The first day back in the woods...
Today I did notice that everyone was out more Ace who was hidden for a few days and both Gray Tree Frogs as well as Wellsboro who looks to be more relaxed. Pious was sleeping a lot today so it seems there is a lot of rest happening right now and healing for the amphibians. It is unknown what is next for these 5 remaining amphibians. One thing is certain and that is nobody else is leaving!

I was unable to clean up the enclosure today but I just wanted to watch and see how things went and it's as if the ecosystem took a deep exhale. The goal now is to get everyone fat and ready for the winter. This will be a very important winter actually the most important one of my life with how I am attempting my first time to hibernate frogs and toads which is all or nothing. They could all die or all live and it's important for research of keeping these two species there can be some missing information that can be filled in if hibernation should be a must or if it prolongs life even. I want to give my animals the most natural life I can so I am going to try to hibernate them for them to do what they would in the wild and I also want them to breed which is why I am so focused on accomplishing this.

The greatest opportunities will be with adding insects to the soil finally. This is a crucial factor for a bioactive setup and it will make the videos more enjoyable. The one thing between my attempt at building the 75 gallon compared to the 125 gallon is that the 75 gallon had a wide variety of insects that thrived and colonised in the enclosure. We are getting closer to what the actual number of frogs and toads will be which means more insects will have the chance to hide and survive. The greatest feeling for me is not just that the amphibians and plants are thriving but also for me I want to have insects because that is one way to tell your setup is healthy with a variety of insects. I truly miss this as one of the most epic parts of a setup and I feel it's very overlooked by many who have live bioactive enclosures. There is nothing like seeing Woodlice (Isopods) living alongside Springtails and Crickets and now two different species of crickets! And also alongside Earthworms! These are the most noticable insects. Crickets are opportunistic and I understand the risks of keeping them but when the Crickets have food in the setup it is really incredible to see the Crickets just living like they would in the wild and watching struggles of survival and for my frogs and toads the struggle for food. It's great to see how different the animals hunt as well. It's easy to catch something that is dazed and confused but once it knows the land it's a whole different story. You can look forward to seeing this as it is something as important to me as hibernating my animals.

In the next video for Swarms I will talk about adding the waxworms as a complimentary part of the staple diet. There is a bit of misinformation about waxworms and I feel they need to be used as often as Crickets or Earthworms alongside the main feeder to make a complete meal. We will also talk about the Mealworm and more information about using them with amphibians.

I will be trying to get the other two care sheets up also.

So I will be hibernating the amphibians and I will be trying to establish various insects in the Western PA Woods. All is going well for the amphibians as they are recovering from Belmont. The care sheets are in progress and I contacted the vendors and am awaiting the response.

Did you ever hear of using a complimentary feeder with a staple feeder for your animals? Let's say you feed crickets and Waxworms one day on a schedule and the next feed you use Earthworms and Mealworms or something like this. Or have you just fed one feeder at a time?

Are you surprised to hear that the amphibians seem to be in recovery mode since Belmont has been removed?

Do you think my idea of including different insects in my setup is interesting, crazy or your not sure?



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