Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 10 year old and I would really like to get started owning dart frogs. I am new to Darts but not to Amphib's altogether. Have experience with breeding Asian Fire Bellies(I know they are much easier in comparision), and with red eyes tree frogs. I can't stand the thought of selecting some frail frog that will die on my 10 year old( I really like the look of Tinctorius, Lamasai, and some others but fear now killing one). He has dreamed of the day that he could own one for 4 years( I made him wait til he was responsible enough). We wish to have bold, colorful, prolifc, and HARDY type. Should I just stick with the Tricolors only? And if so, does anyone have any really nice ones for sale, and I understand that there are actually different kinds of Tricolors(what are they and could you point me to some pics and/or descriptions?) Thank you so much!

some of the better known frogs to start with would be the leucomelas and the auratus. there are several different morphs of auratus but the blue are known to be particularly shy. i started with the auratus' but don't think tincs are much harder to keep like the thumbnail frogs would be. if you want tincs i'd say go for it as long as your 10 year old son isn't going to be doing it entirely alone. i've noticed that as long as you have a good dart frog vivarium, good setup, most dart types will do good. i would also suggest the Dart Frog book to read and get some ideas on setups and frogs before you start. because you will need to cater your vivarium to your type of frog though.

I see my thinking is in alignment with yours. I am now researching professional vivarium providers for this very purpose. (if anyone has a good source-please pass it on) They are very expensive and I will have to wait for 4 months but we were willing to do that if we could greatly increase the survivability of our frogs. One concern: I will be expending much financial resources and going to much trouble and I wanted to get the most for my buck(so to speak). The viv I will end up with will probably be corner tank 26x26 by 36high, waterfall, hali(sp?)light, bottom drain. I think I won't need a rainmaker-(waterfall should provide plenty of humidity/air circulation), light should keep the temp right. Of course I wish to have as many frogs that I could have in there, breeding, and thriving. I probably can't do more than 2 males to 1 female tinc-am I right? And how do Tricolors group up? Can I have groups? The auratus are not as interesting to me, no insult intended, just like that blue and yellow so much! Thank you to anyone who would offer expertise on the matter!

I think you couldn't go wrong with tricolors in your case. I recomend the Santa Isabels... they are the largest, most brightly colored generally, and the easiest morph to get ahold of.