Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was thinking about getting dart frogs ... ive read a lot about them but anyway could somebody give me and cage examples and/or some good websites on darts?

thanks,
matt

oo and by the way... what types do u think should be first time dartfrog... im thinking about getting a 10 gal tank.what other supplies do u reccomend me getting?

You won't want to put more than two of any type of dart in a 10 gallon, and if you can go a just a bit bigger, it's a little easier to set up a planted vivarium, but 10 will do. You can check right here for breeders, dealers and stores. Black Jungle and Saurian both have nice web sites with lots of advice, photos, appropriate plants and even some entire vivarium kits. You'll also want to start some fruit fly cultures about the same time you are putting your vivarium together, as well. You can purchase starter kits with flightless flies, containers, media and instructions from these sources, as well as Ed's Fly Meat.
Once you get the hang of it, there are dozens of recipes for media, different ideas for containers, and lids, etc. But I personally think that at least at first, it helps not to have to be experimenting with fruit fly cultures along with everything else. You will need to set up new ones periodically, depending upon how many frogs you have, as each one produces for an average of only a month over-all. So you sort of have to adjust this to suit the amount you are feeding. If you already have experience with these, then continue to do what has been working for you.

The tank set up can be very simple, with just a drainage layer of gravel, (or some people like LECA) separated from the substrate with something like weed cloth, polyester batting, or a fine mesh. The substrate for the plants can be organic compost, long brown sphagnum moss, coconut fiber, or preferably, a mixture of these materials. You can add a top layer of leaf litter. Oak leaves are great. Don't use potting media with fertilizers, perlite or vermiculite, and absolutely nothing with insecticides. The perlite and vermiculite additives are not particularly dangerous to dart frogs per se, but they can be very annoying and stick on the frogs.

Most people like a background of some sort, that can be siliconed to the rear of the tank to hold vines and perhaps bromeliads or other epiphytes. Most darts enjoy climbing a background. In fact, all of them do, whether they are considered particularly arboreal, or not. This can be cork bark (my favorite), pressed coco panels (not the brick that comes apart with water, but these panels are difficult to find and are over-priced,) or look at other suggestions. This is just siliconed into place. Some people sculpt their backgrounds using "Great Stuff" insulating foam and then cover this with silicon and stick on coco fiber for a natural look. I've used Great Stuff to fill the concave inner part of cork bark to the frogs can't get behind it, but haven't used it for sculpting an entire background. In one corner, you can dig out a little drainage area where you can siphon off any excess water if and when it fills your drainage area from the misting you will be doing on a daily basis. You can do this with a length of aquarium airline tubing, then remove it when you're through. I like to keep a shorter piece of somewhat larger tubing in place permanently and just hide it with a rock until I need to insert the aquarium airline tube inside of it for siphoning. When the plants are established fairly well, you may not ever have to siphon off excess water.

I like the hinged glass tops that you can purchase to fit almost any size aquarium tank. They have a plastic back flap that you can cut to admit any internal wiring if you are going to use a pump and build a waterway of some sort. And they keep the humidity in the right range, between 80 and 100%. If you use a screen, you will need to cover it with something like Saran wrap.

Then you need a light of some sort for the plants. A reflector and fluorescent bulb in the 6500 KV range that will be adequate for your plants, can sit right on top of the hinged glass. There are other options.

Do be sure to make the top escape proof. Darts can get out of incredibly small spaces, and almost immediately dehydrate if they escape.

Give the frogs a hide-out--cave or upturned pot or half coco shell, or whatever.

As for good frogs for beginners, I think the popular vote is usually with the D. leucomelas for a number of reasons: They are not particularly territorial, so get along together, whatever sex they are. They are relatively inexpensive. They are active, bold, won't be hiding all the time, and have flashy colors. The males have a nice call. They are also more likely to survive temporary human mistakes than some of the others, such as variations in temperature and humidity.

Others that are relatively inexpensive and easy are:

Phyllobates terribilis, mint green. These are not territorial, are relatively inexpensive, are bold and smart enough to know who feeds them. Eating is their main occupation. They are not tolerant of over-heating. They are rather large frogs, compared to the leucs.

D. auratus are usually inexpensive, depending upon the color morph. They are easy enough to keep, but in my experience, the blue morphs are extremely shy, so much so that I rarely see mine, although they are now 8 years old, and still quite alive. Other color morphs are more bold, but in general it seems to be a shy specie.

D. azureus are hardy enough, and certainly bold. They are still a bit expensive, although the price has gone down a lot since I started in the hobby, are quite territorial, so you need to keep mated pairs separately unless you have a whole lot of space. I don't think 10 gallons is large enough for a pair of them. I keep 2 in 20. They are very beautiful and striking, however. You could keep one alone in a 10.

I have no personal experience with the D. tinctorius, but a lot of people do like them, and there are some striking color morphs among them. In general, they are hardy and except for the coveted color morphs, aren't overly expensive. D. azureus is supposed to be a tinctorius by some standards, and the same territorial habits apply to tinctorius. In a 10 gallon, you would need a mated pair or a single frog to avoid problems.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

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

thanks a bunch that was really helpful
matt

Thanks for the info too!
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Holly Canfield, West Virginia
Registered Veterinary Technician

Pets
0.1 snow corn snake
2.0 normal leopard geckos
2.1 dogs
2.3 cats -- anyone want one?
2.0 rats
Mealworms and Crickets
1.0 American Quarter Horse - black!
Im memory of Kaija - a female green iguana who shared our lives for 9 years.