Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It has been a pleasure finding this site and spending the last 3-4 weeks reading up on some of the most fascinating creatures in the world IMO. Thanks in advance to everyone who has posted here for all of the info I have been able to absorb so far.

Some 30 years ago I worked for a small wildlife sanctuary/museum where I had the opportunity to work with many different animals as well as herps and amphibians. I have worked off and on in the pet industry over the years again learning a small amount about many things but the mainstay of my life has been devoted to my dogs. At one point I switched from a Veterinary intended career to becoming an all breed professional handler/trainer. If anybody ever watches the big Westminster KC show on tv each February I am one of those die hards.

I only bring this up to indicate that I am not totally ignorant of animal care although when I sit here and think about all the questions I have I sure feel pretty foolish.

SO much for an into...... let me please ask a few questions of you who are more experienced. I have been enamored of PDF's for as long as I can remember. 3 years ago I was thrilled to see my first live frogs in a display and I guess that is when the desire to own them first occured to me. Until I found this forum the info seemed too elusive however now I feel that I may be able to take the plunge. I have read as many of the old archives as I could dig up about begining frog keeping but I am a visual learner and finding tips here and there has been a bit confusing. The only vivarium I have any recent experience with is the one in which we keep "Trucker" the box turtle and after a year of trying to 'spruce' it up with plants etc. I gave in to the 'barren' look which he seems determined to have. Seeing some of the magnificent tanks that so many of you have established has me longing for one of my own. (Course I would really like to cheat and buy one all ready to go, ;0)

One last thing before I ask all my questions... My husband and I belong to a drum group that will require us to be away nearly every weekend all summer long. Leave on Friday nights, play Sat. & Sun. and return on Sunday nights. I have read that the frogs need to be fed daily and this would not be possible at times. Is there anyway to 'overfeed' on Friday night for Saturday and then take care of them when I get home on Sunday? If not then I will not even attempt to aquire them as the last thing that I wish to do is harm them.

1. I have a 20 gallon long tank that is no longer used for Koi now that the pond has gone in. I have noticed that higher tanks seems preferred, but is this adequate? I am leaning towards a tropical theme with a water feature, (Stream/pool/waterfall??) and love the fog effects that I have seen.

2. Am I correct that this would be adequate to house one pair of darts?

3. Is it poor judgement on my part to wish to start with D. Azureus, (my absolute favs), or should I start with something a little easier. (Please keep in mind I may not have the luxury of adding more in time as space is a tremendous issue in my home).

4. The tank which I have does not have a lid/cover and I have not read too much about what people are using for this. Could someone offer some suggestions?

5. I intend to establish the vivarium for several weeks, practice culturing FF's and then if all is well add the frogs.

6. I adore broms and orchids and have had great success with them as house plants but have not worked with them in this fashion. Are there any specific varieties that people could recommend?

I apologize for being so long winded but these are questions that have been haunting me for some time. I have a thousand more, (what neophyte doesn't? LOL), but I shall save them for another time.

Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Adanvdo Ageyv
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Adanvdo Agayv
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"Non Agonis Dimentia Vivat. (I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.)"

1.0.0 Box Turtles
1.0.0 RF Canary
2.1.0 Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
1.0.0 Smooth Fox Terrier
0.2.0 Schipperkes
1.0.0 Spouse
0.1.0 Child
0.1.0 Grandchild

1. the 20 gallon tank should be good. one reason people like the high tanks is for bigger plants and if they house thumbnail darts in them because thumbnails don't spend much time on the ground.

2. Alot of people house a pair of darts in 10 gallons so this is deffinately big enough for a pair.

3.Azureus are great. I started out with them and they've given me no problems, they're very bold frogs and get a good size, just make sure you have enough flies for them.

4.As for the no hood... i would maybe get a peice of glass and put a hinged opening in it, make sure its a very snug fit, darts can fit through very small spaces. Not sure how great of an idea this is, can anyone else out there put in there opinion..

6. i don't have any broms or orchids in my tanks so i'll leave that to someone else

Hope this helps and, anyone feel free to add

Thanks so much for your response. So far I am planning on going ahead with this! It is very exciting!

I am still hoping that someone will answer my question about feeding on the day that I will be completely away each weekend. Can you 'overfeed' one day to compensate for being away? How do others here handle this?

Also I have not completely decided between a tree fern back drop or cork. Does anyone here have a preference for one over the other? And if so are there reasons for this other than personal preference?

One last question for this post. How do you attach plants to the back drop? I would tend to think that there must be a preferred method, LOL.

Again Thanks in advance for the help, I truly appreciate everyone's point of view.

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Adanvdo Ageyv
-------------
"Non Agonis Dimentia Vivat. (I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.)"

1.0.0 Box Turtles
1.0.0 RF Canary
2.1.0 Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
1.0.0 Smooth Fox Terrier
0.2.0 Schipperkes
1.0.0 Spouse
0.1.0 Child
0.1.0 Grandchild

Regarding your feeding question, you can use a small container that has a hole in it(small enough that frogs can't get in but flies can get out). Just put flies in the container with a peice of banana and put the whole thing in your vivarium. The flies will come out too quickly if you don't put the fruit in there. This will allow you to be away for a few days without a feeding problem.

I also have tanks with tree fern and bark backgrounds. I prefer the bark as it is less messy but the tree fern looks good too. Just make sure your frogs can't get behind whichever you use.

Hope this helped,

Dave

It sure does help and I appreciate the response. I have bred many exotic birds such as some of the smallest waxbills where twenty-four hours without food and they would cease to exist. This made travel difficult. I did not wish to get too excited about the frogs until I was sure that I could maintain them properly. Since my husband and I will have so many commitments on the weekends this summer I was afraid that leaving them one day a week was going to be a problem. It is wonderful to know that they can safely take care of themselves for the short times periods that we will be gone.

Thanks for the tips on the backgrounds as well,

Best to you and yours,
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Adanvdo Ageyv
-------------
"Non Agonis Dimentia Vivat. (I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.)"

1.0.0 Box Turtles
1.0.0 RF Canary
2.1.0 Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
1.0.0 Smooth Fox Terrier
0.2.0 Schipperkes
1.0.0 Spouse
0.1.0 Child
0.1.0 Grandchild