My new Azureus :) Need some help with setup and care

[ukfan1976]

-If I were you, I'd go for a 20-gallon long tank and maybe give the little guy a friend of the opposite sex when it grows up. It wouldn't be terribly difficult to transplant stuff into a new viv. When I had my dart frogs, I took it apart, rearranged things and put it back together for them, which I guess is a little similar.

-If you were to do a new viv, which again I'd recommend doing, you could put in new soil and a couple scoops of the soil from your current viv. This helps establish a new culture of isopods and stuff.

-I don't know squat about plants, but I do know you seem to have mostly bromeliads.

-You can make a little water feature if you go with a big enough viv, but I kinda think water features tend to be a bit more trouble than they're worth.

-I feel like you might as well keep the ReptiFogger. It humidifies the viv and, let's face it, the fog looks awesome. Darts need really high humidity, but what I've been told is that evaporative cooling is good for them. In order to do that, you'll probably want just a tiny bit of ventilation.

This is my two cents and I hope it helps!

Yes very helpful! I was super scared I'd ruin the little ecosystem already going if I took everything apart. The guy I bought this off of has only had it since December so seems like it doesn't take long to get everything established.

Also, I'm trying to avoid using another tank, I really like the looks of the Exo Terra and the Zoo Med naturalist terrariums. The current one I have looks kind of junky and they guy basically broke a corner off the glass plates on the hood and cut a hole in the screen on top to feed the Repti Fogger into the enclosure. And the light source just lays on top and isn't secured at all. I am planning on having the little guy on display in my living room so I'd like something that looks nice, which is why i'd like to go with the before mentioned enclosures. Plus I like the doors opening on the front for easy access. Have you had any experience with the ExoTerra or ZooMed terrariums?

Thanks again for the reply man I really appreciate it!

[Teh Frog Whisperer]

Yes very helpful! I was super scared I'd ruin the little ecosystem already going if I took everything apart. The guy I bought this off of has only had it since December so seems like it doesn't take long to get everything established.

Also, I'm trying to avoid using another tank, I really like the looks of the Exo Terra and the Zoo Med naturalist terrariums. The current one I have looks kind of junky and they guy basically broke a corner off the glass plates on the hood and cut a hole in the screen on top to feed the Repti Fogger into the enclosure. And the light source just lays on top and isn't secured at all. I am planning on having the little guy on display in my living room so I'd like something that looks nice, which is why i'd like to go with the before mentioned enclosures. Plus I like the doors opening on the front for easy access. Have you had any experience with the ExoTerra or ZooMed terrariums?

Thanks again for the reply man I really appreciate it!

I personally haven't had any experience with ExoTerra or ZooMed terrariums, but what I do know is that you need to do some modifications for a dart frog setup. I wanna say you need to put a fitted glass lid on the ExoTerra/ZooMed ones to keep in humidity, and I think you have to seal the little ventilation holes towards the bottom to keep fruit flies and stuff from escaping.

[ukfan1976]

I personally haven't had any experience with ExoTerra or ZooMed terrariums, but what I do know is that you need to do some modifications for a dart frog setup. I wanna say you need to put a fitted glass lid on the ExoTerra/ZooMed ones to keep in humidity, and I think you have to seal the little ventilation holes towards the bottom to keep fruit flies and stuff from escaping.

hmm good to know! thanks for the heads up!

[DigitalPunk]

Brett is right, You would need to modify the Exo Terras to make them escape proof for fruit flies. It isn't hard to do if that is the tank you are wanting. To replace the screen top just take the top of the new tank to a local glass company and tell them you want 1/8" thick glass cut to fit the top. I had a top cut for a 29G Long and a 40b tank at the same time and spent less than $20 on the glass total for both tanks. Dart frogs need near 100% humidity so no need to have any openings on the top. The air exchange that will happen when you open the doors to mist the plants or feed him is plenty.

One other thing you will want to start doing is setting up a new Fruit Fly culture each week. This will ensure you always have enough food for your Dart. The springtails will breed a lot and will also be eaten by your frog as a snack. You can put most of them in the new tank and put some in a breed container so you can ensure you always have Springtails to add back into the viv if you notice their numbers are declining.

[Mentat]

The two larger plants are Bromeliads. The smaller spiky one looks like a Tilandsia, another epiphyte in the Bromeliaceae family. The other flat meaty leaves on right and left front side look like Christmas Cactus plants. If so; don't think a tropical cactus will flourish in the typical high humidity and dampness of a Dart frog vivarium.

When comparing same size enclosures, the main difference between ExoTerra and Zoo Med are the front access. ExoTerra give you 2 doors that meet in middle and Zoo Med gives you one larger door. Myself prefer the dual doors; but that is personal choice. In regards to size; would recommend get an 18x18x18 for terrestrial species and 18x18x24 for those that like to climb a little. In that size enclosure you would be able to create a false bottom/drainage layer, back or even side walls and still having ample space to keep a trio or group of a desired frog species. The only mod you will need will be to use either plastic or glass panes to cover the ventilation screens in order to maintain high humidity levels.

You can transfer all the plants and soil to the new set-up and add new material (ABG soil, etc.) as required. Your frog will be slightly stressed by the move; but it should recover in couple days. Recommend leave frog alone in current set-up while you build new one. You can remove part of the present substrate to new enclosure to seed soil janitors. Then when all done; move and replant plants and transfer remaining soil before moving frog. Good luck !