-workings of the waterfall (the pump, the tubing…etc) can be seen from the outside. If you want to cover all of that up, contact paper is the way to go. It is an easy, inexpensive way to spruce up your vivarium!

Decorate with wood! There is a huge range of woods and barks that can be put into dart frog vivariums. The natural shapes of the wood are a great addition and can be twisted and attached to one another to make pieces that resemble tree trunks, branches and other structures in the habitats. You can even create a tree with cork with our easy tutorial! Once twisted together and secure in the vivarium you can place mosses or other types of plants to grow on them, creating a realistic and natural feel. Check out our full line of vivarium-safe wood, Josh’s Frogs offers cork flats, cork tubes and manzanita branches. We picture all of the pieces individually so you know exactly what you are ordering!

Make your own background! Opting to DIY on your background can change the entire feel of your tank. Most tanks don’t come with a background at all or include a fake rock foam background, which can still look nice, but not as nice as making your own! There are so many opportunities when making a background, you can build in ledges, branches, net pots (which you can place plants in) and water features. Josh’s Frogs has made a few tutorials on creating your very own background, you can find them here. We also have kits including everything you need to create a background.

Build a waterfall! Creating a waterfall in your vivarium can be very tricky, but if done successfully can be a beautiful addition. Some dart frogs may even lay their eggs in the ponds at the bottom of waterfalls. Josh’s Frogs has put together a waterfall kit and a video tutorial on creating one of your own.

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