Terrarium Therapy

For the past few weeks, I’ve been digging holes in my yard, moving rocks, and building tiny ecosystems in my basement.  It’s safe to say I’m addicted to creating worlds for frogs and other wildlife indoors and outdoors.  There’s a certain measure of peace in the monotony of these tasks.

When my hands are covered in dirt and moss they’re not doom scrolling on my phone.  While sweating in my tropical hideaway of an animal room, I’m not worrying about anything other than the task in front of me.  I love it. 

As I pruned my way through each terrarium, I began to see years of hard work come back to life.  It’s easy to let these microhabitats overgrow. Telling myself next time too many times regarding tank maintenance relegates me to hours of dirty work.  Again, I love it. 

There’s nothing I love more than building terrariums and maintaining these little worlds.  I’m greeted by animals I truly love.  It seems my passion grows for these animals with each new encounter.  There are poison dart frogs of several colors and locales, Amazonian crested toads, African green toads, Costa Rican red-eyed tree frogs, Asian fire-bellied toads, giant Surinam cane toads, a few lizards, snakes, and a handful of turtles and tortoises.  These animals are as much a part of my identity as my hair color or shoe size. 

Despite chasing gremlins in the way of water leaks in my outdoor ornamental pond the last few weeks, the work has been fulfilling.  Troubleshooting these issues and finding resolution sets my mind at ease. There’s something about building something few people can.  I may not be a craftsman with metal or wood but give me some moss, plants, and dirt and I’ll make something beautiful. 

There’s a value to just getting your hands dirty and forgetting everything else.  I try not to anthropomorphize the behaviors of animals but some of these guys seem happier when I adjust their habitats.  My green toads almost happily come to the edge of the tank to greet me when I open the doors.  The rational person says it’s because I feed them, but sometimes I pretend it’s because they like me.  My African spur thigh tortoise will lumber over to me if I call his name a few times.  When I take him outside into his summer pen behind my house you can see a visible change in his countenance.  I can’t wait to put him in the tortoise pen in a week or so once we are out of the low temp danger zone. 

If improving the environment—and reducing clutter—of an animal makes a visible change for them, how much more will it affect us as people?   Now that my animal room has been tidied up and my tortoise pen pond has been buttoned back up, I feel an overwhelming peace and sense of accomplishment.  I guess now it’s time to sit and observe my creations.  If you need me, I’ll be watching toads.  Until next time!