Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So yesterday happened to be a very eventful day for me. I have been planning on setting up a 24x18x18 enclosure for my darts for a weeks now. I had lots of trouble finding this tank since this size isn't shipped by anyone.

Two weeks ago I got word that I could get one. I bouught all the goodies, the canopy,lights, substrates, etc to set it up and have been growing the plants for months.

Yesterday I picked up the tank and had such a great time setting it up. As my third viv, my setups and plant selection improves each time. In this one I have 3 types of Jewel Orchids and 2 Terrestrial Orchids. I have a patch of Spike Moss, a Diffenbachia Compacta and a Neon Pothos (so awesome looking!). I also have pillow moss, and two distinctly different Philiodendrons, as well as a Negorilia X Fire bromeliad that I took as a pup off its mother.

My 4 Coblat tincs have grown quite a bit so the goal was to move the group of 4 auratus to the 24x18x18 and split the Tincs into pairs, each pair having an 18X18X18 home to itself.

Well, I successfully transported 3 of the auratus to their new home. While trapping the 4th, he jumped straight out of the tank and onto the floor. In a blink I couldn't find him anymore!! These tanks are all in a 15x20 room sealed off from the world, so I new he couldn't escape. I tore the room apart, looked everywhere, under everything with no luck. I was devistated!!!

This morning, to my surprise, a green little flash caught my eye when I awoke. He was jumping across the floor! I quickly snatched him up and rinsed him in RO Water. I've put him in a 5qt container for the day to observe him and ensure that he eats, etc before putting him back.

I am so relieved! I thought for sure he was gone. Now everyone has been moved to their new homes. Phew... a new tank and a lost frog in the same day and a found frog the following morning - an emotional rollercoaster for me!

I'll be sure to get some pics and post them soon. Thanks for reading!
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-Iman

1.1 BRBs (Ying and Yang)
1.1 JCPs (Striker and Sheila)
0.0.2 BPs (Spot and Speck)
0.0.4 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Suriname Cobalts'
0.0.4 Dendrobates Auratus 'Costa Rican Green and Black'
5.5 Fish (Insert your favorite names here)
1.0 Miniature Daschund (Rue)

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I have watched my group of 4 tincs very closely trying to tell them apart - male from female.

They are 10months old and I still can't tell. They all look so similar. I have judged the lobes on the fore-feet and the hump of the backs and if I had to guess, I'd say I have 4 males.

Do you think it is too early to tell?
Can 4 males happily coexist? Should I even worry to split them?
Any ideas for me?

I really want to end up with at least one breeding pair - so that I can experience the eggs hatching, tadpoles morphing and frogs growing.

Thanks for reading.
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-Iman

1.1 BRBs (Ying and Yang)
1.1 JCPs (Striker and Sheila)
0.0.2 BPs (Spot and Speck)
0.0.4 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Suriname Cobalts'
0.0.4 Dendrobates Auratus 'Costa Rican Green and Black'
5.5 Fish (Insert your favorite names here)
1.0 Miniature Daschund (Rue)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

Stimulate debates, stifle arguments.
Please be nice always.

Those little suckers are faster than speeding bullets. I can relate to your panic, having had it happen to me when transferring my very first shipment of tiny auratus froglets to the nursery tank. I flung cats out the door while my foster son went after it bare-handed. Another time, an imitator leapt out and dove under an upright piano with about an inch of clearance. I managed to goose it out with a wet paper towel on a stick, along with years of accumulated dust and cat hair. One of my more exploratory galactonotus escaped three different times before I finally found how she was doing it by swimming across the aquarium section and climbing a power cord for the heater on the far corner, then squeezing under the plastic flap. The first time, I found her hopping around in the kitchen sink. The second time, she was leaping over the fruit fly containers, and the third time, I picked up what looked like a hair ball on the rug, and it was her, upside down. I would have sworn she was dead, but she recovered after a quick rinse under the faucet. (Untreated well water.) I finally watched carefully and caught her in the act on her fourth attempt, then taped that corner tightly. I'm amazed that your escaped frog lasted over night without turning into a mummy. They dehydrate so rapidly in the open.

I don't have specific tinctorius experience. The nearest thing to them I have is the azureus, which are considered a tinctorius by some. But I think you could continue to keep them together and monitor their behavior closely, or divide them into separate tanks 2 and 2.

You might try the trick one of the guys from Ed's Fly Meat showed me at the Arizona show some time ago using a deli-cup. Put the frog in it (lid in place, of course) and put the cup on its side. Then roll the cup so the frog's head is in the downward position, toward the floor. The males will lift their heads up from the center of gravity, and the females will duck their heads downward as you gradually roll the cup so the frogs are oriented head-down against the side. I'm not sure if this is totally reliable, but the demonstration he gave seemed to work. I've never tried it myself, and don't know how old they have to be before it works. Just a thought. If my explanation is confusing, I'll draw a picture.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, galactonotus orange, galactonotus yellow, fantasticus, reticulatus, imitator, castaneoticus, azureus, pumilio Bastimentos. P. lugubris, vittatus, terribilis mint green, terribilis orange.

Here are some pics of the new viv.

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-Iman

1.1 BRBs (Ying and Yang)
1.1 JCPs (Striker and Sheila)
0.0.2 BPs (Spot and Speck)
0.0.4 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Suriname Cobalts'
0.0.4 Dendrobates Auratus 'Costa Rican Green and Black'
5.5 Fish (Insert your favorite names here)
1.0 Miniature Daschund (Rue)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

Stimulate debates, stifle arguments.
Please be nice always.