I'm thinking about starting up a vivarium/terrarium (has a terrarium w/ green tree frogs and fire bellie toads/newts)

[Chris Craven]

At 16 I had a terrarium w/ 8 green tree frogs, 3 fire bellied toads, 3 fire bellied newts...I did well on try 2. My first try was a total fail, I se my terrarium, let it run for 2 weeks and tossed in 8 green tree frogs and 2 cool blue dumphy male/female set...after 2 weeks in the tank, the tank picked up some sort of disease and I lost all of the frogs within 1 week...I cried. Did some research and found out I had no balance and over crowded. So I re-ran the tank with 3 fire bellied toads, 3 fire bellied newts, 6 green tree frogs with no issuester a year I left for the Airforce...I am now staying here in saint louis and was thinking about getting back into frogs...the posion dart frogs / arrow frogs are very cool looking and are new to me, I'm interested in starting a tank for some...I have many questions if someone can help me out I would appreciate it...1st question is a terrarium or a viquarium better suited for pdf?

[Yusil]

Hi .

Um, I'm not sure, but mixing all those frogs and newts, sounds pretty dangerous, because a few of them are poisonous.

But as for Dart Frogs, you should definitely look at the Care Articles [ ^Above^ ] or check the Dart Frog section of the forum and see what's best. But I would not recommend mixing various frogs, mostly because they may eat one another[if they're smaller] or attack one another and especially because they may not coexist well together, in terms of their set-up requirements/space requirements.

You'd have to really check wether or not they can coexist well together and what they need.

Also, if you will be gone often [doing the Airforce or what not] for long periods of time, you may want to see if a friend can check up on your frogs, because you don't want them to starve or have an accident and you know nothing about it, because your away at work or something.

Good luck! .

[arielgasca420]

Mixing is very risky. I have a pixie and a pacman in the same tank, same size, but i will be separating them once they outgrow each other. I personally would suggest a vivarium because it keeps the humidity high and gives the frogs a place to hide. birds' nest fern and bromeliads are easily kept in these humid environments and are not toxic. make sure you start out with one frog because dart frogs are an investment and you dont want to lose hundreds of dollars because of a setup problem. Also make sure that the tank isnt humid enough to the point where the glass is fogged. get a hydrometer to make sure the percentage is constantly maintained. if the humidity is too high then his will cause bacteria and fungus to grow and will kill your friends in a short period of time. make sure the tank is humid and also aired out. I had to leanr the hard way about humidity problems. My first pacman frog was dead and had mold growing on it. I was at fault and vowed never to let another one perish because of my lack of knowledge and understanding.

[Chris Craven]

I am aware of being patient, I know some of the frogs/newts were posionious, I used the toxins of these frogs/newts to help keep the tanks ph in balance, and because of the way I had my tank set up the newts were the best way to go. Viquarium would be ideal, should I use a fogger machine (1 for the look in the tank, 2 for the mostiure it would provide)? And a hemostat measures moisture? As far as mixing poision dart frogs, I would only mix pdfs, mainly for the different and cool colors...is that okay or not?

[Chris Craven]

Sorry, a hydrometer...not hemostat, but the name hydrometer answers that question....thank you all for your help so far

[arielgasca420]

yea, the mixing of the dart frogs will be fine. a fogger will help but dont leave it on all day. I would suggest only turning it on when you are home so that you can turn it off if the humidity becomes too high. You can leave them on for a few hours, but i wouldnt suggest any longer than that. just a reminder that the ones you get from the store are not poisonous. I have heard that there is a certain ant that they eat in their native habitat that will cause them to become poisonous but without it they are just regular dart frogs. I could be wrong, but that is what a dart frog breeder told me.

[bshmerlie]

Its really not a good idea to mix PDFs. Not because of the poison issue but because you will find many of them to be very territorial or aggressive with each other. This is definately something you're going to need to do a lot of research on before you jump in and get some. They are less forgiving than the frogs you've had before. If you want a group of PDFs I would recommend the D. Leucomelas. They do well in groups and are active. Again, research....research...research.

[Chris Craven]

Its really not a good idea to mix PDFs. Not because of the poison issue but because you will find many of them to be very territorial or aggressive with each other. This is definately something you're going to need to do a lot of research on before you jump in and get some. They are less forgiving than the frogs you've had before. If you want a group of PDFs I would recommend the D. Leucomelas. They do well in groups and are active. Again, research....research...research.

Thank you for the information so far. I dont plan on jumping into anything, but am looking to do as much research as i can.....i am struggling with finding a good website / book with info on these cool little guys.....if you have any pointers or anyone here have any pointers that would be greatly appreciated......I decided to use my 55 gallon i had stashed away in my basement.....im getting very excited to be getting back into frogs