PLaying hooky From Work

[Ren]

Newport Aquarium

Didn't feel like going to work on Fri. so instead I tool my 3 daughters and wife to the Newport Aquarium in Newport KY.Its a pretty cool place... They have 2 Shark-Rays now and trying to breed them in captivity... very neat, but these little guys really caught my eye and find them extremely interesting....

Who knows the best place to get these little guys from and more about creating a habitat for them?

 

[ChrisnLisa]

We own mantellas and are on dendroboard.com every once in awhile. There seems to be a lot of info about darts on there. That is my best suggestion to you.

 

[Ren]

Thanks! Ill go and check it out

 

[Dean Pulcini]

There's lots of us that have Dart frogs and Mantellas as a matter of fact I'm getting some Mantellas from champhibian this week. And by the way if they new what they were doing they wouldn't have different species together in the same enclosure. I think theres a matella in with the darts thats a whole different continent.

 

[Vegas Chad]

Slacker! ! ! Darci and I were going to get some at the Super show. Instead she got some cool look'n horned frogs. We will have to take some pics now that I think about it.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

I lost a few, you have to quarantine them before you put them together. I'm starting with the cheaper ones but they still cost enough and it adds up. It sucks when they get sick and it spreads to the rest of them.

 

[Ren]

There's lots of us that have Dart frogs and Mantellas as a matter of fact I'm getting some Mantellas from champhibian this week. And by the way if they new what they were doing they wouldn't have different species together in the same enclosure. I think theres a matella in with the darts thats a whole different continent.

See these are the things I cannot find info on... I want and need to know which kind you can have together, what size terrarium and so on... I'm glad some of you folks here have these... shoot me some good sites for info as well as where to purchase them and so on...
BTW I'm not sure which pic you were referring but eh frog on teh bottom was housed alone in a separate terrarium...I like to build stuff and cant wait to get started on a terrarium for these guys... finally have a use for the waterfall and some other things i have from the old 55 gallon shark tank..

 

[allanschon]

I have three different species of dart frogs; they're great fun, and considerably less work than chameleons. You do however, have to have some basic knowledge.

Usually, you cannot keep multiple species in one enclosure, as the Newport aquarium seems to be doing. Dart frogs have a tendency to be pretty territorial, and will stress each other to death. Think of it like keeping two adult male chameleons in one small cage. Not so good... Also, many species can interbreed, which is highly frowned upon in the frogging community. For reference, the three frogs in the first pic are D. Auratus (Green and black), D. Azureus (Blue and black), and D. Galactonus (orange back). The next pic shows D. Tinctorius.

If you are interested in getting dart frogs, go to dendroboard.com and read the caresheets. I highly recommend D. Leucomelas or D. Tinctorius as entry level frogs. Those are the yellow and black ones and the blue and black ones, respectively.

The general recommendation is that you budget at least 10 gallons per frog. You'll want to plant the tank with enough live plants to give adequate cover, and to provide breeding locations, if applicable. Most frogs don't do well above 80F, so you'll want to make sure that you can keep the tank in an acceptable range. Also, they need moisture; you'll want to keep the humidity above 80%, most of the time. If you want to get frogs, build them a terrarium, seed it with springtails, and let the tank grow out for at least a month before you get the animals. This will allow you to keep an eye on temps and humidity, and let bacterial/fungal infestations rise and fall.

To find a source for frogs, go to dendroboard and start poking around. There are probably breeders close to you. I don't know of any in the Cincinnati area, but there are a couple of good ones in Columbus.

If you have any questions, feel free to send a PM. I'll help if I can.

 

[Ren]

Thanks Allen. Where are you from? I'm trying to find a suitable place in the house to start building my terrarium, wonder what the wife will say lol I will check the boards out after work thanks again!

 

[allanschon]

I'm originally from the Mason area, but I've lived in Cleveland for the past 10 years.

As to location, if you can put the terrarium in the basement, then do it. If not, try to locate it in a fairly cool area. Keeping darts warm enough is rarely a problem, but keeping their tanks cool in the summer can be problematic.
Depending on your lights, you need to keep the ambient temp around the tanks below 75, which means air conditioning, usually...

 

[Kent67]

Besides the fighting, another very good reason not to keep multiple dendrobatid species together is that THEY WILL hybridize, which is very, very frowned upon by that community.

 

[Ren]

Spent hours today reading online and looking at peoples vivs and stuff... very inspired.... I think i will start building the viv and down the road introduce a new little friend...are there any plants i can get for this at lowes? I'm not familiar with the names of plants and whatnot, I just don't want to end up with something toxic.... thanks to all of you chatting with me about this... I joined the other dart forums but don't want to devote my time there when you guys here rock so hard lol!! thanks all ttys