# Frogs & Toads > Other Frogs & Toads >  75 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium    (Toads & Skinks)

## AAron

This is the new thread for one of the most popular builds on this forum. Thanks for all of the support with my last build housing Northern Leopard Frogs and American Toads together and my 55 Gallon Dumpy Tree Frogs Paludarium. I appreciate the support and I look forward to delivering some more research and amazing experiences instead of Leopard Frogs I'll be housing the Toads with Five Lined Skinks. I will be posting care sheets on here for both as well as Xavier will post his Five Lined Skinks care sheet for all of you to checkout along with my posts videos and updates. I am not showing you the enclosure this time until I have all the animals in and it is 100% finished only to make sure you see it at its best. I look forward to sharing this experience with you and I hope you will follow this thread as much as you did with the last one. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Here's the care-sheet he mentioned  :Smile: : 

http://www.frogforum.net/showthread....-And-relatives

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Here's the care-sheet he mentioned : 
> 
> http://www.frogforum.net/showthread....-And-relatives


Special thanks to my best friend on here for the awesome care sheet and here is from Reptiles Magazine the American Toads Care Sheet:

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Frog...ding-And-Care/

This blog by Mr. Frank Indiviglio is a great read as well in American Toads. He helped me greatly get the last project off the ground as I ran it all by him. He has done this setup before as well. He doesn't display it in this article but he describes the Toads temperament with other inhabitants:

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre.../#.V6c88lT3bCQ

Another great read by him is for keeping Woodlice (Pill Bugs) in the vivarium as well which mine has already:

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre.../#.V6c9cVT3bCQ

Here is a care guide to my main plant in this build. A year old in captivity going straight from last summer to current summer with not having to go dormant is the Autumn Brilliance Fern:

http://www.perennials.com/plants/dry...rilliance.html

Here is my bread and butter with this setup. The ground cover is essentially important because it makes the tank look naturally like a Woods with how it can just take over. If you have 65% humidity these plants will take off. Pachysandra and Periwinkle are the main covers, but Pachysandra for me has survived a year without needing to go dormant. 

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/20...-in-the-house/

Here are some great things to read while I'm still working on this enclosure.  


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

More pictures of the young female Toads waiting to go in the enclosure. All the mister parts are here now and the background and lights came in so it's going to get more interesting. We are around a week away from the Skinks


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Nice! I can't wait to see photos of them! I hope during the summer they successfully breed for you!  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

Don't judge a book by its cover. So since moving the Toads into a terrarium I've noticed Pious the common looking Toad (Toad on right in pictures) has become the dominant female. She's smaller than Ace but she has just been a beast. She has become very alert and the dominant hunter. Idk if Ace is slower because it's always low 70's where the Toads are, or if she is sick remember I haven't  gotten any stool to take down to get checked, or if it's because of the change of Enclosures. Ace is a much bigger Toad, but I'm seeing a power shift between the two. 
Pious looked right at the camera for a picture and then she hopped away after I put it away. One crazy Toad who is a late bloomer. She is just now showing her personality 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Cory

Hey I haven't been around for awhile and when I am its here and there due to some serious health problems with my lungs but I cant wait to see how this new build turns out. I didn't always comment on your last one but I pretty much followed the whole build and can't wait to see how this turns out and really cant wait till the skinks are added. Good luck on the build and I hope everything turns out the way you want it. Skinks are awesome, the shop here has some really nice monkey tails but they belong to the owner and are only for display and he wont sell them.  :Frown:

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Cliygh and Mia 2, Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Hey I haven't been around for awhile and when I am its here and there due to some serious health problems with my lungs but I cant wait to see how this new build turns out. I didn't always comment on your last one but I pretty much followed the whole build and can't wait to see how this turns out and really cant wait till the skinks are added. Good luck on the build and I hope everything turns out the way you want it. Skinks are awesome, the shop here has some really nice monkey tails but they belong to the owner and are only for display and he wont sell them.


Thank you very much for your support! 
So I have news on the Toads and the Skinks. 
Apparently I found out that Pious is not a female. I was shocked that this toad could go so long without making noise as a male. I found out because he was on top of Ace. This means that I will be having to separate Pious from the 75 Gallon because he would out compete King easily because he has dominated a larger female. I believe he could out compete the Skinks possibly and he could possibly cause starvation for at least one animal. So I will have 4 animals in the 75 Gallon. A pair of Toads and a pair of Skinks. I'll explain what will happen to Pious later. 
So the Skinks I'm getting I believe are CB which will decrease quarantine time for them. It would be a pair that has been together for around 1.5 years according to the seller. I am purchasing an offspring of the parents as well as a backup so if a male I can still have a pair or if a female can go in the 75 Gallon. 
So that leaves the offspring Skink and Pious. They will go into the 30 Gallon now and I will make the same style of tank just on a small scale. I'll have the Skinks soon. Updates soon


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Good to hear!  :Smile:

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## AAron

I'm not sure if these pictures are of the pair I ordered or from google, but I ordered the pair and an offspring! Very good deal and I have the seller holding them until hopefully I can get Ace clean of parasites so I can move the Skinks into a setup for a little bit. I have all the animals for the 75 Gallon and the 30 Gallon now comes the hard process of waiting to get samples. 
The pair are going to do great in the setup and I think Ace being more laid back now and King II already very peaceful this will work very well. 
I'm interested to see how Pious handles living with a Skink how that will go. He dominated Ace and would to King so it's going to be interesting. He is the fastest Toad I've owned. If the Skink is a female it might go in the 75 Gallon depending on how the group gets along, if space permits, and how the Woodlice population does. 
If the Skink goes in the 75 Gallon I will look into a Frog to keep with Pious. I can tell you in a few years I will be getting a bigger tank for 3 Toads 3 Skinks and 1 Frog. So if I already have everyone that would be a plus. That's far off though so we will see the temperament of the Skinks before deciding. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2, monster

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## Xavier

I can say, looks like a 1.1 pair. Looks like the male has just entered the phase where he'd be producing red along his head, and the female is getting mature as well. Hope they do great for you!

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

Thank you! I am doing a major update today with adding the background and the finishing touches to this build. I got a stool sample of Ace so I'm waiting to hear back what the news on that is. I think she wants to get away from Pious right now with how aggressive he is. I think that Pious is on a different level then every Toad I've owned except Toto (the first toad I had in the build years ago). Pious is a dominant male which I've never seen in a male. This may be the fastest and most voracious Toad I've ever observed wild or cb. I will be very interested to see how he competes with the Skink offspring which is still unnamed.
I have a cool idea and I wanted to see if you all were interested in seeing this. I was inspired by seeing Shark Week and I thought that it would be really cool to dedicate a week of videos and posts on here and YouTube for Toad week and Skink week. What do you guys think? I would every day post about the specific species and post videos leading up to another documentary? I'm totally on board to do this, but I want to hear what the reception would be? 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Cory

Wow those are some very nice looking skinks, you got me thinking of getting one now. Was going to get a hognose snake but my mom is terrified of snakes and said she would never come over again. There is younger guy here were I live that breeds blue tongues and sells them at the reptile shop ( owner gets a profit for displaying them) and really think I may have to give him a shout. Cant wait to see and hear how they do living with the toads, and how they interact.

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Cliygh and Mia 2, Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Wow those are some very nice looking skinks, you got me thinking of getting one now. Was going to get a hognose snake but my mom is terrified of snakes and said she would never come over again. There is younger guy here were I live that breeds blue tongues and sells them at the reptile shop ( owner gets a profit for displaying them) and really think I may have to give him a shout. Cant wait to see and hear how they do living with the toads, and how they interact.


Thank you! If you have any advice or articles on either species or anything you want to add to give me advice or others who read this please post on this thread. I appreciate you following this! I hope which one you decide it goes great for you. I think Skinks are very interesting lizards and the ones you mentioned will get big. I only like snakes that won't eat my animals lol I looked into an Eastern Worm Snake but opted out because of stress and the toads appetite. I have 5 things left to do for this build. 

1. Finish the rocky side
2. Get a hide
3. Get more Earthworms Leaf Litter and Woodlice
4. Put Toads and Skinks in
5. Maintenance 

I really did create a Woods Vivarium this time. Who I've shown it to think it can be a hit on YouTube and I can honestly say I've never made a vivarium like this in my life. It's that freaking accurate! I truly believe I created a setup for pairs of the selected species to thrive! 
The other good news is I get to do this again in my 30 Gallon for Pious and the Offspring Skink. 
More updates coming soon!



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Cliygh and Mia 2, monster

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## Xavier

Nice! Can't wait to see what else you have in store!  :Smile:

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## AAron

Getting ready to put King back in the enclosure and waiting to hear about Ace still. So I learned even though I have water in this build I need a water dish so the Toads can soak. They like the smaller water dishes opposed to the body of water they are given. More people agreed on this being the most incredible tank they've seen. Idk if I have a good enough camera to capture this enclosure, but I guess we will see. 
I am serious about dedicating a week like shark week for my animals. I think I will seriously do that. It should be very interesting for people to follow. Hope you like the enclosure in the background. More updates soon. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

So I have good news! Ace tested negative for parasites and she has been quarantined 2 months almost 3. I think I'll add her in tonight. I will be getting her stool checked just to make sure. 
So I have some interesting news. I'm considering replacing King in this setup for Pious because King hasn't moved much in the setup and it's 4 feet long. If I put Ace in and he doesn't show signs of higher activity then I'll have to put him in the 30 Gallon because it's smaller and will be easier for him to catch prey. He doesn't hunt much he eats but he has gotten lazy. So if it's because he is desiring a mate and changes then he can stay. I would rather put my animals in positions where they can have the best life possible. Pious will use all that space and would do good for himself so it all comes down to this week. Now that I will have Ace in her permanent home I can move out Pious and get the adult Skinks hopefully this or next week. Then the process will start with getting them checked. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Here are the very first shots of Ace in the 75 Gallon 



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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Well Ace has been been very active and fun to watch in the enclosure. She uses the body of water to soak. She's the only toad that has. I got some good video of her already. 
The King and Pious situation has been decided. Pious will take King's place in the 75 Gallon. I'm sad to say this but he doesn't seem happy in the enclosure and I have a toad who is doing laps around the enclosure. She went over to him and sat with him but he got up and moved away from her. That was sad to see. So bringing Pious will make it more interesting because he tried to mate with Ace and is a beast already. It will be interesting to see him living along side an adult male Five Lined Skink. 
King will go in the terrarium with the offspring Skink because he doesn't move much so it will generally be for the Skink. Should he get active again I'll put him in the 30 Gallon. But I will be decorating the terrarium for him soon. 
The adult Skinks will come next week. I'm going to move Pious into the 10 Gallon. I can't wait to see the pair and to try to train them and etc. I'm very excited to be getting them and I believe the 2 Toads and Skinks will make this build something special. More updates coming soon!


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## Xavier

Very nice, those are some good photos!  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

So I contacted the owner and he said that he has had the Skinks over a year with no problem. We all know that doesn't mean that they aren't sick or do not have parasites so apparently I will be taking the Skinks to the vet. I'm hoping to have Pious in the enclosure next by the end of next week. Keep checking back. More updates coming soon! This week the Skinks are coming!


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Here are my Skinks coming by Friday 

Zilla on left
Ruby in middle
Pharaoh on right


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## Xavier

Nice! They are bigger than I expected them to be, the ones I had, although they were adults, were significantly smaller, those are approaching Broadhead skink in size  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Nice! They are bigger than I expected them to be, the ones I had, although they were adults, were significantly smaller, those are approaching Broadhead skink in size


Do you think they pose a threat to the young toads that will be living with them?


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## Xavier

Unless they're small enough to be eaten, I doubt it. They're like other herps where they can only eat prey a certain size or smaller. If you do notice aggression or the toads aren't getting enough to eat, then you could separate them, but I'm certain they'll be fine  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Unless they're small enough to be eaten, I doubt it. They're like other herps where they can only eat prey a certain size or smaller. If you do notice aggression or the toads aren't getting enough to eat, then you could separate them, but I'm certain they'll be fine


I'll post the size difference from the Toads and the Skinks and I will be watching to see how the food gets distributed. I think Pious is a special toad. I don't say this lightly I think he is the toad that any toad lover would want to carry the banner into this setup to show how voracious and adventurous an American Toad can be. Ace is no slouch either. She sits proud and she handles herself. They are also young which means they will grow up understanding they have to compete for food. I'm not worried about the female Skink because they are not usually as aggressive. It will be interesting to see how the male Skink handles life with the Toads. These are the perfect 4 inhabitants for this setup. It is going to make for some exciting videos along with mesmerizing you by this setup. It's coming soon.  


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## Bryce

I can't wait to hear about the skinks, I've never kept any, but they sound cool and look really pretty. Pious sounds cool, I'm looking forward to seeing him in action in those videos you mentioned!

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

So I have some good news and bad news. I got the most exciting footage of the interactions of the Toads and Skinks, and I have 2 tanks splitting the offspring and parents up and I can't find any of the Skinks now and I'm concerned. How deep do they burrow? They either burrowed or escaped somehow which isn't likely. Even in the escape proof terrarium I can't find the Skink. Should I just give it time for them to come up and bask or should I be concerned? 


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## AAron

I 

So the bad news is that I think the 2 Skinks managed to escape through air holes through the plexiglass and they are probably gone. However I purchased 3 Skinks and the offspring (Ruby) in the picture above is still here. So even though there was a major setback I found where I will need to make adjustments so when this Skinks goes in the woods he can't escape. I still got some amazing video of the only interaction that will be seen for a while between the Skinks and the Toads. I will make that a video and post it later on. Even though I'm pretty mad at myself for what happened now I have the opportunity to raise this Skink and possibly train it to not be as nervous. It will be a few months before Ruby goes in the woods because it's the girth of a worm almost and the Toads would eat it. You all can help me determine its sex as well which will be exciting. I'll have more updates on the gang to come. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Hey man, sorry I haven't been on for a while. That sucks, perhaps you can lure them out by placing water and food dishes in all the rooms you think they could be in? That's how I recaptured a juvenile that escaped once. Good to hear you at least still have one though  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## Bryce

Wow...sorry about the escape. I had a number of tree frogs escape on me, and I found some later. Hopefully one or both of them turn up. Good luck!

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Cliygh and Mia 2, Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Hey man, sorry I haven't been on for a while. That sucks, perhaps you can lure them out by placing water and food dishes in all the rooms you think they could be in? That's how I recaptured a juvenile that escaped once. Good to hear you at least still have one though





> Wow...sorry about the escape. I had a number of tree frogs escape on me, and I found some later. Hopefully one or both of them turn up. Good luck!


Thank you guys for your help and support. I think they may have gotten outside. Had it been winter I would have done that earlier. I checked for days. The cool thing is I saw my lizards parents and how healthy and big they were. The mistake I made was they could climb on the background and go up through so I'll get a screen before Ruby goes in. I hope this lizard is a male because it's father was very big and I'd like to see it get big. I promise I've never released a video as interesting and as exciting as the one will be with the parents meeting Pious and Ace. Pious was courting Ace while I'm releasing the Skinks then they saw them and went over to them in some unbelievable interactions. Pious and Ace are truly something different. You all will be shocked. You can clearly see each species was a couple though which was so cool to see how the Toads stayed by each other. At some point when Ruby gets big and we find the sex out I'd like to get it a mate as well. Should I release the video soon?


Ruby



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## Bryce

I'd love to see it sooner rather than later, it sounds really interesting. The meeting sounds really cool, but I also want to watch the toads and compare their behaviour to my toads', and see how they're different.
Edit: Also, I hope the skink is a male.

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

I would like to see the video as well, I just have to watch it once I finish my classes for today :/

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## AAron

Good news to all. I'm hoping to have the video up this upcoming week. It's going to be incredible. I've seen Ruby (the baby Skink) it is starting to get more comfortable with me. I'm hoping to get it more tame so I get some good shots of it in the woods when Ruby goes in. So I just want to point out these are 2nd generation animals like the first generation to my setup except one who seems to be psychologically scarred have passed. So to anyone who thinks this is easy I promise it's very difficult as well as the local plants and the type of setup I have. You probably won't find another setup like this with how unique it is. 

With that said I believe my room has fluctuated in temp enough somehow that my male toad wants to mate. He's already tried to mate twice so they have connection you will see in the video. I may produce offspring if I hibernate them. I mean I might be able to in my enclosure which would be cool but I'd get mad trying to sleep lol. Obviously Ruby is going to get a mate when we find the sex. When it goes in I'm excited to see how they will interact together. Ruby has months to get there it's not nearly fat enough to survive these Toads. They are savage and you will see that in the video. Even Ace is. I'll have more updates on the 3 soon as well as the video


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

The school year has started and made me busier then I thought so I apologize for not uploading the video. I will have it up next week!


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Cliygh and Mia 2, daybr4ke

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## Xavier

Okay, sounds good! Been busy myself as well, for reasons I will discus later  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

Some big updates:
So Ace and Pious are all settled in their home and are good. Ruby (Five Lined Skink) is still doing great. I haven't been able to tame it or sex it yet. We are all hoping for a male so it's more tame. It will continue to get set up to go in the PA Woods with the Toads. A local store just got in Hornworms so when the group gets to be adults I will purchase them as feeders occasionally. I've never seen a video of an American Toad eating a hornworm or an adult Skink for that matter. I am also going to attempt a Toads and Skinks week starting next spring to get members and friends on here from the east coast excited for the mating season and for these animals to reappear in their yards after the winter. King just doesn't seem to want to eat and he's healthy with no parasites or problems so I'm not sure what to do with him. Whether to release him or to keep trying to feed him but it's starting to become a problem. The video is scheduled to come out soon like I said before I got unimaginably busy but it's winding down now. Some great updates coming soon too!


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Sounds good, been busy as well, and made an update post explaining it. Can't wait to see the video!  :Smile:

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## AAron

I have the video done. Uploading it soon!
I should say that just because you will see something in the video that could make someone cautious about bringing these two species together permanently there were a lot of variables as to why the interaction went the way it did. Also the Skink is very fast and is capable of getting away from the Toads climbing burrowing or etc. once the Skink would be in the setup for a little bit the Toads would probably realize it's not food or a predator. The Toads were not fed before the Skinks went in. This is not a feeding video. I'm very confident Ruby when it's an adult will do perfectly fine in the woods setup. Check back soon for the video post next!

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Cliygh and Mia 2, daybr4ke, zakdat

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## Bryce

Awesome! Looking forward to it. I'm assuming the toads were a little aggressive, although considering my Woodhouse's will try to eat my hand(gotta get a video of that soon.) I'm not too surprised lol
Also, I'm a little jealous, I can't find hornworms anywhere near me. The lack of them actually has me planning to breed them myself.

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## AAron

Here is the interaction video of the Toads and Skinks

https://youtu.be/AzYzqkp1LW4


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Cliygh and Mia 2, daybr4ke

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## AAron

So today I had the chance to observe Ruby in its enclosure. The Skink would go up and bask then run down and try to climb the glass of the Exo Terra high and explore a little then repeat. I got it doing this on video. The next one will be featured on introducing the Toads and Skink. I held Ruby afterwards and put a wax worm in my hand. Ruby thought my hand was the worm and bit me but then realized where the worm went and the lizard chewed it up and had a snack on my hand. Then quickly dashed away. It's already less afraid of me so let's hope it associates me with food and becomes tame. I think Ruby imo is a male because of its confidence and the streaks on its face are reddish and only in the face are the streaks a red pigment. Hope everyone liked the video. I have a baby frog in with Ruby that is going to a new home today but I figured why not give Ruby experience to an amphibian if it's going to live with them. They were hiding together and no problem so I'm slowly piecing together this Skinks attitude! Pious and Ace are fantastic and I can't wait to highlight them as well. There is a lot of personality among these 3 critters. 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Ace just loves to get her picture taken!





Pious lets me hand feed him now!


Ruby from the other night!




I am going to try to get more pics of Ruby and Pious soon! All is good and they all are doing great!


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Bryce

Between videos of this vivarium and your 55 gallon paludarium, I've noticed something, the background noise, seems like forest ambient noises. I was wondering, is this a track you play for the frogs and toads or is it something you add to the background after you finish editing a video?

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

> Between videos of this vivarium and your 55 gallon paludarium, I've noticed something, the background noise, seems like forest ambient noises. I was wondering, is this a track you play for the frogs and toads or is it something you add to the background after you finish editing a video?


It's both. Sometimes I play it for them and I put it in the video after I edit it to make it feel more authentic for the viewer. 
Ace is the most interesting little Toad. She's always up to something 

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Beautiful pictures of my male Pious btw he's chubby lol



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Cliygh and Mia 2, daybr4ke

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## Xavier

Looking great!  :Smile:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

An end of the year update. 
The Toads and Ruby are doing great and most of the plants (more than last year) are doing great as well. I will be finishing the mist king system as I get all the sprayers for it and I will be introducing new plants and more day and night lights. I will be introducing more insects to this build in the fall because the Skinks hunt the insects on there own time and are very secluded so I'll have to keep it stalked for them. The new attempted plants and whole list for the insects is as follows:
2 Autumn Brilliance Ferns
Many Pachysandra 
1 Iris (currently in the setup)
1 Daylily (currently in setup)
Duckweed 
2 Spleenwort Ferns
English Ivy 
Woodlice
Earthworms 
Crickets
Wood Crickets
Grasshoppers 
Earwigs
Stone Centipedes
Ace and Pious (Toads)
Pharaoh (Skink)
Maybe Ruby*

I will be adding more day and night lights to the setup and possibly adding a stream so it's more convenient for the Toads to lay in and keeps the water moving for the Skinks to drink. It will be easier to change this way so the Toads don't poison the Skinks. 

The setup doesn't have as much to do as before so the expenses and changes will not be as drastic. The biggest news I have for this setup. I had a pair of Skinks in August that were in this setup and disappeared which was thought they escaped. Now 4 months later I'm assuming the Skinks emptied the enclosure of soil dwelling insects because the male Skink was seen yesterday feeding on Crickets in the enclosure. As I write this I kid you not I just saw the male so I think I know where he hides. He's massive so he's been eating and undetected for 4 months until this week. I have not seen the female so she either escaped or is hiding still because it would have smelled if she died but it hasn't. If the baby Skink is a female it will go in the enclosure with Pharaoh as his mate if the other female doesn't emerge. If a male idk where he will stay. I think a new video is coming as an update on the setup and the male Skink. It will feature him. But everyone who watched this and follows this build, our Male Skink has been alive and he's like the Loch Ness Monster only having been seen through rare occasions. This setup clearly does support Toads and Skinks with the Skinks living undetected. Like they haven't really needed my help. That's crazy it's been 4 months. That's a self sustaining tank for you I'll see if I can get video of Pharaoh soon. 



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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Sounds great! Can't wait for a new video!

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

I'm not sure if you can see Pharaoh but I found how he is alive. So my light fixture is powerful. It makes the room 10 degrees warmer directly under it and my Autumn Fern is so tall it reaches the top close to the light as you can get. So the lizard is getting direct light. The Fern can support his weight to lay on. He was very tame with me as well. He wasn't afraid of me taking videos of him. I believe that he will hunt after he basks. One things for sure this Skink is not afraid of people which means he can be documented. More to come from Pharaoh and the Toads Ace and Pious soon. 

