Dendrobates Auratus question

[xkatelynell]

Soo today I went to petland..and somehow came home with this little creature o.o



Anyway, being they are so small, is a tank this size okay? I will be getting more plants/hiding areas/ect next time I have more money & can order some good stuff from josh's frogs so right now i'm just curious about the enclosure itself.



The temperature is awesome and the humidity is also really nice. This tank has 2 small vents for air. It's 2.5 gal.

These guys seem to be more ground dwelling than most others, so once I get more stuff in there for him to hide in would that be okay?

Pleaaaaseee don't kill me for the lack of hiding places I promise it will be better soon!

[JeffX]

I can't really tell how big it is. Normally for dart frogs they say the tanks should be no smaller than 10 gallons for the young ones, and twenty plus for when they get adults.

Do you have a steady supply of small prey for your dart frog?

[Tom Highum]

She said in her post that it is a 2.5 gallon tank. How big is the frog Katelyn?

[JeffX]

She said in her post that it is a 2.5 gallon tank. How big is the frog Katelyn?

I was talking about the frog. I couldn't see it and tell if it was a juvenile or adult.

[Tom Highum]

I was talking about the frog. I couldn't see it and tell if it was a juvenile or adult.

Oh sorry. I read that the wrong way. JeffX what do you think of her decorations?

[xkatelynell]

Oh sorry. I read that the wrong way. JeffX what do you think of her decorations?

Nooo! Haha. No decoration comments I need need to get to a petstore and get more. I think I'm going to go today

She said in her post that it is a 2.5 gallon tank. How big is the frog Katelyn?

My frog is the size of your thumb nail. Very small. Though the pet store said it was full grown? I mean, it is a pet store and the possibility of them being wrong is very high :/

So is a 2.5 good sized for a small frog for now? Eventually should I get a 10 or 20 gal? Or should I go for something like an exo terra with more height than width?

Thanks everyone for your responses!

[xkatelynell]

Do you have a steady supply of small prey for your dart frog?

Since I have tree frogs every time i need crickets I grab 2 cultures of fruit flies.

[Tom Highum]

Producing your own cultures is very easy and cheap I recommend it. I wouldn't say you really need a bigger tank maybe a 5.5 but not much more. I do not personally know much about that specific species but I do not believe that hight is a huge factor. I would recommend a few plants like pothos or bromeliads they also help with humidity.

[JeffX]

http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...ing-101-a.html

The above is a link to culturing fruit flies. This is really easy. The only problem I had was losing my fruit flies as they jumped out of the jars. You might want to look into culturing your own. Those guys eat alot. You could also order Phoenix worms. I have some extra small ones for my Bumble Bee Toads.

Those guys tend to grow to about an inch and a half. I'd look into getting a bigger tank, and maybe put in a false-bottom. It will help with the humidity.

[xkatelynell]

Tom - I'm going to order some live plants soon from Josh's Frogs

Jeff - I will have to look into culturing sometime soon. What do you use to get the fruit flies out of the jar? or is that a lame question? hah. I still live at home and my mom is like freaking out about the fruit flies in the house so I'm trying to figure out how to keep them here with as little as possible escaping :/

I will look into a bigger tank. Do you suggest one that's wider or taller?

Here's another little picture of him/her. Seems to be doing okay. I'm really glad. I woke up so many times last night to go check on temperature and humidity

[JeffX]

I use an old film canister which I have a little calcium dust in there to dust my fruit flies.

What I do to get mine out is tap on the sides of the containers to get them to fall down to the bottom. Then I try and to put them in the canister. I always do this over the tank so if any fall out which they do they get eaten, and not lost on my floor. I'm still able to dust most of them though.

Flightless fruitflies aren't much of a mess. They won't be flying everywhere so your mom won't have to worry about that.

I'd go with a wider tank than taller for them. They really need a good amount of space. The 2.5 gallon is fine for the time being, but if you can get a bigger tank than I would.

[Kurt]

I use a funnel to get the fruit flies into the dusting jar, especially if the container they are coming from is wider than the receiving container. I do shake, sometimes violently, the reciving jar and funnel to prevent the fruit flies from climbing out. Once they hit the dust, it becomes very difficult for them to climb upwards.

If fruit flies manage to get away from you, I find they usually walk right back to the culture and try to get back in, which they can't obviously. Let your mom know that they are flightless.

[Kurt]

I use an old film canister which I have a little calcium dust in there to dust my fruit flies.

I used to use a vial, roughly around the same size as your canister, and found it to be too small. Flies would be crushed/smothered by the flies on top of them. So when they got poured into the enclosure many are dead which not good for the enclosure.

I now use jars. I reuse the fruit fly culture jars that I get at Petco. I also use them for culturing more flies after the old cultures are dead and cleaned out.

[xkatelynell]

Thanks guys. I will start looking into culturing my own. I thought about getting a cricket breeding kit too, then I'd be all set haha.

Here's an updated picture of my tank, it's all fake but the one plant in the middle and the humidity is about 80% and the temp is about 73.

This is only temporary until I can get more money for a bigger tank and some more live plants. Is it better now with more hiding places and not a toilet paper tube ?

[SethD]

I would recommend you put some dirt over the coco fiber to cover it up if possible. That stuff is great for humidity but as I am sure your finding out it sticks to the frogs and gets tracked all over everything. Also if your dart frog is captive bred it shouldn't be much more toxic than any other frog so the poisonous label isn't necessary unless you want to impress someone... In that case you might want to try a different spelling of the word "poisonous ". Best of luck with your new frog.

[Kurt]

I cover the coconut bedding with leaf litter to prevent it from sticking to the frogs. Besides it looks nice and natural.

[xkatelynell]

Also if your dart frog is captive bred it shouldn't be much more toxic than any other frog so the poisonous label isn't necessary unless you want to impress someone... In that case you might want to try a different spelling of the word "poisonous ". Best of luck with your new frog.

Haha no I know! I had labels on all of my frogs/reptiles that describe them in a goofy way. I'm weird like that I suppose Here's the labels before I put them on

I cover the coconut bedding with leaf litter to prevent it from sticking to the frogs. Besides it looks nice and natural.

Will do! When I got it they were only only on coconut bedding so I guess I assumed that was fine so I really appreciate you pointing that out. Do I need to order the leaves or is it something I can just go gather and boil?

[xkatelynell]

What do you guys think about this tank for the frog? I'm going to get it sometime this week. Graduation present from my mom.

Zillla Fresh Air Acrylic Atrium

Or is it too tall and not wide enough?

& Do you guys use waterfalls/ultrasonic foggers? Should I invest in one or the other?

This is what I understand I need

Coconut bedding + Live oak leaves
Hygrometer + Thermometer
A couple of live plants
A coconut hide out/some kind of log hide out
The water filter system/fogger

& Eventually the stuff to make a false bottom

Am I missing something?

[Kurt]

I would order "live" oak leaves from Josh's Frogs.

[Kurt]

Seems ok. How much ventilation is provided?