New to darts, mostly just curious

[Rukufox]

I just recently got my very first toad, but I think it's natural to want to see all of what is out there. I Know as far as darts go you're supposed to have at LEAST 10 gallons per frog and very high humidity but other then that, I don't really know anything about them. As far as the darts go I think one of my favorites, looks wise, is the Dendrobates auratus. Any thoughs, comments, insightful advice, links? Thanks much for all imput, I've really only just started reading about darts.

[nos187]

Dendrobates Auratus are great beginners frogs! From my research, Auratus seem to be a more timid species but many owners favor them over other species! So dont let that get you down! You are spot on with the 10 gallon per frog minimum and the high humidity. I recommend creating your vivarium (enclosure) a couple months in advance to getting your frogs. You will need to create a drainage layer covered in soil and provides live plants with lots of hiding spots for your frogs (an artifical background is also highly recommended). The live plants actually help to keep the humidity up as an extra bonus! =) The reason for creating your vivarium before getting the frogs in because of a few reasons. First, the plants need time to grow out and get rooted into the soil so the frogs wont destroy your little piece of rainforest. Secondly, it is highly recommended to "seed" your vivarium with microfuana suchs as isopods and spring tails. These bugs will provide a secondary food source and act as janitors of the enclosure.

I would recommend searching through the enclosure section here. There are plenty of dart builds showing you exactly how to construct the vivarium. Ill tell you what! I have more fun creating the enclosures than making fruitflies every week! Which brings me to my next point, Dart frogs live on a stable of fruitflies. It very important that you learn to culture your own. There is a sort of "craft" to it so its best to make a few before actually getting the frogs. It is also important to dust your flies with multi vitamins during every feeding.

If you really want to make a name for your self and become a really responsible dart owner i would recommend getting fecals done on your frogs before putting them into the vivairum. The frogs are kept in quarantine tanks while the tests are done. Sadly darts are prone to warms and other little nastys. Always a good idea to get a fecal or two before putting the frogs in their new homes.

Well, hey! I need to get back to work. I think i touched on a lot of things up coming for you. At the very least given you a direction to your research. Keep at it and i cannot wait to see your enclosure build! Pictures are always welcomed in this hobby =). Questions? Comments? I would be glad to help.

Thanks! Kevin

[J Teezy]

the top 3 common beginner dendro's seem to be azureus, leucs, auratus. From what i've researched, azureus do good in pairs, leucs can handle being in groups, and auratus are better in pairs (i believe not positive on the auratus). Leucs seem to be said as the boldest of these three. I myself have 2 4 month oldish leucs. They are very bold, after warming up to their home they are out all the time and rarely even move if i open the door anymore. They are active hunters and always climbing every inch of the viv looking and hunting down food. Very cool to watch imo. Leucs are known to climb vertically more than the other two also. Auratus are said to be the most shy of the three but there are ways to combat this.

Don't be worried about culturing FF's. If you do get into darts then i'd suggest buying a premade media from a good source to start out with, and get a couple cultures to start culturing with as well. I use Josh's Frogs media and it seems to work excellent. I get huge fly booms off it. Just keep cultures in different stages and make at least 1 every week (number of cultures to make usually about 1 per tank you are feeding per week should work good). I only have two frogs to feed but i have 2 cultures that i bought from Josh's, 2 that i made a couple days after recieving them, 1 that i started a week later, and 1 overflow culture that i feed out the overpopulated cultures into. I only feed from the overflow cup, i don't start new cultures from it. I use melo flies which are more forgiving and faster producing over hydei

[Rukufox]

Thanks much both of you ^.^ I really like all the information I got. I'm not going to stop reading about it; it's always good to know as much as you can about something before you get yourself into it. How much do you think the initial set up of a tank about 30 gallons would be? Start to finish, and about how much time, space and money do you think needs to go into culturing fruit flies? I have to go to school right now, but I'll post again soon!

[nos187]

Hmm ill take a stab at it. These are all estimates!

tank - ?

glass lid - $10-15 (ace hardware)

hydroton - $8-16 (drainage layer)

weed blocker netting - few cents (blocks the soil from falling into the drainage layer {im sure someone on the forums could send you some for the price of shipping so you dont have to buy a whole roll})

soil (ABG mix) - $8 per bag.. probably will need 2-3

spagh moss - Few bucks at your local pet store

live plants - $1-5 per (found at any local plant store {make sure to treat before putting in vivarium})

background (great stuff method) - $8 per can (probably only need 1 to 2 for a 30gal)

silicone - $8

coco fiber bag - $5-8

tank features (wood/hides) - $10-? How ever much you want to spend ( i usually have at least one large wood feature)

lighting - 10-50$ frogs dont require lighting but the plants do (any lighting will do just fine on a 12hr on/12off schedule)

Fruit fly culture starting kit - $50 (found at joshs frogs.. comes with two producing, multivivatims, media, and cups.. proabably enough for a few months worth of fruitflies {highly recommended})

Spingtails/isopods - starting cultures $5-10

Frogs - about 30 a froglet (possibly cheaper from a breeder)


Hmmm and for time? Not sure on the exact hours but i could give a layout.

Day 1 - Greatstuff method background ( cure over night to a few days ) [i recommend practicing a little bit on a box before your tank]
Day 2 - Silicone (GeII grade window silicone/aquarium safe) coco fiber to back ground (cure for a few hours, then touch it up) {make sure everything is cured and there is no silicone smell before moving onto day 3}
Day 3 - Add drainage layer, add weedblocker sheet, soil, and plants.
Day 4 - Seed vivarium with isopods and spring tails (recommended to wait a month or 2 before starting day 5{allow the cultures to get a foot hole in the vivarium}
Day 5- Buy and introduce frogs! (unless your going to quarantine them, then dont introduce... put them in their quarantine container).


Well i hope i didnt over welm you. There is a lot to the hobby but i tell you what... there is nothing more fun than going through those steps and seeing your piece of rainforest develope. I would recommend just taking it day by day and buying just what you need for that day. It really is a blast and i hope you enjoy it as much as i have. Hope this helped a bit! Thanks for reading!

Kevin

[J Teezy]

ff culturing is quick. To make a culture all you do is scoop in media, add boiling water, let it cool, add flies, add excelsior, stick it in your storage system. I store mine in a 3 drawer sterilite bin system. Store the culutures on mite paper or paper towels that have been sprayed with mite spray

[Rukufox]

It's not overwelming I love this kind of stuff, I soak all the information right up! I still have a bunch of expierimenting and stuff I have to do, but the more I look into it the more I think I will get some darts. I wasn't really into them at first, but all of the frogs and toads are so cool. As for the ff culture, that sounds way simpler then I was expecting haha. Well this is all great reference, now I get to start saving up! ^.^