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Nice stuff! Can't wait to see how he'll look in the summer!

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## AAron

New Video coming late next week starting the Toads Ace and Pious featuring Pharaoh (the male Skink)! Be on the lookout for it on YouTube! Here are some pictures of the Toads!

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Nothing short of a miracle

So I found the male Skink again today and he was very tame. I documented him on video for my new video coming. So I left the room for like 2 hours and I came back to see the male leading the female out of the hiding spot and to look out of the tank at me. They went to a part of the tank with no plants or rocks. When I got them they ran from me and were afraid of me. Today they were very tame and let me get as close as I wanted to them. I noticed that the Lizards wouldn't come out in the open and be tame like they were for no reason. Then I noticed the female looking at the smaller tank across the room with her one offspring inside it and it was basking. She watched the offspring (which has the name Ruby) for a while and noticed it was safe. The male was scoping out the tank for a week and decided there was no danger and he found the offspring first because he led the female to that spot. She too saw me as no threat and she seemed satisfied because after she looked at the offspring and looked at me the male went slowly to the hiding spot and she did too which I have her on video going back to. They showed me where they hide and it was like from movie scene how special it was that the parents found the offspring and were satisfied that it was safe. I hope Ruby is a female because now it could live with it's parents in a Skink paradise. Pious was off in his territory and didn't care while this happened. He slept, but Ace (Female American Toad) was watching because the Lizards were close to her territory. She crawled over after a while and put her front leg on the male Skink and he just stared at her and ran away. She was very slow because she was sleeping and they woke her up. She was very calm about them and was uninterested after he ran away. This was very special and it means more videos are coming out now. 

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Amazing! So they somehow hid in there and survived for that long? They're very clever these guys  :Wink:

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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> Amazing! So they somehow hid in there and survived for that long? They're very clever these guys


Yes these two both survived and I'm assuming they went dormant until crickets were reintroduced to the enclosure. They were unnoticed and these are large Skinks so I find it unlikely they went unnoticed but it's possible. I'm almost done with the new video and I am confident everyone will appreciate it. It will have some good care tips for keeping both species as well as information on these specific toads and Skinks. I will announce the name of the female soon. Check back soon for the video


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Sounds good!

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## AAron

Here is the new video with the Toads and Skinks!

https://youtu.be/IdxfbLiIB4U

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

If I were to make a Facebook page for this enclosure and possibly throw in some news about the other tank with this one would you follow the page or be interested? I wanted to see what a public opinion was of this idea. Let me know what you think! 

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

I'd be interested, just would have to make a facebook account first  :Wink:

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Larry Wardog

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## 9darlingcalvi

I would follow for sure!

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Cliygh and Mia 2, Larry Wardog

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## AAron

> I'd be interested, just would have to make a facebook account first





> I would follow for sure!


Thank you! I am waiting to see if more people would be interested in checking out this tank if it had a Facebook page. 

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

More Pictures of Ace the female Toad and Pharaoh the male Skink

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Some updates:
So the idea of mimicking shark week will be attempted instead of picking a specific species per month I will be dedicating a week in May for "Amphibian Week" this will be for the American Toads and possibly a new inhabitant pair sharing this week with them. July will be "Reptile Week" focused on a week of videos for the Skinks. I'll have a big announcement soon with the future for possible expansion and new inhabitants. The next video will be starring Ace and Pharaoh as the Apex predators being they will be the largest inside the vivarium for the respected species. Another video will release on Pious, the female Skink, and the introduction of the offspring Ruby. This video will feature how the other inhabitants coexist being the smaller one of their species and also highlight Rubies experience into the enclosure. The video of Ace and Pharaoh may be out around early February and it will be a little bit for the other video with Pious and Ruby. Please let me know if you would like and follow a Facebook page for this enclosure! More updates coming soon! Like and subscribe to the YouTube channel for this tank and see the inhabitants!

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9darlingcalvi, Cliygh and Mia 2

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## Xavier

Sounds great!

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9darlingcalvi

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## 9darlingcalvi

Sounds awesome, I have a question though. So I have this 26 bowfront with a small pond in the front and its pretty saturated ground. Im thinking about getting some chorus frogs for the tank and planting it with native plants. How many chorus frog could live in the tank?


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Cliygh and Mia 2, Larry Wardog

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## AAron

Ace and Pharaoh

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## AAron

More interaction between Ace and Pharaoh 

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## AAron

> Sounds awesome, I have a question though. So I have this 26 bowfront with a small pond in the front and its pretty saturated ground. Im thinking about getting some chorus frogs for the tank and planting it with native plants. How many chorus frog could live in the tank?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Very interesting because I would think that 4 to start with would be good and wait and see how much space they use. It's better to have more land being occupied. How tall is your tank? Certain iris plants grow in water so you can use them. Duckweed works Pachysandra likes those conditions too. I don't think the Millipede idea is good because they would drown in that setup. I agree that a bioactive setup is best so yes have insect colonies that can establish for the frogs to hunt which works best with a lot of space which means so many frogs for so much space. I will have to attempt Banded and European Pet store Crickets in my setup because they make a nice noise and aren't opportunistic on the animals like you hear because the crickets eat Moss and dead plant matter. The Earwig and Stone Centipede were interesting to me but they can be destructive on plants and Earwigs can climb glass! Woodlice and Earthworms of any kind are good to have an overabundance of and establish inside the enclosure as well. Your setup is very nice to look at. You would get some views for that on YouTube. It's a nice setup. If you have questions how I do things or ideas post on here and I'll make sure to get back to you!
Good luck

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Ace and Pious hunting

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## 9darlingcalvi

Okay, thanks for the info, I actually found a couple millipedes on the dry side today and some worms, springtails are all in the water and havent seen the isos m and will get some more powered blues, porcellio spinocornus and t rathkii for isopods. For crickets Im thinking just getting some ground crickets, they are a small native species that sound like a baby bird. The water will 100% have some algae and duckweed, and what ever hitch hikes on with that. I think Ill just get a group of 20-25 eggs and see which ones survive and then move some to my tupperware 10 gallon tank 


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## 9darlingcalvi

I forget to get a pic of the tank as of now, not much has changed just increased water level, raised the land and put in a nice piece of wood and for plants Ill just use marsh marigolds and grass


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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

If you haven't seen these videos they are from the 75 Gallon across the 3 generations of the tank. Check them out!

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forum...php?p=13086698

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Fun to see Ace and Pharaoh out and active today. The video will be coming in February

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## 9darlingcalvi

So cool, do you know if a nepenthes pitcher would work with chorus frogs? It would ruin the native feel, but they just look so cool


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## AAron

> So cool, do you know if a nepenthes pitcher would work with chorus frogs? It would ruin the native feel, but they just look so cool
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


https://youtu.be/6bexB8kAfXE

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Cliygh and Mia 2

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## AAron

Ace comes out to greet me and to see if I have some food for her. 

Pharaoh wakes up and explores his territory. 

Ruby basking getting ready to join Ace and Pharaoh among the others. 

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## AAron

Just to get you excited for the video with Ace and Pharaoh here are some pictures that just happened of a documented interaction between them. It is common they cross paths but it's hard to get on camera. I'm waiting to get my new camera to release this video because I can't show you how active the skink is. He freezes everytime I come towards the tank. When I get the camera I'll leave it rolling and leave so I can get some video of him potentially feeding on video and just exploring his territory. 

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## AAron

Upgrading the PA Woods

I am pleased to announce that I will be upgrading the PA Woods Vivarium from a 75 Gallon to a 125 Gallon Vivarium! I will be posting a lot of videos on the YouTube channel as the project progresses which should hopefully be finished in the summer like mid summer. I have two or three surprises but I'll reveal those later. The outline for the new Vivarium


125 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium

2 American Toads    (Ace & Pious)
3 Five Lined Skinks (Pharaoh, Amsi, Ruby)
2 Autumn Brilliance Ferns
3 Spleenwort Ferns 
20 Pachysandra
8 English Ivy
Iris
Day Lilly
Duckweed
Japanese Pictum Fern
Pine Tree (Unknown Species)
Wild Daisy
Moss
Woodlice
Earthworms
House Crickets





Devices
T5 Odyssey Light Fixture 6'/2.5' Marquis 
Mistking Misting System
2 Pumps for stream
3 Night Lights
UTH
Hygrometer
10 Gallon Backup Tank
55 Gallon Backup Tank
Critter Keeper

Please let me know what you all think about the upgrade and let me know if you have ideas for the build or plants or anything in general and don't forget to checkout the latest video of these animals in the current enclosure on this video below


https://youtu.be/IdxfbLiIB4U

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## AAron

Another interaction between Pharaoh and Ace. The good news is they have been documented and are going to be in the video coming out soon!

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## AAron

New Facebook Page for the PA Woods!
https://www.facebook.com/PAWoodsVivariums/

The YouTube Channel name has changed as well
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4n...r50aiDHpDE_CFg

So I did manage to make a Facebook page for this enclosure. I will be keeping the content mainly on this and the reptile forums as the two forums are my main audience. So with both forums, a YouTube Channel, and a Facebook Page the PA Woods better be interesting and exciting or else it was a waste. so I have many new announcements. Obviously the upgrade from 75 to 125 Gallon is a big deal but that's not the only one. I will be introducing a new inhabitant to this new enclosure as well as a new breeder insect in hopes to have this specific insect survive in the enclosure with the pet store crickets woodlice worms and the others. I do not wish to reveal the new inhabitant and new insect because I wish to keep the anticipation going. I hope you will continue to follow this build because I'm starting completely new basically to build this new tank. Not only will it be the biggest enclosure but also a lot of money to create. I am truly excited to build it. It's been years since I had to start from nothing to build the woods. I will be making new threads on the forums as well so the information and care is fresh and specific to what I am doing at the time. I may join other forums as well to get some excitement and more people interested.


 The exotics will still be around. The *75 Gallon Tropical Forest Paludarium will still have a part in the forum and on  Facebook and YouTube, but it will be a less featured part with the main point of those two outlets is to market the PA Woods. The exotics will not just be the Tropical Forest anymore. My girlfriends Chinchilla Chi Chi will also partner with the Tropical Forest Paludarium to make up the exotics part as well as the new feeder insect time from time. 

Lastly I have one of the most exciting announcements. There will no longer be one PA Woods enclosure. In order for this to generate an audience the main tank the 125 will have to be the most well done and the exotics are nice to throw in, but now there will be another enclosure to accompany the 125 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium. This will not have any of the animals from any generation of the PA Woods. This new enclosure will be created from local plants and will replicate the PA Woods as well and will compliment the plants and animals of the main enclosure. Together these two will display the beauty of the plants and animals that live in PA.  This is supposed to encourage you to want to create something from your unique environment wherever you are from just to encourage people to support their locals instead of all the exotics we see. Together these two enclosures hopefully will encourage you to think about the cool amphibian and reptiles around you.

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## AAron

More pictures of Pious Ace and Ruby today! Check it out on the Facebook Page in the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/PAWoodsVivariums/

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## AAron

Checkout the link below because it was the first ever build of the PA Woods Vivarium and please subscribe for more content because there are some new videos on the way

https://youtu.be/Au4oPWdL5iM


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## AAron

Both Toads Ace and Pious came out to greet me to see if I would give them a snack. 

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## AAron

The Latest Update 

So after spending as much time as I needed to make a huge decision that would alter my tanks and the PA Woods I have decided to whenever the new tank is created to split up the Toads and the Skinks. This was a hard decision because I was looking forward to seeing the Skinks with this much space to run around, but I am making this decision for a few reasons. The first reason is because of the direction identity and the vision for the PA Woods. I made this to reproduce offspring and to keep my favorite amphibian species which are from PA together in an accurate environment from the woods they live, and to give back and repopulate the species which I will address later. Having the Skinks I cannot do this because they are not native to my county and are actually a subspecies the Southeastern Five Lined Skink but have identical care to the Five Lined Skink. So the Skinks will live together in my 55 Gallon Aquarium. This is a good fit for space because they can climb the background and this was created for a tropical tree frog so there are numerous places to bask and they will have their own enclosure to rule. I will have more surprises with their build and I am very excited and passionate about my Skinks so they are not going anywhere. Now the Toads are going into a 125 gallon. Yes so far just 2 toads with a goal to reproduce and keep an offspring and then as it gets older to rescue another toad and get it checked out of course so all 4 toads can reproduce and be healthy for display. So 4 toads in a 125 gallon 6 foot enclosure. I have been notorious for having 2 species inside the Vivarium and this build will be no different. I am pleased to announce that the Wood Frog will be joining the American Toads in the 125 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium as the other inhabitants. The goal is two pairs of each species and a smaller separate tank for another pair of both species. This will be difficult I know keeping Wood Frogs is but I have a great plan ahead which I will lay out. The Wood Frog is my second all time favorite frog behind the Northern Leopard Frog and I always wanted to keep them. I've spent years studying them so I am very excited for this opportunity. So I checked my laws and have been in contact with the fish and game commission to make sure this was legal. They have to be native to my county which means I'll be hunting some wood frogs and must be healthy. So both species will be checked by an exotic vet numerous times before breeding occurs. Both species are abundant and are legal to have and this will be a pricy project. But I am going through with it because I not only wish to keep these frogs and toads but to give back. There are a lot of experts in native plants a local pet store supporting this and some others so as I get closer to launch of this build I will create another thread and have the experts and supporters and care sheets and specs of the tank and the vision all out front so you can read that and understand what this vivarium is all about. So it will be the 125 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium American Toads and Wood Frogs
And the 55 Gallon PA Jurassic Woods Vivarium with Southeastern Five Lined Skinks. Those will be the two featured enclosures. 

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## 9darlingcalvi

Cant wait!!!!


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Larry Wardog

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## AAron

The 125 Gallon is coming Monday and will have a projected date of June/July as the finished product. I am going to create a new thread now of the new enclosure and talk a little bit about the setup. I will have the link to the new thread on here so you can follow it. 

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