hey man, keeping semi aquatic plants rooted in the rock layer would help a lot with maintenance, since they'd do most of the job for you, keeping the water quality and feeding on organic waste. You would just need to clean the surface rocks then. Besides, a little bit of healthy dirt is always beneficial for their skin
@@Dianawales some if not most aquarium plants are actually also semi aquatic if you just acclimate them for a few days, but there's also several house plants that can be kept on this bog environment, like philodendron, pothos, begonias, peace lily, arrowhead plant, some ferns and so on, and you can find them everywhere plants are sold. Be aware of chemicals and agrotoxics because they can and probably will kill any frogs or aquatic animals. It's better to keep the plants aside for a couple weeks before introducing them to the animals.
sorry guys, a lot of comments going under the radar. the revision of the larger hotel I have ("bin hotel" in other episodes in this series) will have something like an arrowhead plant; something easy to maintain, won't overgrow, is water-tolerant, plays nicely with the frogs, etc. only issue I have with these types of plants is the sap, which contains oxalic acid which isn't good for us humans. something I have to be mindful of when putting a plant in. thanks for the comments.
Putting Plexiglass on a flat wood rather than hanging off the side reduces the strain and reverse on blade as others have suggested. This is a really neat idea for the frogs.
Have you tried using the hole saw in reverse when cutting acrylic or plastic? Saves on burrs and the "bite" of the saw, and hole comes out smooth. Saw this when people make chicken feeders and waterers from plastic buckets and barrels. Just a thought.😊❤
I wonder if you could just hot glue three short and equal length pieces of a small diameter pvc pipe to the underside of your pipe keeper in order to support it, rather than the more expensive stainless steel bits? Also, I wonder if you use a small aquarium pump and then run a length of tubing to the bottom of the rocks in order to aerate the water or keep the tube shallower as a bubbler. It seems that the sound would help attract the frogs. Do you get other animals; lizards, snakes, birds, mammals that come to your hotels or otherwise disturb the residents? I hope I am not setting them up just to get eaten by a neighbor's cat or a stray opossum. I have made two so far, one to give away. Thanks, this is fun.
it's a chance I wasn't willing to take as I thought the film on top would get caught up in the holesaw bit. as it turns out, I used the wrong stuff anyway - should've used polycarbonate instead, which is more durable, friendlier with holesaws and cheaper.
@@bigfellavideography oh I’ve never heard of that stuff that’s interesting! I’ve only worked with acrylic! When you are working with acrylic you always want to try to leave the film on until your done. mostly so it doesn’t get scratched bc acrylic scratches very easily and the film can add a bit of stability to the acrylic too so it doesn’t break as easily! But honestly these frog hotels are adorable!
Next phase will be putting sleeves into the base that the towers can slip into. This would allow the removal and cleaning of the towers without the fear of a frog getting caught in a rock avalanche. If they jump down into the sleeve, they can be removed safely after the towers and those occupants are dealt with. The remaining cleaning process would remain the same. Would also consider adding a cap to the bottom of the plant holding tune. Drilled holes in the cap would allow water and nutrients in that the plant needs, while keeping the bulk of the roots and soil in side the tube. Love to give these a shot, but not many frogs between my place in the Arizona desert or our place in the Philippines where I would likely end up housing the local lizards.
I like your line of thinking, and I did think about doing something very similar, but it wouldn't work out for all of these pipes but only for some sizes. Also depends on the grade of pipe (PVC vs DWV [drain/waste/vent, ie. non-pressure]) but in an ideal world, yes it would work and being extra-efficient doing it that way. I have better plants in my sights so that'll be happening soon-ish. thanks for watching 🐸
a lot of people have made frog hotels that are the envy of most modern vivariums. unfortunately I don't have the time or the budget to get into making huge ones. I'm sure the frogs would love it, but I'd also lose them in the pipes when it came time to clean them. thanks for watching 🐸
thanks for the comment. I tried the 90 and the 45 degree angles and the frogs only went into the 45's and left the 90's alone. for no other reason, other than maybe the acoustics of the frog calls are a little better when they're not so stifled by hard bends. 🐸
yes, it's rather bitey and not friendly with drills or holesaws. as it turns out, I was using the wrong stuff. a sacrifice board may have helped here, but I should have been using a polycarbonate sheet, which actually cost less from the same place. there's your double-whammy. 😏
@@bigfellavideographyyou initially cut the pipes with a dremmel. Do you still recommend this? I’ve only used my dremmel for polishing and drilling. So far.
@@cherylj7460 absolutely - Dremel tools are extremely versatile. if you didn't want to though, you could use a hacksaw blade or something motorised with a hacksaw bit attached, either works. I used the Dremel mostly for accuracy though, as it's too easy to mis-align a cut and have the cut not as straight as you wanted.
Would it be just as easy to glue 3 PVC legs cut from the smallest size of pipe instead of drilling more holes in the acrylic? Saves on cost of stainless steel bolts and washers? Just a thought!😊❤
I like your thinking, but the only weak link in that is the stuff being used to hold the PVC legs to the keepers. remember it's being submerged in water, and over time it'll become weaker and eventually dissolve. SS fixtures won't. thanks for watching 🐸
Hi Kate, it'll be as deep as the pipes buried in the rock will allow, so if you have a 20cm high pot with pipes at the bottom, you'll have the potential for up to 20cm of water depth in the pipes.
thanks for the comment Guy, mine have an easterly aspect so they get morning and early afternoon sun, which is usually enough to charge up the solar lights. in summer I've found mine are fairly resilient to passive heat (heat already in the pipes from the warming of the sun) so regarding their safety from sunburn and away from predators, I'd say shaded/dappled light would be good enough. I made a shade for mine which covers the pipes but leaves the solar light alone to collect sunlight. main thing to remember is frogs are very hardy creatures and can stand a lot of weather conditions.
Hi Bigfella, thanks for the video. I am a bit concerned about toads getting in. Is that ever a problem for you? I read some info put out by the Bundaberg Council where they said to put it (presumably the top of the gravel) 60 cm high off the ground to prevent toads. I see you have got yours in a big bucket which raises them. Is this the way to go? I was going to just put it on the ground but now I don't think it is a good idea. Thanks for any info. I'm on the Sunshine Coast Queensland - we have toads.
Hi Carmel, yes I get cane toads here on the Northern Rivers as well, so that's why mine aren't at ground level. So the thing to remember with cane toads is that they can jump/hop, but they can't climb smooth surfaces like tree frogs can. They *CAN* climb stuff like netting if they can get their claws into it. There's a limit to how high they can jump, and it's generally accepted as about 60cm to keep frogs safe from cane toads. Thanks for the comment, and thanks for watching 🐸
@@bigfellavideography Great! Thanks, I'll work on that. It's turning into a more expansive project than I thought, but I'm loving doing it. Your frogs are gorgeous. Hope we get some. We get the odd one. Bunnings told us that if we don't get any, they can get us some tadpoles.
@@carmeladams9566 from the NSW Environment and Heritage webpage: "Native frogs such as tree frogs and ground frogs need special care and can only be bought from licensed animal keepers" I know you're in Qld but your rules for licensed suppliers of tadpoles/frogs won't differ (it's a national thing). Last I heard, Bunnings weren't suppliers of tadpoles, so just a heads-up there. You may be able to get them however you choose, but I have to do my due diligence and responsibility for advice on this type of thing.
@@bigfellavideography Thanks so much for advising about the tadpoles. I actually thought it was a bit odd, but she seemed to know what she was talking about - so I did not think to question.
Hi Shannon, dirt isn't an issue inside the pipes. The bottom of the pipes rest against the base of the pot which allows water to travel up the pipes as the pot's base is uneven. The rocks surround the outsides of each of the pipes, but not inside. I hope this clears it up.
not in these hotels, no. it seems this design works well for the frogs when they need to be in water, but the level drops daily, meaning that I top-up the level by a few cm, and I've seen no mozzies around them at all.
No, and I really couldn't tell you why not. I'm thinking it's because the water level changes daily and it's not the best environment for them to breed in.
@@cherylj7460 actually mine won't eat anything smaller than the black beetles we get around Christmas time, when it's much warmer and everything has bred and is out searching for light sources. they don't ever eat anything small, which confuses me a little. they love 'mouthfuls' which these bugs are (about 10-12mm long).
@@bigfellavideography Hm! What about the toads, will they eat other insects, eggs and larvae? I’ve started a lizard friendly environment and of course the frogs came, but they’re mostly toads. Cane and another native variety. Only a few tree frogs, so far. I’ve had to stop in my progress to get rid of the fire ants and I must change my habits of leaving fruits out for the lizards. Do you have any lizards coming around there?
@@cherylj7460 are you based in Australia? if so, we have no native toads here, only the introduced cane toad. fire ants have become a big problem recently. I can't advise on what other species of frogs/toads will eat, but just from my own observations, the green tree frogs I have will go for the larger types of beetles. mosquitoes and larvae aren't quite to their liking, maybe not big enough for a meal.
that's virtually all I can do here - in Australia you need a licence/permit to sell/trade domestic frogs, and in most states it's illegal to move tadpoles from their place of origin. all I really can do is support the ones that were here before I was. that way I can try to give them the best chance at survival. 🐸
haha good one. I clean them out as needs be, like if they've had a banquet of bugs and the place stinks, or if the water goes a different colour that AlgaeFix can't... fix. thankfully, not too often.
hey man, keeping semi aquatic plants rooted in the rock layer would help a lot with maintenance, since they'd do most of the job for you, keeping the water quality and feeding on organic waste. You would just need to clean the surface rocks then. Besides, a little bit of healthy dirt is always beneficial for their skin
Oooh great idea. What kind of plants and where do you get them??
@@Dianawales some if not most aquarium plants are actually also semi aquatic if you just acclimate them for a few days, but there's also several house plants that can be kept on this bog environment, like philodendron, pothos, begonias, peace lily, arrowhead plant, some ferns and so on, and you can find them everywhere plants are sold. Be aware of chemicals and agrotoxics because they can and probably will kill any frogs or aquatic animals. It's better to keep the plants aside for a couple weeks before introducing them to the animals.
@@yghostest awesome thank you!!
sorry guys, a lot of comments going under the radar. the revision of the larger hotel I have ("bin hotel" in other episodes in this series) will have something like an arrowhead plant; something easy to maintain, won't overgrow, is water-tolerant, plays nicely with the frogs, etc. only issue I have with these types of plants is the sap, which contains oxalic acid which isn't good for us humans. something I have to be mindful of when putting a plant in. thanks for the comments.
Putting Plexiglass on a flat wood rather than hanging off the side reduces the strain and reverse on blade as others have suggested. This is a really neat idea for the frogs.
yup, I was also using the wrong stuff, should've been polycarbonate sheet which is more tool-friendly and cheaper. thanks for watching 🐸
I like the music they make I could listen all night I'm in kansas we are always in a drought maybe asmr video?😊
OMG... I actually have a croak compilation vid here that I forgot I had, I just never released it. stay tuned! thanks for watching 🐸
@@bigfellavideography that would be wonderful
Have you tried using the hole saw in reverse when cutting acrylic or plastic? Saves on burrs and the "bite" of the saw, and hole comes out smooth. Saw this when people make chicken feeders and waterers from plastic buckets and barrels. Just a thought.😊❤
thing is, I didn't know at the time, but I should've been using polycarbonate sheet instead. much easier to work with and cheaper.
I wonder if you could just hot glue three short and equal length pieces of a small diameter pvc pipe to the underside of your pipe keeper in order to support it, rather than the more expensive stainless steel bits? Also, I wonder if you use a small aquarium pump and then run a length of tubing to the bottom of the rocks in order to aerate the water or keep the tube shallower as a bubbler. It seems that the sound would help attract the frogs. Do you get other animals; lizards, snakes, birds, mammals that come to your hotels or otherwise disturb the residents? I hope I am not setting them up just to get eaten by a neighbor's cat or a stray opossum. I have made two so far, one to give away. Thanks, this is fun.
Those are frog megaphones!😂
they certainly are. the whole neighbourhood hears them, and other frogs respond when they call - it's a giant relay! 🐸
@@bigfellavideography I like this!
You can leave the film on the acrylic as you cut it and then remove it after
it's a chance I wasn't willing to take as I thought the film on top would get caught up in the holesaw bit. as it turns out, I used the wrong stuff anyway - should've used polycarbonate instead, which is more durable, friendlier with holesaws and cheaper.
@@bigfellavideography oh I’ve never heard of that stuff that’s interesting! I’ve only worked with acrylic! When you are working with acrylic you always want to try to leave the film on until your done. mostly so it doesn’t get scratched bc acrylic scratches very easily and the film can add a bit of stability to the acrylic too so it doesn’t break as easily! But honestly these frog hotels are adorable!
Next phase will be putting sleeves into the base that the towers can slip into. This would allow the removal and cleaning of the towers without the fear of a frog getting caught in a rock avalanche. If they jump down into the sleeve, they can be removed safely after the towers and those occupants are dealt with.
The remaining cleaning process would remain the same.
Would also consider adding a cap to the bottom of the plant holding tune. Drilled holes in the cap would allow water and nutrients in that the plant needs, while keeping the bulk of the roots and soil in side the tube.
