Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all! I'm new to dart frogs and I have a couple of questions. I want to buy some dart frogs in the future, but I'm trying to get my tank set correctly before I purchase them. Right now, I have a 60 gallon tank, ready to rock. It's been decorated and all I need now is to get the temperature/humidity set before I go out and buy some frogs. So, here are my questions...

Temperature. I bought a couple of under tank heaters and my temperature gauge says it is about 72 degrees inside. I touch the substrate and it feels warm due to the under tank heater. I've read that frogs should be kept from the high 70s to low 80s and I'm not sure if there is any way to get my tank up to that temperature. Could I buy a small 25w heat lamp and try that? Or is my house just too cold?

Humidity. I've been spraying inside with my spray bottle and the humidity sits between 80 and 90, depending on if I've sprayed or not. If I did, it gets to the high 80s (doesn't get past 90) and if I've left the tank alone for some time, it gets down to about 82 but doesn't get any lower than that. Is this okay? Do you recommend using a humidifier (like the one they sell at Petco)? Or some sort of ultrasonic fogger?

Thank you so much for your help. I think I'm going to start with some D. Tincs, but if you have a better suggestion, please let me know. I eventually would like them to breed in a couple of years or whenever they feel like it.

It is hard to keep up the Temperature in the winter, as it is also hard to keep the temperature down in the summer (depending on location). I have Tincs right now sitting at a temperature of 72, and they are still perfectly active and eating well. I would not use a heating lamp since it will have an adverse affect on humidity and dry out the frogs. As long as you never get into the 60's, just let winter go by and you should be fine.

Ultrasonic Humidifiers (UH's) are 100% recommended! The best setups to use are the kinds from Walgreens, if you look at "TonyT" 's Picture Gallery, you will find some pics of what they look like setup. If they arent there anymore, I will email you some pics of my setup that slightly differ from his. Using this, which is farily inexpensive, will raise your humidity to where you need it, and will partially take the place of necessary misting. I use a misting system as well, but it is probably overkill.

Tincs are a wonderful choice!

Cliff
email me at: cbporter@tamu.edu if you need!