Thinking about Dart's

[JimO]

Hello all new to the forum and somewhat new to amphibians. I have been thinking about buying my first frog for a while now and am considering Darts as a first, Dendrobates Auratus to be specific. Now I have been doing a ton of research on Dart's and many other frogs so that I will know how to take care of them.

I just have a few questions about Darts. As of now I have a 20 gallon tank I will house them in if I get them. I plan on making the Terrarium for what ever frog I purchase before I actually get them so that I will know if it will be right for them. I will be checking the humidity and temp levels for a while before I make a purchase as well as stocking up on what I will need to create the Terrarium and take care of the frog. I am fairly certain that I would be able to properly care for them but I dont want to get in over my head, hence why I am doing tons of research.

As for the questions, Is what I stated above a good Idea to do before getting the frogs?
Also I know that Dart's are mainly fed wingless fruit flys however I have seen people feeding them spring tails. Is this a good food source for them? As for the species Dendrobates Auratus I am under the assumption that you can keep multiple unsexed frog's in one Terrarium? If so would 2 to 3 maybe even 4 be alright in a 20 gallon tank?

Also even though this will be my first amphibian I have helped care for them before and know a little about what they require to live and be healthy. Also keep in mind that I am still doing tons of research before I purchase any frog.

I've kept dart frogs for a number of years, including auratus. I have a breeding pair in a 29-gal viv. Although any dart frog will gladly eat springtails, the staple food is fruit flies, supplemented with the occasional termite, pinhead (very tiny) cricket and even tiny meal worms. Springtails are tiny and it would be tough to keep them adequately fed with springtails. A lot of folks keep leaf litter over the substrate and seed the substrate with springtails to build up a population within the viv, but they aren't necessary to keep auratus or other larger darts.

You'll need to dust the food with calcium and vitamin supplements. I use Repashy Calcium (can't remember the precise name). A 20-gal is okay for several juvenile frogs, but I would keep no more than one pair of auratus in a 20-gal when they are adults.

Auratus and other larger ground-dwelling darts are territorial, so keeping more than a single pair in a smaller tank can result in aggression and the loss of one or more of the frogs as they grow to adult size. I've never kept Leucomelas, but understand that they can be kept in small groups of 3 or 4, but again you would need a larger tank.

I have no doubt that you can easily care for them and even get them to breed if you have a pair. You might consider spending more money on fewer frogs and either buy a sexed pair or three sub-adults (in the hopes of getting a pair), rather than buying 5 or 6 small froglets. The froglets are more fragile and if you get, say, five and they all survive, you will be faced with setting up at least a second vivarium. Be sure to get good quality frogs from a reliable source. Most folks try to avoid hybrids of different forms of a given species from a given location. There are a lot of reputable breeders you can deal with, but be careful buying from a pet store unless you can find out some info on the supplier/breeder.

There are many good caresheets and instructions for all imagineable vivarium designs available here and on other sites.

If you have any other specific questions, let me know. I'd be happy to share what I know. Good luck.