Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My wife and I want to start keeping darts, and she would like to buy me some for father's day. I've been a father for 11 days, so I guess I'm due a little gratitude. (That's a joke, don't flame me toooo badly.) We've both wanted darts for years, but I was always worried about being able to keep them in food. But I recently started with mantids and have fruit flies coming out my ears, so that worry is gone. But I have a couple ?'s if you folks would be so kind.

1st is just about their names and colors. I've found 3 types, any of which I'd like to start with, but I'm not sure I have the right names. If there is a site with just pics and their proper names, give me a link and I'll be quiet about it from now on, I promise. Other wise, the electric blue and black dotted are azurus? Yellow and black, I've seen referred to as bumblebees are leucamelas? And lastly, blue legs with black and yellow back are either Tincturius, or cobalt?

Are any of the above 3 a poor choice for a beginner?

Is a 10g large enough for pairs of the above? My other option, I have a spare 55g that I could divide into 3 compartments to keep them together, but separated. I also have a 36" x 36" x 24" tall aquarium (around 110g), but I would need more than a couple animals to make that look right, and I know that the different types aren't supposed to live together (which sucks), so I would need a colony type if I were to use it.

I'm planning on expanded foam/coconut bedding back, etc. for the initial set up, and layering sheet moss for the initial green until the plants start growing well. Will a waterfall/water feature by itself generally keep the humidity high enough, or should I incorporate a fogger in the setup? Will 11" heat tape under the tank generally keep good temps, or should I plan on a heat lamp?

Thanks for the info, I'm sure I'll need more soon.

Those do sound like the right names for the frogs that you describe. They are all good "beginner" frogs, so if you like them, they are good to get.

You probably won't need to add any heat to your frog tanks. They are a cooler weather animal. So unless your house routinely gets below 72 degrees fahrenheit, you should be okay. They are more likely to die from high heat.

Foggers seem to be prone to malfunctioning, for some reason. I never had problems with humidity with only the waterfall. But if you live in a dry area, like Phoenix, AZ, it might be different.

Ten gallons should be fine for a pair of any of the above mentioned frogs. Of course, the more space you can give them, the better.

Hope this helps.

Other wise, the electric blue and black dotted are azurus? Yellow and black, I've seen referred to as bumblebees are leucamelas? And lastly, blue legs with black and yellow back are either Tincturius, or cobalt?
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>>Are any of the above 3 a poor choice for a beginner?
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>>Is a 10g large enough for pairs of the above?

Will a waterfall/water feature by itself generally keep the humidity high enough, or should I incorporate a fogger in the setup? Will 11" heat tape under the tank generally keep good temps, or should I plan on a heat lamp?
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

In addition to what phflame has said, you can go to the several breeder web sites for pictures, care sheets, and many more details about darts in general. A nice book to own is POISON FROGS, Schmidt&Henkel, Professional Breeders Series. It is not too expensive and has a lot of good information and photos for its size.

The various breeders you can check out with a search of Breeders, Dealers and Stores on this forum, are Saurian.net (Patrick Nabors), Black Jungle, Ed's fly Meat, and of course there are other very reliable and helpful folk, but these are just the three I have personally dealt with who have given great help and satisfaction.

If you choose D. azureus, it would be best to get a mated pair, which should do all right in a 10 gallon, although 30 is better, as they are large, active frogs. For D. leucomelas, you could put 4 or 5 in a 55 gallon and they would get along well together in a mixed sex group. The D. tinctorius, like the azureus, are relatively territorial, so you might consider keeping only a single mated pair together.

The 110 gallon tank could wait until you get some experience and become addicted to these jewels, which you will. It may be possible to mix a couple of different species or genera of Dendrobatidae in such a large tank, but you really need to know a lot about each before you try it. Or you could make a palludarium out of it--with an aquarium portion separated from a land portion by glass dividers, which can be cut and siliconed in. I have such a palludarium in a 135 gallon, with a pond, lagoon, river-run, two water-falls, and two land portions with a frog bridge over the lagoon. I keep small tetras, algae eaters, a couple of loaches in it, and 6 Dendrobates galactonotus, three of which have been in the same tank now for nearly 7 years. I still have most of the original tetras, as well. This was my very first tank. Like most new hobbyists, I began with high ambitions. So don't be afraid of that. In 7 years, I have never taken the entire tank down, only trimmed plants, cleaned the glass, top-dressed soil and have done some partial water changes in the aquarium portion, which is also heavily planted, and occasionally repaired or replaced the pump.

It looks very different now, as the various plants have changed and overgrown over time, but here is a picture of it when it was first set up, as well as one of some of the glactonotus.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

I didn't mention that each of the aquarium sections has an egress log (in this case, Mountain Mahogany, which is dense and doesn't deteriorate easily) for the frogs to use when they fall in, which they have done occasionally. They can swim, and won't drown, as long as they can get out. At this time, there are some floating leaves that they will hop out onto in order to fish for fruit flies that have fallen in the water competing with the fish. For awhile, I had platys that bred in the aquarium, and they would occasionally capture a platy fry, as well.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

Thanks for the info so far, couple more.

What would be a good temporary setup until I get a terrarium setup?

I know that adults can be territorial, but can froglets be housed together until they are old enough to be sexed and separated?

Can adult males of different types be housed together for a display tank? I know that hybrids are unwelcome, and it seems that much of the problems I have read of have been from multiple females getting agressive with each other.

Thanks again!

I use Critter Keepers for temporary nursery tanks. The vents need to be sealed off with clear wrapping tape or plastic or they won't maintain enough humidity. Wet paper towels with a few plant cuttings make a good base, but I now use an inch or two layer of wet cocoanut fiber substrate and vine cuttings.

I have always kept froglets and juveniles of the same species together in the nursery tanks, but some breeders now recommend that you keep each separately.

If you kept all males in a display tank, you would avoid hybridization, but not the other possible problems that might crop up with aggression and territorial problems. As I've said, people do mix for display tanks, especially in Europe, and zoos often do this, but I think it's the kind of thing that should wait until you have a lot of separate experience with each different speci you may want to mix together before you try this.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris