Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been looking into Firebelly Toads, Dart Frogs, and Red Eye Tree Frogs for some time now. I just transferred a rescued Mountain Horned Dragon from the awful 20gal long repterium (glass with mesh top) it was caged in into a 65gal tall repterium (mesh) better suited for climbing. Now I find myself debating between the three I mentioned above and wanted to see what opinions you experts had on which would be better for someone that has experience with aquariums (fresh water only), lizardish reptiles (both rainforest and desert), and snakes. Please note that I am not just posting a "I have a tank and want to fill it" post, I am just trying to ask opinions on the three I have researched and have been wanting to get for some time. I am really looking for one that I can keep up with long term spending time to get everything in the enclosure right before moving towards getting the actual little guy(s)/gal(s), not a quick fix space filler.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

All three frogs are enjoyable to keep. Fire-bellied toads are colorful, diurnal, and interesting to watch when kept in groups. They also cost considerably less than the other two frogs you mentioned. Fire-bellied toads do best when kept in a semi-aquatic setup, so one of the major differences between their care and the others is that you will likely be changing a large volume of water frequently. Dart frogs are beautiful display animals that make wonderful captives. Unfortunately, they are not as cheap as fire-bellied toads, and they require tiny insects to eat which means you will likely be culturing flightless fruit flies and ordering hatchling crickets if you choose to keep them. Red-eyed tree frogs are another gorgeous tropical species of frog. Like most tree frogs they are nocturnal, so during the day they sleep in a position that does not allow you to enjoy their beautiful colors. If you’re often up at night they might be a good choice. Personally I’d opt for the dart frogs, but I’m a sucker for dart frogs in general and always recommend them to people. If you don’t choose to keep dart frogs, fire-bellied toads are nice substitution and a group of them would do great in your twenty gallon aquarium. Good luck,
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Devin Edmonds
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com

np
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
1-1-0 Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-1-0 Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

depends on what you have time for. A properly planted vivarium for RETF and dart frogs requires much less maintenance than firebellies, assuming the tank is large enough for the RETF.

However, to maintain a good ratio to prevent having to clean often for RETF, I suggest at least a 40-50 gallon vivarium MINIMUM, which can be expensive.

Firebellied toads are diurnal and stay pretty small. But they will require the most maintenance (to me) as far as water changing and even partial soil changes from time to time. Plus, the submersible filters are a real pain in the @$$.

Firebellies also do not tolerate warmer conditions that many RETF and some Dendrobates (like leucomelas) can handle, so if your room gets very warm, i'd stay away from Firebellies. Right now, my own Bombina are in the basement, while RETF would not need to move out for the summer.

Darts, while more expensive initially, all what is needed roughly is a 10-20 gallon tank, vs. a 40-50 gallon vivarium for a few RETF. Plus, there is no need to buy crickets, and for many folks, fruit flies are easier to deal with than crickets.
In the end, you will be spending less for fruit flies (which can be cultured on many household items) than it would be for crickets if you tried to breed or order them yourself.

The biggest negative to darts though, they need a lot of food, and you must keep an eye on humidity. So, if you go on vacation a lot, you shouldn't let a dart go more than two days without any food, best to get somebody to watch them. But most people would agree, just asking a person to sprinkle fruit flies is less of a problem than rounding up crickets for the squeemish (LOL).

I have darts, mantellas, firebellies, and soon some treefrogs of my own. I would definitely take the firebellies first if I was just starting out, but if you're lazy like me (LOL), I would definitely take the darts first and just spend some extra time reading how to care for them (because I like to read!)

I like treefrogs more, but the amount of space required (this is why its taken me a while to get them) and their appetite for crickets (I HATE my cricket colony, STINKY)has made things a bit problematic until now. Plus, they are LOUD at night.