Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm considering keeping just one frog. I like the idea of creating a small (10-20 gallon) but optimal enclosure for one animal.

But I'm worried about feeding. It seems you need a fruit fly culture or a steady supply of pinhead crickets. I have no other animals (dumpy frog, spiny lizards, tortoises) that would need these tiny insects, so I think I might find I have far too many bugs to manage for one dart frog. From what I've read a fruit fly culture can be easily spoiled if overwhelmed with flies. And I just don't like the stink of crickets.

Is it possible to manage a food supply for one dart frog?

And since I have no interest in breeding, is there any reason why I should not keep one frog?

Also, I notice that many people use tall tanks for their enclosures. Is this necessary? I think a 15-20 "long" style tank would work best for a terrestrial species, but maybe I'm missing something.

Thanks!

Hi:

I think a lot of people keep the tall tanks for a few reasons. Some of the false bottoms take up some vertical space, the plants that we use at times need this vertical space and add on top the use of a water feature which might require the ground to be higher also taking up vertical space. The other reason is that even the terrestriels will love to climb and use the vertical space so I always think of it as what will make it easier for me to make an enclosure that is optimal for the entire "miniecosystem" because my terresterials used both the horizontal and vertical space equally. I also found that I could create a temperature gradient better when a tall tank was used because the ground could be as cool as 10 degrees less then the top, giving the animal a chance to pick what it wanted(this wasn't necesary, but I liked that the animal could self regulate).

As far as the FF, you could just dump out some of the excess I suppose daily so that the culture didn't spoil, but you always want a bit more then you need anyways. One frog will capture your heart and two(especially if you change your mind about breeding)will make you a "lifer" in frogs.

Good luck,

Maggie

Here's a top view of a hi tank for Terresterials that climbed the entire height of the wall, used the ledges to sleep on and forage