Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought 3 leucomelas and have noticed after a week one is looking thinner than the other two. I did not quaritine them at all, they are in a well planted 29 gal viv and seem happy except for the skinny guy. Can I make a quarintine place just for him to eat so i can beef him up? I'm kinda worried there will be too much ventilation and he will dry out if i leave him in something besides his tank. Thanks for any responses.

yes i would quarintine it for feeding, if you want to beef him up i'd give ff larva

It seems like with any group of new frogs, there is always a "skinny guy." Most often, this isn't really a problem, especially with leucs, unless the frog is actually emaciated and appears ill or hides out instead of coming out with the rest to hunt. The skinny guys are often males. The ladies tend to be fatter. I'd watch the eating habits closely. If he is lively and out there eating with the fat gals, and they aren't trampling over him, I'd let it be. Just keep a careful watch. At this point, you should be feeding plenty. Leucs are pretty voracious eating machines, but they do get along rather well in groups without a lot of obvious intimidation.

It's usually a good idea to keep any new froglets together in a small nursery tank for awhile, just to watch them and check on their health and make sure all are eating, and let them grow a bit, before introducing them the the permanent habitat. But since you didn't do this and they are leucomelas, not some delicate thumbnail babies the size of an ant, there's probably no harm done.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking he may be a male but wasn't sure if you could tell in froglets. I did try quarinting him just to eat but i think he was a little freaked out by it cause he didnt show any interest. With that said however i fed them all today and he seemed to be getting a good amount of flies, I'll just have to watch him carefully like you said. You guys think it's a good idea to feed maybe twice a day in smaller amounts so the flies dont get away? Also approx. how much should i be feeding my little froglets, i read 50 flies for adults and 15-20 for froglets? id say theyve been getting somewhere around 30 or so a piece. Thanks for the info.

as froglets i'd feed as much as they can eat in 5 min. or so a few times a day

I keep all of my new froglets virtually surrounded by food. I don't count the numbers of flies or springtails. I just make sure there is something moving in the nursery tanks at all times. They aren't fish, which need to eat their meals within a certain length of time or the excess will foul the tank water. Dart frogs hunt all day, and the more shy individuals need the opportunity to eat after the bolder piggy guys are satiated. Excess fruit flies and spring tails don't foul either a nursery tank or a permanent set-up.

Dart frogs don't seem to be like White's tree frogs or some others that become obese and get cholesterol problems from overeating. Darts tend to work at hunting and use up energy, get in shape doing it. I make the adults work harder than the babies. They have to climb around and search more for flies that escaped them the day before before they are fed again the next day.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus