What to choose?

[Aldross]

I'm lost. There are so many great looking PDF out there and I have no clue what would be right for my home. I'm looking at purchasing in Feb so that I have more than enough time to get my viv the way I want and have a little grow in and stabilization time. I want one that is bold and hardy as well as forgiving of a 1st time PDF owner. I have owned 6 FBT for over a year and a half so not completely lost in frogging.
I was thinking maybe the Phyllobates terribilis , Dendrobates Leucomelas or , Phyllobates bicolor.
Open to any ideas that are not there either.
Also if you have any favorite online vendors or hobbyist/breeder in the Missouri area that would be great.

Al

[tylototriton]

All 3 of those are great choices. It really depends on what sort of tank you want. D. leucomelas needs a tank that is about as vertical as it is wide. They like (and will use) as much height as you give them. Both of the Phyllobates are pretty much solely terrestrial, so you don't need to worry about height. Although all 3 are really hardy, Phyllobates tend to be a little less heat tolerant. If being able to maintain temperatures below 80 is going to be a problem then I would probably go with the Leucs!

Cheers,
Alex

[MantellaGuy]

I agree with Alex with some aspects but P.bicolor and P.terribilis I have found can be quite Arboreal in their behaviours too, I have seen both Phyllobates species mentioned climb quite high before and happily stay around these selected areas of the Terrarium.

However, if you are looking into keeping members of the Dendrobatidae family (Poison Dart Frogs), then why not look into the Genus of Mantella from the Mantellidae family aswell? I find it's unfortunate that some species of Mantella never seem to get mentioned or recommended lol Personally, apart from a few species within the genus requiring low temperature ranges (Mantella aurantiaca & Mantella crocea being the main two that require temperatures of and around 16-23'c) they are really not as different in how they are kept in comparison to Dendrobatidae species.

Obviously though, you need to look into what you wish to keep and what interest you but with over 180 species within the Dendrobatidae family (with hundreds of locality variations to choose from) and 6 species within the Mantella genus, you will definitely find something you will be drawn too

Merry Christmas and I hope you decision will unlock a great passion!

Josh

[Aldross]

I'm going to further look into the mantella as well. I have never seen them in the local shows and i would prefer to buy where I can see them. The Mantella aurantiaca is an amazing looking little guy and my wife seems to really like also. Would a 20g high work well for them. I'm not a fan of the front opening door type. Never seem to hold temps where I want them. At most I would only house 3 in this.