New to Dart Frogs

[lilblack94gt]

So, I have some Green tree frogs, and am getting the chance to get a couple black and blue Dart frogs from a friend, plus the enclosure and everything. How much difference is there for the PDF and the GTF? The PDFs I am getting are healthy and I want to keep them that way. I know you can't handle them alot. I dont handle my GTFs unless I absolutely have to, just because I dont want to stress them out. What else do I need to know? I am pretty certain they are eating crix.

[lilblack94gt]

What type of lighting schedule should I have them on? What type if any UV lighting? Calcium and vitamin dusting schedule?

[Happy Frog]

I noticed nobody replied to you so I'll try and help you out. I'm also new to Dart frogs but I can say that they are not as hard to keep as you might think.

First off, Hyla cinerea and D. auratus are completely differet types of frogs with different needs. PDF's require high humidity and temperatures in the mid 70's, whereas reasonable airflow and a screen top is sufficient to cover the top of your tree frog's enclosure. Also, you mentioned the Auratus were eating crickets. Pinheads are fine but you will also need to learn how to raise fruit fly cultures along with several types of Isopods. Dusting your frog's food with supplements is important. I dust my fruit flies with Repashy Calcium Plus daily and then use a 50/50 mixture of Herpa Vite and RepCal three days a week.(This is a supplement routine I got from a PDF pro.)

As far as a lighting I believe 12 hours on and 12 hours off is the standard time schedule. For frogs a 2.0 tube or CFL is okay but if you are going to have a heavily planted tank then a bulb with a high K rating(6500) will be needed for decent plant growth.

I would suggest researching and reading a caresheet for this particular species of frog. I hope this helped a little and maybe someone else can add to this or correct me.

Good luck.

[lilblack94gt]

Thank you for your answers. I have done some research and found out their temps and the humidity. I went to Repticon this weekend in St. Charles, IL. I ended up buying 2 Cobalt Tinc juveniles. I have them temporarily housed in a 10 gallon tank. I am wanting to do a 30 gallon long tank I have for them.

Can you mix Dendrobates Azureus Tinctorius and Cobalt Tincs in the same enclosure? I am still planning on getting the Dendrobates Azureus Tinctorius from a friend and just was wondering if I can put them in the same bigger enclosure. Or if they will eat each other. I have seen pictures of other people mixing PDFs in their enclosures and just want to know if it is safe fro these two breeds to be intermixed.

[tylototriton]

A 30 long is a great size for D. tinctorious. Frankly, you could get away with a 20L or a 15 for a pair too. Mixing Azureus and Cobalts would not be a great idea. They're both the same species and so this presents even more problems than if you were mixing different species. You would risk creating a funky hybrid by putting them together, which is generally frowned upon (although it is not nearly as serious of a problem as most people make it out to be). A more serious problem is that all of the Tinctorious frogs can be quite competitive with one another and don't make good group frogs. Most people keep them as pairs or reverse trios (2 males to one female). In particular the females will compete with each other quite violently. This would be exacerbated in a mixed tank with Cobalts and Azureus because they are the same species.

One possibility would be to split that 30L in half with a piece of glass and create a tank that appears continuous but is in fact separated. Each side would be large enough for a pair or a reverse trio if they're well planted.

Cheers!
Alex

[lilblack94gt]

Thanks for the advice! I may think about doing the split habitat. I have several unused tanks right now, so I have plenty to choose from for both species of tincs.

[Pentrilx]

So, I have some Green tree frogs, and am getting the chance to get a couple black and blue Dart frogs from a friend, plus the enclosure and everything. How much difference is there for the PDF and the American Green Tree Frog? The PDFs I am getting are healthy and I want to keep them that way. I know you can't handle them alot. I dont handle my GTFs unless I absolutely have to, just because I dont want to stress them out. What else do I need to know? I am pretty certain they are eating crix.

Hi im new to.. I have a pretty huge tank with green tree frogs. I was also wondering if its a bad idea to put 3 Dendrobates azureus in the same tank since its pretty big. Let me know if its a terrible idea haha. Thanks

[lilblack94gt]

I have been thinking about just getting the 29gal tank done that I have. It was originally a fish tank so I can just use the glass tops. I might just do that instead of trying to mess with making a lid for the current tank.

[lilblack94gt]

So, once I have my 29 up, how often and length of time should I set my monsoon to mist? I really want these little guys to be more active.

[DartEd]

Truthfully, I only mist my tank once a week and run my fogger once a day for about 5 mins. This seems to keep my humidity at +80% constantly. The misting would depend on humidity levels as well as plant requirements.

As far as making the frogs more active, I wish I had better news for you but I don't know there's anything you can do to change their behavior. I have read that by keeping the viv in a high traffic area where the frogs see people around constantly can acclimate them to people. How much cover do the frogs have? Some frogs actually become bolder when they have hiding places close by. If they have hiding places everywhere, they can become more confident and a bit bolder. Nothing, however is guaranteed. Good luck.

[lilblack94gt]

The tank currently resides in my room. It is moderate traffic. They have lots of cover from the leaf litter and pieces of bark to hide under. I am just trying to get the tank situated now so that when my little one arrives, I wont have to worry about my darts as much.