Installation of Aviaries with Ground Fencing on the Forest Floor

Terrestrial Forest Floor Complex Enclosure. The terrestrial forest floor enclosure is appropriate for many species of ground-dwelling and semiarboreal anurans. Also, many species of lungless salamander (Plethodontidae) and mole salamander (Ambystomatidae) will do well in a terrestrial environment.

The terrestrial forest floor enclosure (Plate 5.4, Figures 5.5, 5.6) has a gravel substrate, with the land area covered by a layer of moist moss, leaf litter, hardwood mulch, wood rot, and/or soil. There may be a shallow pond or water bowl for species that utilize standing water, but many terrestrial caecilians and salamanders tend to avoid standing water and may drown if they become trapped in water deeper than they are tall.

Figure 5.5. Lateral view of terrestrial enclosure for amphibians. A. cross-section of board supporting the rim of the tank, tipping it toward the drain. B. false floor assembly (see Figure 5.1 В—D). C. pea gravel layer approximately 2.5-5 cm (1-2”) thick. D. moist sheet moss. E. live, potted plant with the base of the pot resting on the fiberglass screen. F. dark plastic hut. G. lid (see Figure 5.1 E—FI). H. cork bark cave/feeding platform. I. upturned edge of fiberglass floor screen; it provides an escape route for food insects that fall into the pool and swim or drift to the glass wall. J. shallow pool. K. water line. L. drain assembly (see Figure 5.1 К—M). M. leaf litter over moist sheet moss. (Sandy Barnett)

Figure 5.6. Cross-sectional view of substrate layers in a terrestial enclosure. (George Grail, National Aquarium in Baltimore)

The terrestrial forest floor enclosure is enriched similarly to the land area of the stream-side vivarium (see Section 5.5.7, Stream-Side Enclosure). Care must be taken not to overplant the terrestrial enclosure. While amphibians require some cover, it is possible to plant the foliage so densely that the animals have difficulty finding and catching prey, or they expend too much energy in the hunt. The end result is underweight amphibians, a vivarium full of uneaten live food and their droppings, and in the case of some food insects, a lot of insect-damaged plants! On the other hand, an enclosure that is too sparsely vegetated may leave the amphibians feeling exposed and excessively stressed.

Terrestrial Spartan Enclosure. There are some terrestrial amphibians that can be maintained for a long term in spartan enclosures. Most salamanders are somewhat sedentary in the wild, and many terrestrial species thrive in such simple setups as plastic shoe or sweater boxes enriched with moist, crumpled paper toweling (Maruska, 1994) or petri dishes containing several layers of moist filter paper (Jaeger, 1992).