Dart frogs for a beginner

[John]

Unless you've a bunch of tanks, I recommend hand misting - gives you an excuse to check out what's happening in the terrarium on a regular basis.

To answer your new questions:

Misting is a way of life with dart frog terraria, hand or automatic misting system. So drainage is something to seriously take into account.

Solution 1 is great if you are experienced at drilling glass with a diamond hole saw.

I actually use solution 2 - just make sure you cap the pipe in some fashion, and that you put something on the bottom so the pipe won't come up when you remove the cap. Drill some holes in the sides at the bottom of the pipe to allow water to enter freely.

If you've got a planted terrarium with a good substrate mix, you don't need to spot clean - you might have to clean out a small terrarium every 3 or 4 years, at worst. You can set up a temporary dart frog container easily. I routinely use these:

Josh's Frogs - 190 oz. quarantine/temporary enclosure & lid - quarantine/temporary enclosures

I put about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of wet coconut husk (the chunks) in the bottom. On top of this I put some leaf litter that won't rot quickly (in the US they have a species of tree called "Live Oak", which is ideal. You can also use magnolia leaves. All should be dried/old leaves, not fresh ones). I spray the container down with distilled water to moisten everything, with a hint of water in the base of the coconut fiber, and then I put plant cuttings on top of the leaf litter. The easiest for me is Devil's Ivy, also known as Pothos - Epipremnum aureum. Then the frogs go in straight away. Keep the container in a room that is about 21-25 °C (early 70s °F), and mist every few days. Feed the frogs every 1-2 days on dusted fruit flies.