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Thread: A little help starting.

  1. #1

    Default A little help starting.

    My girlfriend and me, have done some research and we do want some dart frogs, but wanted a bit of help.

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  3. #2
    100+ Post Member DanDrobates's Avatar
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    Default Re: A little help starting.

    That’s a bit of a broad statement. What sort of advice are you looking for specifically? Vivarium setup? Culturing fruitflies? Best beginner species?

  4. #3

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Well best beginner species, and maybe some help with culturing fruit flies. I feel like the vivarium will be kinda easy because I've done a lot of research into it.

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    100+ Post Member DanDrobates's Avatar
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    Default Re: A little help starting.

    A good beginner species would be anything in the phylobates genus such as terribilis, bicolor or vittatus. They are the most forgiving darts frogs for beginners. They can be kept in groups, are generally bold and will take larger prey items such as pinhead crickets. Second would be dendrobates tinctorius but their are some caveats to their care. Tinctorius can be very territorial and do best individually, in sexed pairs or trios of two males to one female. Dendrobates auratus are also readily available but tend to be very shy.

    As as far as culturing goes, unless you have a steady supply from a local shop you’ll need to culture your own.

  6. #5

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Could you give me any tips on culturing?

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    100+ Post Member DanDrobates's Avatar
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    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Culturing ultimately depends on the number of frogs you keep and the species. I keep (not including tadpoles) 13 individuals of different species so I make at least two new cultures a week to keep up. I also culture hydei and melsnogastor. Hydei for my large species and melanogastor for my small ones. Hydei tend to boom twice over four weeks and the melanogastor produce pretty consistently. If I am in a pinch and low on hydei I’ll feed the melanogastor as a backup. Joshs frogs sells starter kits and in my opinion their culture media is the best so they would be a good place to start stocking up. If you are starting with say two frogs you’ll want at least 3 cultures going at a time. One producing to feed off, one to seed new cultures and one as a backup.

  8. #7

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Thank you for all your help. It's much appreciated.

  9. #8

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Also do any of these actually take care of their tadpoles?

  10. #9
    100+ Post Member DanDrobates's Avatar
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    Default Re: A little help starting.

    It depends on the species. Oophaga pumillio are obligate egg eaters. The female will lay in a bromeliad leaf or film canister and deposit infertile eggs for the tadpoles to feed on. Most other species will feed on algae and quality fish food. Tincs are canibalistic and need to be housed in their own deli cups individually. Phylobates and epidobates tads can be reared communally and fed fish food or tadpole pellets crushed into dust.

  11. #10

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Do you know anywhere that is well known for selling dart frogs, and treats them right?

  12. #11

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Also I really like the colors of Oophaga pumillio, but are they as easy to care for?

  13. #12
    100+ Post Member DanDrobates's Avatar
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    Default Re: A little help starting.

    I’ve purchased good stock online from joshs frogs and saurian plus local expos. My experience with Patrick at saurian was excellent. Ferns frogs is near where I live and she has exquisite stock but she doesn’t ship she only does expos in New York. You could also try Frogs n things. I dont know where you are located but bear in mind if you are having frogs shipped you want someone with good follow through and any of the aforementioned sources would suit you well. Also any of these vendors at an expo would be recommended if you don’t want to deal with shipping.

    As as far as pumilios go, as long as you are getting cbb stock it’s doable for a beginner but there are a few things to keep in mind. They can be very territorial so you need a large vivarium if housing more than one and generally only sexed pairs are preferred. They are also small and some will only feed on melanogastor or springtails. Rather than get into all the specifics I’d recommend you read “The Complete Oophaga Pumilio” by Frank Steinmann. (The English version is available on Amazon. It was originally published in German). This book essentially answers all questions regarding pumilio.

  14. #13

    Default Re: A little help starting.

    Thank you

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