Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've found many websites online that offer many species of PDF's. I've been checking the forum and the word seems to be that D. azureus is the best choice for getting started. Would anyone else out there recommend them,...or onther species as a good starter.

Anyone recommend a good website or source of obstaining hardy and fairly large/healty specimen? (Of azureus or other speices?)

Nick

Nick, any of the larger darts make good first frogs. Tincs, azureus, auratus, terribilis, leucomelas, etc. Mainly because they are more tolerant of mistakes and will accept larger foods in case you don't get the hang of culturing ff's.

Just remember to get their home set up and food going first before you get any frogs. A good site strictly dart related is www.dendroboard.com

Thanks for the quick response. The only reason I asked is because everyone seems to rant and rave about the boldness of azureus and slightly larger size than many of the rest. I am really looking for something, big, bold, and beautiful. (Relatively cheap would be good too.) Any other sugguestions?

Nick

I think leucs are beautiful frogs, plus they stand out easy in a heavily planted tank. You can usually find them for around $30.

Yay for leucs! They really are fun and I enjoy the antics of mine (ok I didn't enjoy his curiosity and him escaping the other night) He is all over the place, very bold, and he really does stand out. While I am partial to my tinc, he is much shyer and hides a lot more than the leuc.

I wouldn't personally start out with D. azureus, although they are beautiful, and not all that hard to keep. They are territorial and you'd need a relatively mature sexed pair, which is expensive. For a first dart frog experience, I would reommend D. leucomelas (do well in groups), P. terribilis (really take over and are fun and hardy,) and D. galactonotus, which are also good in groups, but a bit more pricey and less available. These are all relatively bold, so you will see them out and about a lot if you have a proper set up with the right temperatures and humidity. I love the thumbnails, and they aren't generally that difficult to keep, and are relatively bold, depending upon the species, but I'd still recommend just take your chances about pairs by getting four of the larger groupy dart froglets, at first. The only reason I wouldn't recommend D. auratus, is because all I have are the blue morphs, which are extremely shy-- I mean so shy, that even four years later, although they are all still alive, I seldom see them out and about. You want to show them off to friends on occasion and look at them yourself. Maybe the greens and other color morphs are less shy. You don't want to start out with a shy frog that you never see unless you dig it up or go on a search to count the ones that are hiding just to see that they are still alive. That's just not any fun. I have one particular blue auratus I named Larry, after Garrison Keillor's skit about his brother, who has lived in the cellar for 15 years and nobody ever missed him. Larry emerges annually, on both the Garrison Keillor show and my tank. When I put the auratus in a larger tank, he was still alive and well, but I had to dig around and search for him. Actually, Larry is a female, as are the other three. They have laid some eggs on occasion, which I understand they will sometimes do, even without a male, but of course, the eggs are not viable. Individual experiences aren't the entire answer, so get whatever frog you are most attracted by, then keep them and enjoy the show.
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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

I would have to agree. The D. Auratus are cheap and easy to find. However, they do seem to be a good deal more shy than other darts. I have standard green and black as well as spotted Tobago morphs from Panama, and they all spend their whole day hiding. My other species are a great deal bolder. D. tinctorius are very bold, hardy, and beautiful. You might want to look into those guys. Enjoy your dart frogs when you get them - they are a blast to keep!

Thanks All for the responses,

I think I might have had a mind change about getting D. azureus. I am in the process of setting up a 30 gal. So a group of possibly 4 froglets of some of the other species at a cheaper prices sounds better to me. Does anyone sell, or have a good web source in which to obtain any?

Let me know what you have in mind!

Nick

Forgot to add, the only "nice" site that I have found, that has a large selection of a few species and multiple color morphs for each is... http://www.herpetologic.net/ . Are those prices reasonable? Again, any sources that you guys know of would help.

Thanks,

Nick

The two that come to mind right off hand are www.blackjungle.com and www.saurian.net. Those two sites both sell great quality frogs at pretty reasonable prices. In addition to that, there are always some in the classifieds section of kingsnake.com listed under amphibians. I hope that helps! -David