Dart Frogs

[CamiGirl89]

I am beginning to consider getting a small, easy pet to have as a pretty centerpiece on a work desk or on a decorative shelf in the living room. Are Poison Dart Frogs a good choice? If so, how much care do they require? Are they advanced (like chams), or are they a pretty simple pet to keep? I don't know hardly anything about them, and think that they would be a unique pet to have around!

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Very simple pet to keep. In fact a lot of froggers have tanks setup where they don't even need to touch or feed the frogs for months at a time....I'd say they are the easiest herp to keep lol.

Basically if you keep their environment well, their environment will keep them well.

The general rule is one frog per 5 gallons, however some are dominant so it is better to start off with 2 or 3, get to know them, and add one at a time from there to see the dynamics in the relationships.

All you really have to do is set up a vivarium with the right soil and plants, a misting and drainage system is good but not required, toss some tropical woodlice and springtails in, let it sit and grow for about 2 months, then add your frogs!

The only pain can sometimes be making fruit flies. However, the new SuperFly by Repashy is a Godsend. Simple, nutritious, no smell, affordable, and makes a ton of flies.

I would recommend Dendrobates tinctorius, D. aurauts, D. leucomela, D. azureus or Phyllobates terribilis as great, large, visually stunning, active display pets.

They are my favorite pet to keep aside from chams.


www.dendroboard.com
www.canadart.org
www.joshsfrogs.com
www.dartfrogz.com
www.frogforum.net

 

[CamiGirl89]

Wonderful, thank you for this! I will start to look into this considering that I graduate in 2 months... Could be a good graduation present to myself! I have a spare 29 gallon tank doing absolutely nothing so I could always work that into a pretty frog habitat! Might not be a desk display but... I don't know many others who can claim to have dart frogs I appreciate the info!

 

[sandrachameleon]

Dart frogs are my favourite pet - even more so than chameleons.
The links Zen has provided are the place to start. I also agree that Dendrobates tinctorius are a good one to start with.

 

[tkilgour]

Sandra's photos have me hooked.

 

[CamiGirl89]

They are just so beautiful! I know this could be a silly question but... Is the poison just within their bodies? I know it is a myth that if you touch them, you die, but I am just wondering where it is located?

 

[Zen Reptiles]

The poison is secreted in their skin....I guess the best way to explain it is basically their 'sweat'...as far as I understand.

They get their poison from eating specific insects that contain alkaloids.

Without ingesting these alkaloids, the frog cannot secrete them....kinda like how if flamingos don't eat the pink krill, they are not pink.

Dart frogs in captivity are not poisonous whatsoever. Some like Phyllobates terribilis can retain their poison from the wild longer than other darts, however, they haven't been imported since 1989 or something like that lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryu5Yu0nQuU&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLD4C3868B7BA91D7B

 

[jlkukuk]

We have two Dart frogs
They have been very simple to care for, they were actually our first frog. We don't touch them ever and we bought a flightless fruit fly kit type thing from a pet store and they breed themselves but they do eat like little pigs. About 40-50 each a day.

 

[CamiGirl89]

Huh that is really interesting about the poison. So if they are captive bred, they are basically poison-less? And what beautiful little frogs in that picture! I absolutely love the blues, they look like little plastic toys!

 

[sandrachameleon]

So if they are captive bred, they are basically poison-less?

that's right

 

[sandrachameleon]

jlkukuk, either your frogs are very skinny/underfed, or mine are terribly over-fed

 

[Zen Reptiles]

They are very curious too. This is what happens when I put the camera inside the viv lol.

 

[jlkukuk]

jlkukuk, either your frogs are very skinny/underfed, or mine are terribly over-fed

How much do you feed yours? That picture is about a month old too, when we first got them.

 

[CamiGirl89]

Love the curious frogs, made me laugh! They don't seem shy at all!

 

[sandrachameleon]

How much do you feed yours? That picture is about a month old too, when we first got them.

I dont know really how much mine eat. There are terrestrial isopods living in the terrariums, and the frogs will eat some of the babies of those whenever. I dump fruit flies in once or twice or three timesa a day - I dont count how many flies it is, but its quite a lot. I give them a few very small mealworms once or twice a week. They get little grain moths now and then. In season they get some aphids now and then. I've tried giving them baby stick bugs but they dont care to eat those. And maybe twice a month they get pinhead up to a week-old crickets.