Love to give these a shot, but not many frogs between my place in the Arizona desert or our place in the Philippines where I would likely end up housing the local lizards.
I like your line of thinking, and I did think about doing something very similar, but it wouldn't work out for all of these pipes but only for some sizes. Also depends on the grade of pipe (PVC vs DWV [drain/waste/vent, ie. non-pressure]) but in an ideal world, yes it would work and being extra-efficient doing it that way. I have better plants in my sights so that'll be happening soon-ish. thanks for watching 🐸
Please make a big froggy resort! Tricked out with all sizes of pipes and plants and froggytastic things! Love your hotel. Please take it over the top!
a lot of people have made frog hotels that are the envy of most modern vivariums. unfortunately I don't have the time or the budget to get into making huge ones. I'm sure the frogs would love it, but I'd also lose them in the pipes when it came time to clean them. thanks for watching 🐸
Fair enough. I hope your videos really take off so you can do a truly epic one. ❤
Run your drill in reverse so the saw scrapes instead of biting into the plastic
Great upgrade to the frog hotels!!! The frogs are absolutely adorable!!! ❤😊
Just discovered your channel due to my love of frogs and you have such pleasant videos. They are a joy to watch and listen too.
they sure are, when they're active. thanks for watching 🐸
perhaps concrete would work more efficiently than the acrylic and hardware next time
I think, for obvious reasons, concrete wasn't even considered.
Concrete gives off toxins I think
I can tell in the first 10 seconds that you know what you are doing by the 45-degree angles on your connectors.
thanks for the comment. I tried the 90 and the 45 degree angles and the frogs only went into the 45's and left the 90's alone. for no other reason, other than maybe the acoustics of the frog calls are a little better when they're not so stifled by hard bends. 🐸
Acrylic is a pain to cut. I clamp it to to a sacrifice board. Drill press helps
yes, it's rather bitey and not friendly with drills or holesaws. as it turns out, I was using the wrong stuff. a sacrifice board may have helped here, but I should have been using a polycarbonate sheet, which actually cost less from the same place. there's your double-whammy. 😏
@@bigfellavideographyyou initially cut the pipes with a dremmel. Do you still recommend this? I’ve only used my dremmel for polishing and drilling. So far.
@@cherylj7460 absolutely - Dremel tools are extremely versatile. if you didn't want to though, you could use a hacksaw blade or something motorised with a hacksaw bit attached, either works. I used the Dremel mostly for accuracy though, as it's too easy to mis-align a cut and have the cut not as straight as you wanted.
I love this, thank you for caring for these little critters 💚
thanks for the comment, and thanks for watching 🐸
Would it be just as easy to glue 3 PVC legs cut from the smallest size of pipe instead of drilling more holes in the acrylic? Saves on cost of stainless steel bolts and washers? Just a thought!😊❤
I like your thinking, but the only weak link in that is the stuff being used to hold the PVC legs to the keepers. remember it's being submerged in water, and over time it'll become weaker and eventually dissolve. SS fixtures won't. thanks for watching 🐸
@@bigfellavideography They make lots of glues for underwater use.
Love the 'frog breaks' !!
thanks, I'll be bringing another video out around Xmas, be sure to look out for it! 🐸
Thanks for the steam. 👍Im curious, how deep would the body of water be inside the pipes?
Hi Kate, it'll be as deep as the pipes buried in the rock will allow, so if you have a 20cm high pot with pipes at the bottom, you'll have the potential for up to 20cm of water depth in the pipes.
Where are they placed in regards to the sun? We have frogs around our house so this might be a nice thing to make.
thanks for the comment Guy, mine have an easterly aspect so they get morning and early afternoon sun, which is usually enough to charge up the solar lights. in summer I've found mine are fairly resilient to passive heat (heat already in the pipes from the warming of the sun) so regarding their safety from sunburn and away from predators, I'd say shaded/dappled light would be good enough. I made a shade for mine which covers the pipes but leaves the solar light alone to collect sunlight. main thing to remember is frogs are very hardy creatures and can stand a lot of weather conditions.
@@bigfellavideography Thankyou. Do you ever top up the water in the pot?
@@guyfanno1 the water in the pots is topped up as needed (daily for most seasons and as needed in winter).
Hi Bigfella, thanks for the video. I am a bit concerned about toads getting in. Is that ever a problem for you? I read some info put out by the Bundaberg Council where they said to put it (presumably the top of the gravel) 60 cm high off the ground to prevent toads. I see you have got yours in a big bucket which raises them. Is this the way to go? I was going to just put it on the ground but now I don't think it is a good idea. Thanks for any info. I'm on the Sunshine Coast Queensland - we have toads.
Hi Carmel, yes I get cane toads here on the Northern Rivers as well, so that's why mine aren't at ground level. So the thing to remember with cane toads is that they can jump/hop, but they can't climb smooth surfaces like tree frogs can. They *CAN* climb stuff like netting if they can get their claws into it. There's a limit to how high they can jump, and it's generally accepted as about 60cm to keep frogs safe from cane toads. Thanks for the comment, and thanks for watching 🐸
@@bigfellavideography Great! Thanks, I'll work on that. It's turning into a more expansive project than I thought, but I'm loving doing it. Your frogs are gorgeous. Hope we get some. We get the odd one. Bunnings told us that if we don't get any, they can get us some tadpoles.
@@carmeladams9566 from the NSW Environment and Heritage webpage: "Native frogs such as tree frogs and ground frogs need special care and can only be bought from licensed animal keepers" I know you're in Qld but your rules for licensed suppliers of tadpoles/frogs won't differ (it's a national thing). Last I heard, Bunnings weren't suppliers of tadpoles, so just a heads-up there. You may be able to get them however you choose, but I have to do my due diligence and responsibility for advice on this type of thing.
@@bigfellavideography Thanks so much for advising about the tadpoles. I actually thought it was a bit odd, but she seemed to know what she was talking about - so I did not think to question.
🐸👍🏻💚
How do you keep the dirt from getting into the rocks at the bottom of the pot? Or does the pipe rest tight enough on the bottom?
Hi Shannon, dirt isn't an issue inside the pipes. The bottom of the pipes rest against the base of the pot which allows water to travel up the pipes as the pot's base is uneven. The rocks surround the outsides of each of the pipes, but not inside. I hope this clears it up.
you should put screens on the bottom of the tubes
... to what end? there's no real need for it.
I was thinking the same thing. The screen at the bottom will keep the frogs in the pipe when you pull them up from the rocks for cleaning.
Do you have to worry about mosquitoes breeding in the standing water?
not in these hotels, no. it seems this design works well for the frogs when they need to be in water, but the level drops daily, meaning that I top-up the level by a few cm, and I've seen no mozzies around them at all.
@@bigfellavideography Thanks! That's good to hear- I love frogs, but hate mosquitoes!
@@cindyg.3875 all good. keep an eye out for another frog hotel video I have coming out soon.
Mosquitos?
No, and I really couldn't tell you why not. I'm thinking it's because the water level changes daily and it's not the best environment for them to breed in.
@@bigfellavideography. Because they are dessert for frogs!
@@cherylj7460 actually mine won't eat anything smaller than the black beetles we get around Christmas time, when it's much warmer and everything has bred and is out searching for light sources. they don't ever eat anything small, which confuses me a little. they love 'mouthfuls' which these bugs are (about 10-12mm long).
@@bigfellavideography Hm! What about the toads, will they eat other insects, eggs and larvae? I’ve started a lizard friendly environment and of course the frogs came, but they’re mostly toads. Cane and another native variety. Only a few tree frogs, so far. I’ve had to stop in my progress to get rid of the fire ants and I must change my habits of leaving fruits out for the lizards.
Do you have any lizards coming around there?
@@cherylj7460 are you based in Australia? if so, we have no native toads here, only the introduced cane toad. fire ants have become a big problem recently. I can't advise on what other species of frogs/toads will eat, but just from my own observations, the green tree frogs I have will go for the larger types of beetles. mosquitoes and larvae aren't quite to their liking, maybe not big enough for a meal.
Fostering tadpoles and tree frogs = problem solving
that's virtually all I can do here - in Australia you need a licence/permit to sell/trade domestic frogs, and in most states it's illegal to move tadpoles from their place of origin. all I really can do is support the ones that were here before I was. that way I can try to give them the best chance at survival. 🐸
How often do you 'bond clean' the hotel?? 😂
haha good one. I clean them out as needs be, like if they've had a banquet of bugs and the place stinks, or if the water goes a different colour that AlgaeFix can't... fix.
thankfully, not too often.
So a couple of times a year? I’m thinking of using our last two fish tanks, that should work fine shouldn’t it?
@@rickmAussie thats a great idea!!
@bigfellavideography thats not so bad then ... was hoping it wasnt every month 🤔
@@rickmAussie I'd say 3-4 times a year, discounting winter as that's when they hibernate.