New dart pics *dial-up annhilation*

[Bry]

the completed viv

moment of truth

froglet #1 is out! And in a big hurry to show me how arboreal leucs are.

belly shot of #1

And then there were three.

Froglet #2!

Froglet #3!

Still waiting on #4

Froglet #4 is finally out with some coaxing

 

[prang11]

Man I want to egt some dart frogs. They are spendy though if you ask me.

Your setup looks amazing. Those things best fed by fruit flys or are you able to feed them anythign else?

 

[Fini]

Very nice leucs!!! I love PDF's. I love the planted vivarium also. Did you do a water feature?

Chris

 

[atavuss]

nice! is that iron or ghost wood? what did you use for plants, looks like air plants and bromilieds (sp?).
what are you using for substrate?
I just set up a 37 gallon tall terrarium for a trio of red eyed tree frogs.
are you worried about the water stains on the glass, esp. if you have "hard" water?

 

[Bry]

Man I want to egt some dart frogs. They are spendy though if you ask me.

Your setup looks amazing. Those things best fed by fruit flys or are you able to feed them anythign else?

Darts are not that spendy, IMO. Unless of course, you purchase the more expensive species/morphs. If anything, building the vivs are the most expensive part, but that's partly because I add a background to my vivs. No background = cheaper.

Darts will eat anything small enough to eat. Frogs are food wh***s as it is. Fruit flies are a more common/popular part of their diet in captivity. However, you can also feed them pinhead crickets, springtails, micro mealworms, meadow plankton from areas that are not affected by pesticides, etc.

Very nice leucs!!! I love PDF's. I love the planted vivarium also. Did you do a water feature?

Nope, no water feature. While I do love the look of water features, I decided to keep it simple here. Perhaps my next one shall have a water feature.

nice! is that iron or ghost wood? what did you use for plants, looks like air plants and bromilieds (sp?).
what are you using for substrate?
I just set up a 37 gallon tall terrarium for a trio of red eyed tree frogs.
are you worried about the water stains on the glass, esp. if you have "hard" water?

Hey man, how you doing? Yes, that is ghost wood, I have never heard of iron wood. Ghost wood is known to harbor moss spores in it or something like that...so after some time, the wood should be completely covered in moss.

I did use mostly bromeliads, and two Tillandsias (air plants), which are also bromeliads. As for the tropical plants, I have Peperomia 'Watermelon', coffee plant, Oxalis 'Silver & Gold' (can't wait to see this one mature), Alocasia 'Polly', Selaginella, tropical sheet moss planted in various locations, I also have several creeping fig cuttings planted along the back wall, so hopefully that will cover the entire background in a few months, and I used Magnolia leaves for leaf litter. The tree fern which makes up the background has been filled with supersoil. Other dart froggers say the tree fern will sprout moss/ferns if you put in supersoil, so we will see how that goes. Should be a very green tank when it all grows in.

The substrate is simply Eco Earth. Underneath it is a layer of clay pellets known as LECA or Hydroton for drainage. There is a fiberglass screen in between the two layers to prevent the Eco Earth from filling in the gaps between the clay pellets, thus defeating the purpose of a drainage layer. I also covered the sides of the glass around the substrate with brown silicone in order to hide the ugly clay pellets.

The water around here is so hard, you can practically bite it. I wouldn't use tap water, even if it's aged due to the hardness and additives they put in the water. So I buy spring/artesian water by the jug (the kind with the little spigot at one end), every couple months or so, and use that to fill my misting bottle. It's better for the frogs anyway. I don't mind paying $1.50-$2 every couple months if it means it's better for them.

RETF are some sweet frogs. I'd like to set up a bog-type viv with some gray or barking tree frogs. Did you ever post pics of them or their viv? Still got your White's tree frogs?

 

[Israel2004]

Great looking tank.

I have a question. Do you know of anyone using roaches to feed dart frogs.
I have Orange head roaches and keeping wondering if the nymphs are small enough to be used as food for darts.

If orange heads aren't small enough does anyone know of a non-climbing roach that has nymphs small enough to be eaten by darts.

 

[Bry]

I don't know if anyone feeds roaches to their dart frogs. I had been wondering the same thing myself. I don't know how small Orange Heads are, so I can't say for sure. I was told that the nymphs of Blaptica dubia are the perfect size for a 1/4" sling, and this species is non-climbing, non-flying. I can't say for sure because I've never seen nymphs of either species. Phyllobates terribilis should have no problem with nymphs because they are the largest of darts, and can easily eat 1/2 grown crickets. Adults of the larger dart species, such as: Dendrobates tinctorius, D. azureus, D. leucomelas etc. are capable of eating Drosophilia hydei fruit flies that are about the size of this underscore --> _, and D. melanogaster are about half that, about the size of a pinhead cricket. If the nymphs are as small as the sizes I mentioned, then I don't see why it can't work. The smaller thumbnail species (they fit on your thumbnail), such as D. imitator, D. reticulatus, D. ventrimaculatus, etc. are so small that they are pretty much limited to food the size of a pinhead cricket. I wish I could help you more.

One thing I would be careful about, the roaches commonly sold as feeders are tropical species, they would not survive wild in most of North America. In a dart viv, which is very warm and humid, they have a very good chance of surviving and breeding in there. You don't want them to overrun the dart viv. I wold probably feed small quantities of the slower species like B. dubia at a time, and make sure the darts eat all of them (if they miss a couple, they should be able to spot them again and eat them before they reach breeding size) before adding more. I'll ask around on the dart forums and see if I can find anything out.

EDIT: I just remembered that some people do remove darts and put them in individual shoeboxes and feed them there (to monitor their food intake). While it's a big hassle, it would probably be the best way to prevent a roach infestation in the viv. It seems like it would be a hassle to feed roaches inside or outside the viv. Fruit flies are really not that difficult at all, they are no more annoying than crickets are. Still, I'll ask around and see what I can find out.

 

[Israel2004]

Newly born nymphs are about the size of that underscore.
hmm.... Looks like I know what I'll be filling some of those emptying 20 gallons with.

Oh for feeding I'd use a dish in the cage. Whenever I use roaches, I feed them from a dish.

 

[war_eaglegrl28]

Hey Bry great pic's!!

 

[Schlyne]

Bry, I blame you and LdyDrgn and the swap for my continuing interest in dart frogs. I will be getting some in the future I think, and since your first post, I think I'll be getting leuc's. I may have somebody else build a setup for me though...I've seen an awesome waterfall viv.

 

[GQ.]

Wow! How did I miss this thread? Congrats! Those are some pretty little frogs. I may just have to pick up a few of those at the next show.

 

[Zombie]

Gorgeous bumble-bees Bry!
It seems to be my favorite contrast, black and yellow.