Azureus and Vivarium Update

[ukfan1976]

Soooo... Today I did some more work to my Viv and went ahead and added the little guy to his new home. I also added more Frog Moss, ferns, and Springtails (yes the mold is back already lol). He seems to love it! Already playing in the stream and exploring. Right now he's hiding out in the hollow log. I'm pretty sure he's spooked!

Also...

I went to LLL Reptile today (twice) and on my second visit I couldn't resist the 20% off sale on their Dart Frogs. I bought a new little friend for my current frog She's in quarantine now (I have no idea if its a she but... haha). Quarantine tank pics are below.

A few more questions:

I bought a digital Hygrometer/Thermometer probe today. Ive researched a little but and have seen recommendations for 70-100% humidity but unsure what is ideal. I have a ReptiFogger to control humidity. Also, ideal temp?? I don't want to kill the little guy haha!! Advice?

Also, I bought some empty fruit fly cups (32oz) and plan on culturing my own. I got a recipe online that uses 4 parts potato flakes, 2 parts powdered milk, 1 part sugar, water, and sprinkle of bakers yeast. Coffee filters for the medium. Anyone use this? Seems pretty simple but would appreciate direction.

FYI...I have named my frogs... Roscoe is my original frog and Rubyjane is the new one in quarantine

I appreciate all the advice, really I do! I hope I'm not becoming a nuisance with all my questions

Below are pics of the finished Viv, some pics of Roscoe enjoying his new Viv, and some pics of quarantine tank

[ukfan1976]

Oh yeah, here's a pic of the new girl before adding her to the quarantine tank (haha i have no idea if its a girl).

[DigitalPunk]

Awesome!

Temps - Mid to low 70's are ideal. Anything over 80F can become dangerous to your little guy/gal quickly.

humidity - 70 - 100% - I would aim for the middle and use that range as a gauge. Anything in the 50% range without access to water can quickly become fatal.

Fruit flies - Culturing your own is super easy. I would always make sure you have more flies breeding than you will need incase you have a culture crash on you. Here si an article on this site for fruit fly culturing. Frog Forum - Fruit Fly Culturing, Care and Feeding - Everything you need to know about Drosophila

Also Bill (deranged chipmunk) uses the below home made formula.

1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes (I get mine at the dollar store)

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

1 tsp confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup hot water

Mix together, should be a nice think creamy consistency. Sprinkle some yeast on top, add your climbing material and seed.

I am going to try his recipe after i run out of Josh's Frog media.

I am also going to switch from the Deli cups to glass jars with modified lids once I run out of the stock of cups I have. I like the idea of reusing containers instead of adding cost and waste to my operation. Time will tell if I regret this or not.


Place the temp/humidity probe about 1/2 down the tank away from the heat source. Try not to get it wet when misting as this will cause the readings to become wildly inaccurate. If it does get wet and go crazy just remove it from the tank and wave it around like crazy to dry it off and it should return to normal operation.

-------

You frog is awesome, he looks like he is loving his new home! Got any pics of the new frog?

--- Just saw the post you did while i was typing. He/she is Cute! Can't wait for our 2 to come in from Josh this coming week!

[ukfan1976]

Awesome!

Temps - Mid to low 70's are ideal. Anything over 80F can become dangerous to your little guy/gal quickly.

humidity - 70 - 100% - I would aim for the middle and use that range as a gauge. Anything in the 50% range without access to water can quickly become fatal.

Fruit flies - Culturing your own is super easy. I would always make sure you have more flies breeding than you will need incase you have a culture crash on you. Here si an article on this site for fruit fly culturing. Frog Forum - Fruit Fly Culturing, Care and Feeding - Everything you need to know about Drosophila

Also Bill (deranged chipmunk) uses the below home made formula.

1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes (I get mine at the dollar store)

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

1 tsp confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup hot water

Mix together, should be a nice think creamy consistency. Sprinkle some yeast on top, add your climbing material and seed.

I am going to try his recipe after i run out of Josh's Frog media.

I am also going to switch from the Deli cups to glass jars with modified lids once I run out of the stock of cups I have. I like the idea of reusing containers instead of adding cost and waste to my operation. Time will tell if I regret this or not.


Place the temp/humidity probe about 1/2 down the tank away from the heat source. Try not to get it wet when misting as this will cause the readings to become wildly inaccurate. If it does get wet and go crazy just remove it from the tank and wave it around like crazy to dry it off and it should return to normal operation.

-------

You frog is awesome, he looks like he is loving his new home! Got any pics of the new frog?

Hey again Paul!

I added a pic of the new girl above in a reply (forgot to put in the OP).

You mentioned a heat source.... I don't have that. Since I live in SoCal and temps here are always in the 70s is it needed? I don't even have AC in my apt and I never use the heat. My apt stays around 75ish degrees.

[DigitalPunk]

Hey again Jeremy

Nah if your ambient temps in the house stay in range you won't need a heat source... Lucky lol

Yeah I edited my post once i realized I was quick on the draw with the question lol.

[DigitalPunk]

And don't worry about asking to many questions. We love helping others! Ask any questions you like

[ukfan1976]

And don't worry about asking to many questions. We love helping others! Ask any questions you like

Awesome! I've definitely learned a lot these past few days.

One thing I just remembered I forgot to ask:

I bought some ReptiCal with D3 (ZooMed). I tried to sprinkle some on the flies I added to the old tank today when I fed the little guy, but it just came out in clumps and didn't dust anything but the ground. The container says to add crickets to a bag and add the reptical and shake, then add to tank. Does this work for fruit flies? Is this how I should be adding the calcium? I'm a little confused.

[DigitalPunk]

Yes it does. I have a small bowl I shake the fruit flies into prior to feeding. This lets you see how many you have first before dumping them into the tank. Prior to shaking the fruit flies into the bowl I add a tiny bit of the vitamin or Calcium powder to the bowl and then just lightly shake the flies in the bowl. They will get covered in the stuff. It will take some practice, but it takes much less of the powder than you think to cover a lot of flies. I try to avoid shaking excess powder into the terrarium, but it happens

[ukfan1976]

Awesome thanks again. Did your son get his Azureus' today? I remember you mentioned him expecting a shipment.

*Edit - Never mind I saw in a previous reply y'all were still waiting. Can't wait to see pics!

[Happy Frog]

Here's a link to an old web page about Dart Frogs- Doyle's Dart Den. The link takes you to a page with some homebrew media recipes. I've used the one with bananas and apple sauce. I used a blender to combine the ingredients. It makes a gazilion flies.

Fruit Flies-Doyle's Dart Den

Never substitute the bananas with pork chops!

[ukfan1976]

Here's a link to an old web page about Dart Frogs- Doyle's Dart Den. The link takes you to a page with some homebrew media recipes. I've used the one with bananas and apple sauce. I used a blender to combine the ingredients. It makes a gazilion flies.

Fruit Flies-Doyle's Dart Den

Never substitute the bananas with pork chops!

Thanks Bryan! I made one culture out of potato flakes, apple cider vinegar (the only vinegar I had lol), powdered milk, sugar, water, bakers yeast, and coffee filters. This was day 1 so we'll see how it does after a few days. Thanks for the link!

[flybyferns]

"Baggies" work great.
Add a little supplement / shake some flies into the bag /shake gently to coat with the supplement powder/ and feed.

http://www.store.repashy.com/calcium-plus-4-oz-bag.html

http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm#Herptivite
http://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-Reptil.../dp/B00061UWJM

Repashy Superfoods :: RETAIL SALES :: By Product Name :: SuperFly :: SuperFly 16 oz BAG (one pound) - Repashy Ventures - Distributor Center

[ukfan1976]

"Baggies" work great.
Add a little supplement / shake some flies into the bag /shake gently to coat with the supplement powder/ and feed.

Repashy Superfoods :: RETAIL SALES :: By Product Name :: Calcium Plus :: Calcium Plus 3 oz JAR - Repashy Ventures - Distributor Center

Rep-Cal Supplements
Amazon.com: Rep-Cal Reptile Calcium Powder with D3: Pet Supplies

Repashy Superfoods :: RETAIL SALES :: By Product Name :: SuperFly :: SuperFly 16 oz BAG (one pound) - Repashy Ventures - Distributor Center

Thanks Lynn

I have the calcium supplement and I have a tiny tupperware bowl, barely bigger than a shot glass (where I got this i'll never know but was in my cabinet lol). I poured some reptical in it today and added flies, put the lid on and shook. THey were coated perfectly!

How often is the Calcium+D3 dusting recommended? And what about vitamin supplements? I could use some direction here

Thanks!

[DigitalPunk]

There is a dusting schedule on the site somewhere. I will see if I can find it and link it to this thread. I don't know that there is an "end all be all" dusting rotation. I do 1 day on one day off dustings. Like this

Monday -Cal w/ D3
Tuesday -No Dusting
Wednesday - Cal w/ D3
Thursday - No Dusting
Friday - Cal w/D3
Saturday - Multi Vitamin
Sunday - No Dusting

I only do the multivitamin once a week. For my Mantellas I have been dusting with the Calcium daily (mainly because it makes the fruit flies unable to climb well and keeps them in eating range longer.

Lynn (I think it was Lynn) suggested placing a piece of bannan where you dump the Fruit flies in. The banana will help keep most of the flies from wondering off. I tried this yesterday morning and it worked like a charm

[ukfan1976]

There is a dusting schedule on the site somewhere. I will see if I can find it and link it to this thread. I don't know that there is an "end all be all" dusting rotation. I do 1 day on one day off dustings. Like this

Monday -Cal w/ D3
Tuesday -No Dusting
Wednesday - Cal w/ D3
Thursday - No Dusting
Friday - Cal w/D3
Saturday - Multi Vitamin
Sunday - No Dusting

I only do the multivitamin once a week. For my Mantellas I have been dusting with the Calcium daily (mainly because it makes the fruit flies unable to climb well and keeps them in eating range longer.

Lynn (I think it was Lynn) suggested placing a piece of bannan where you dump the Fruit flies in. The banana will help keep most of the flies from wondering off. I tried this yesterday morning and it worked like a charm

Awesome advice yet again

I've definitely learned a little bit of the calcium goes a long way! I dosed the flies again this morning with a tiny pinch and still seemed like way too much haha. I'll continue to practice my technique.

Update on my quarantined Azureus: She's doing well very active in her tank, only been 2 days but can't wait to introduce her to my original little guy A few more weeks to go Ill post some more pics tomorrow since I have the day off.

Also, my original guy that I have in his new updated terrarium still seems pretty scared. He's always hidden inside his little hollow log. Its only been 2 days for him in the new tank as well so I'm hoping he becomes less shy. He's still active I can see him moving around and peeking out every once in a while
Any idea how long it will take him to be less shy?

Cheers!

[DigitalPunk]

I think the settle in time really depends on the frog. My mantillas seem to have settled in pretty good in a week, but they still prefer that I not go and watch them lol. A couple of them will run and hide as soon as they see me approaching. The others will stand and stare at me like they think if they don't move I can't see them or something lol.

[ukfan1976]

LOL right after I posted this I went back into my living room and he was peeking out of the log (I had just put some dusted flies in maybe 10 mins before). I think his hunger strike is coming to an end! HAHA He was back in hiding when I woke up this evening and got ready for work.

I'm using a Zilla Digital Hygrometer. I'm not sure if i've positioned the probes wrong but its reading a constant humidity of 99%. I haven't used my Reptifogger in DAYS. Also, I have the ExoTerra 24x18x18 Terrarium (the wide one, not the tall one), and instead of having glass cut to modify the top, I just used plastic transparency sheets (The plastic sheets they used to use in school for overhead projectors). Its worked very well and was super cheap since the pet shop gave me several sheets for free haha (very flexible and very sturdy too). Anyways, since I have the wider terrarium, the screened top has 4 sections on it, so i cut 4 pieces of plastic to match those sections and they fit nicely. Since the humidity was constantly reading 100%, I uncovered half of one panel. When I woke up the temp had dropped about 5 degrees (70 vs 75 so nothing too drastic), but humidity still read 99%. I just removed the plastic from one whole panel. Still reading 99%. I just don't see how thats possible. I have the probe halfway up the glass in the back right corner on the side glass. Maybe I should reconsider a reposition? I just don't see how humidity can rise to 99% when 1/4 of the screened top is open to allow air in.....

[ukfan1976]

**UPDATE**

I moved the humidity probe more towards the middle of the side glass, away from a tall fern that was directly in front of it. Now its reading a more appropriate 74%. If it drops any lower i'll add my reptifogger back to get the humidity up a little more.