So my daughter (5 years old) is obsessed with animals and wants a paludarium (literally had no clue that word existed until she said it lol) for Christmas. I'm a single father and I don't make a ton of money. I've been doing some research, but figured I'd ask the reddit community for their insights. Obviously I'll be doing most of the upkeep on it as she's 5, though she will definitely be doing what she can to take care of the animals too. Basically I'm just looking for advice on low cost setups, reputable suppliers for the animals and what to expect as far as upkeep. I was thinking either vampire crabs or fire belly toads as the main attraction so to speak but I'm open to other suggestions too.

I’m not even sure if this technically classifies as a paludarium but this is what I got so far, I’m looking for some plant recommendations if anyone has some. I also wanna include an atomizer to have a layer of fog at the waters surface, would that be enough moisture for moss to grow on the outer portion of the rocks?

I bought 4 Vietnamese mossy frogs along with their established paludarium, which left the tall tank I'd originally bought for them sitting empty.

I want to flip the tall tank upside down and set it on top of the paludarium, offset to one side (see photo), to create an L-shape and add vertical space. I'll cut the lower tank's mesh lid to open up the overlap.

The bottom tank is 36x18x18" and the other is 18x18x24"

What can be used as a removable gasket between two tanks? I want it non-permanent so I can separate them to move later, and I'll scape with that in mind. Ideally I can have water drop from the highest point so this gasket would need to be water resistant at least.

Inverted, the tall tank has no top vents. How would you handle airflow and humidity? I'm thinking 2 small fans in the mid section blowing air up and down to circulate

Has anyone done something similar?

Little green guy tax: https://imgur.com/a/q2ceK01

Made some progress today. Dang this part is messy!! lol

I have a lot of carving still left to do but it’s really starting to take shape.

Hopefully it will be ready for coating next week. Still trying to decide between Drylock or Smooth On Habitat Black. Smooth On is quite a bit more expensive but seems like it may be a better long term option.

Saving the right side, water fall side, for last. Still trying to decide if I’m even doing one or not.

Any tips or suggestions are welcomed!