Advice for a new large dart frog enclosure

[danjmc89]

Hi all

I'm currently planning a new large dart enclosure that will be around 3 metres long, 2m high and 1.5m deep. Has anyone on the forum set up anything similar and have any advice regarding species used or any particular problems that came across?

Any advice would be gratefully received as this is a far bigger undertaking than anything I've made before.

Thanks in advance
Dan

[deranged chipmunk]

I have built plenty of large (75g, 125g) enclosures, what would you like to know?


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[danjmc89]

One of my questions was regarding species mix and interactions. I was planning on mixing tinctorius and terribilis, are the any other poison frog species that have worked well in your experience? Im concerned that thepoison frogs will become lost (in terms of viewing them) in such a large enclosure. Have you ever mixed in non - amphibians (e.g. geckos, butterflies) in with the dart frog enclosure?

Thank you

[deranged chipmunk]

I have never mixed species, but in that size enclosure, those two would "possibly" work together. If you chose an arboreal species with a terrestrial, you'll have a good shot. Make sure you design in a lot of breaks in sight lines and provide a ridiculous amount of cover.

As far as adding in geckos, unless you have about 10 years or more experience with all species you plan on keeping, I highly recommend against it. You need to be able to tell if something is going wrong with all the animals almost before it happens. Also, adding in another animal adds stress to the frogs and also means incorporating very specialized husbandry requirements (basking area).
Adding an insect though, depending on species, may be ok i.e. A smallish colony of Dubia roaches as a cleaner crew. I doubt butterflies are an option due to the enclosure not having a lot of ventilation, but I am not 100% sure on that.

Just keep in mind that even as big of a tank as that is, space goes away very fast as you start building. And under estimate stocking levels, especially if mixing species. The last thing you will want is an over crowded tank.

Hope that helps.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela