Poison Dart Frogs

[Boldie]

Does anyone on here keep poison dart frogs? As the wife won’t let me get another cham I have been looking into poison dart frogs and was just wondering what they are like to keep. I will obviously be doing some of my own research as well.

If anyone does or has had any experience with them can you give me a few pointers and if you have any photos of your setups can you post them on here so I can get some ideas.

 

[CLP]

I have a few dart frogs. It takes a lot of research to understand the different species and requirements as there are a LOT to choose from. My two biggest pointers: they eat almost nothing else besides flightless fruit flies that you will have to culture yourself. It's very easy, but nonetheless... The cultures can smell a bit (smell like old gym shoes to me!) You will want to make sure you have some cultures going well before you get the frogs as it can take some practice to get good cultures going.

Second, some of them can be surprisingly loud when they call. To the point where they will wake you up (even from another room). I had one male that would start at 5 am in the morning in the summer

They are fascinating little creatures. I recommend dendroboard.com for great information, and support.

Good luck

 

[sandrachameleon]

There are quite a few on here who keep frogs. Fabulous little things. Take up much less space than chameleons!

Good starter ones are tincs.

darts are small so they eat small stuff, and as with chameleons the more variety you provide the better - fruit flies, bean weevil beetles, baby mealworms, baby silkworms, leaf rollers, etc. The bean beetles and fruit flies are beyond easy to keep. Bean beetles are near oudourless. Fruit fly cultures can smell a bit like stale beer. The Repashy fruit fly medium doesnt have this smell issue and is very easy to use, if you dont want to make your own culture medium.

good sites for info:
www.dendroboard.com
www.canadart.org
www.dendroworld.co.uk

 

[Hoj]

I dont right now.... but when the fish are gone I think I will use that space for some. Allthough im sure my fish will live forever now LoL

 

[tkilgour]

I keep dartfrogs and they are such amazing little creatures.

I dont right now.... but when the fish are gone I think I will use that space for some. Allthough im sure my fish will live forever now LoL

Hoj, you can't get rid of the fish.

 

[Decadancin]

I asked the same question recently. Here is the thread. It has some really good info in there!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/dart-frogs-97630/

 

[Boldie]

Thanks for all the advice, looks like I've got a bit of research to do and I've still got to convince the wife. I read somewhere that they are active through the day so don't call at night, is this correct? I don't think she will let me get any if they call through the night.

Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express

 

[Turningdoc]

I keep 7 tanks of them in my house. No calling at night ever. Lots during day though, so if this is going to be a bother would not get them.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Depends on the type, but most call only in daytime and many are not very loud. The tincs I have give a soft buzzing call - my husband doesnt even hear it. They will buzz randomly from early morning to evening but not at night. I could have these in my bedroom and not care. My leucs trill like tiny alarms, and are a bit louder, but never at night. The mantella may be smaller but they are louder and sound like peeping crickets - Id say they are the most annoying because they start at 4am sometimes and if I dont close the door to the room they are in I can hear them in the bedroom (right beside). I wouldnt want to have them in my bedroom, but otherwise they are fine.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Get some tinctorius. They have a wide range of patterns and colour variety just like panther chameleons, and their call can't be heard as it is a low, quiet, resonating, deep, sensual, Barry White kinda call.

They are super-easy to keep so long as a few requirements are met:

Keep humidity up at all times

Always have fresh water available. I always recommend Reverse Osmosis or Distilled for chams, but this is not good for amphibians. You want to have some spring water for them or mix a pinch of salt + tadpole tea to your RO or Distilled water, or use tap water through a carbon filter.. I still would never recommend tap water unless you have done a chemical analysis of your tap water already and know there is nothing harmful...amphibians are very sensitive to a lot of chemicals that come through our taps.

Make a few fruit fly cultures every 7 days or so. You'll get the hang of it.

ABG Mix is awesome for substrate, with sphagnum moss & leaves on top (Oak, Magnolia, or Indian Almond)....seed the soil with tropical woodlice & springtails.

That's about it really, once you start keeping them and see how simple they are you'll be hooked.

 

[absolutbill]

We have a trio of leucs (the bumblebee colored ones) that are my husband's project. They call fairly loudly - they can drown out the cricket chirping. Lights are out around 7 and they still call around 11PM. They can see residual light from the kitchen, so I don't know if that keeps them awake. I've never heard them call thoughout the night, though. Good luck if you keep them - they are incredible little critters.

Disclaimer - all of the animals that we rescue or buy turn out to be "special" so this may or may not be normal behavior

 

[sandrachameleon]

I mostly use tap water (sometimes treated, sometimes not) or rain water, or boiled river water. I should note that my tap water is good (though in summer they use more chloramine, which doesnt dissipate like chlorine, so I tend to treat it then or switch to rain water). And I live somewhere not very industrial, so the air quality and rain water quality is good, especially on the second or third day of rain.

Only about three times a year do I include a shallow pool (the plastic lid off a peanut butter jar) of water that has a piece of rock salt added. They dont seem to use it, but I was told it is good to provide periodically.

 

[Turningdoc]

I use RO water on all my tanks as do most keepers that use Mistking systems. Additives only clog nozzles. Frogs do just fine with RO water.

 

[sandrachameleon]

....and if you have any photos of your setups can you post them on here so I can get some ideas.

My Leuc tank/terrarium:

My Tinc Terrarium:

Mantella place: