Thekla's vivs and dart frogs

[Frogdaddy]

@Dandrobates I love your close-ups! They are beautiful!!! What species they are exactly?

@Frogdaddy Wow! That's pretty amazing. I love your dedication!
I wouldn't have the space nor the time, but I really look forward to taking care of a couple or maybe a dozen tads. So, prepare yourself, when I come pestering you for information.

Now, I have a question for all of you who have thumbnails. I think I really would like to have a group of thumbs in my new viv. As I said before, it's an 18" cube, and you have seen the setup...

What species of thumbnail would you recommend for a beginner? Any bold ones that are relatively easy to keep? Pros and cons in general?
And how many do you think would be comfortable in my tank? I was thinking about a group of 3 or 4.

Thanks a lot in advance for any input you can give me.

You should be fine with any thumbnails as you have the basic husbandry down. Thumbnails are a bit more shy than most frogs. The boldest would probably be Ranitomeya varadero, R. imitator and R. intermedius. They are all arboreal frogs and would do better in a 24 inch tall tank. It gives them more climbing space. The heavier planted it is the more you will see them. They do fine in groups of 3 or 4, preferably female heavy. What male wouldn't like that right?

 

[Thekla]

@moricollins Those uakariis look really nice. And your tank looks great, a real jungle!

I guess I'm gonna add one or two more background plants with big sturdy leaves over time to give my future frogs more shaded areas. And if it's still not enough I always have some pothos clippings.

@Frogdaddy Thanks for the advice. So, my 18" tank wouldn't be tall enough? Or could it still work?

 

[Arthroverts]

Great. Now I want dart frogs again. Thanks everybody.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Thekla]

Great. Now I want dart frogs again. Thanks everybody.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

You're very welcome!

 

[moricollins]

@moricollins Those uakariis look really nice. And your tank looks great, a real jungle!

I guess I'm gonna add one or two more background plants with big sturdy leaves over time to give my future frogs more shaded areas. And if it's still not enough I always have some pothos clippings.

@Frogdaddy Thanks for the advice. So, my 18" tank wouldn't be tall enough? Or could it still work?

Thanks for the compliment, I didn't build this tank, I bought it as is with the frogs. It is my favorite tank to look at.

I bought a bunch of small cork bark pieces last night that I'm going to use for the background of my next build, as a cork bark mosaic style background.

 

[Dandrobates]

@Thekla thanks,

The red one is an Epipedobates Anthonyi and the other is a Dendrobates tinctorius “Patricia.” E. anthonyi is a great species. They are very small, bold and they breed like crazy.

 

[Thekla]

Thanks for the compliment, I didn't build this tank, I bought it as is with the frogs. It is my favorite tank to look at.

Lucky you!

I bought a bunch of small cork bark pieces last night that I'm going to use for the background of my next build, as a cork bark mosaic style background.

Make sure to post pics when it's finished.

@Thekla thanks,

The red one is an Epipedobates Anthonyi and the other is a Dendrobates tinctorius “Patricia.” E. anthonyi is a great species. They are very small, bold and they breed like crazy.

Beautiful frogs and they sound very interesting albeit the "breed as crazy" part is a bit scary.

 

[Thekla]

Firstly, I've got a little update on my 18" cube... the plants have been growing in nicely!

This was it 2 months ago when I planted it:


This is how it looks now:


I made a few changes and added some more plants. That fern really took off! And to think it had almost died when I put into my very first vivarium, and now look at it.
And the bromeliad in the middle of the root got some nice colour and even sprouted a pup.
I guess it's ready to welcome some new inhabitants. Unfortunately, I have to wait until the 1st of March when there's an expo near my place.

Well, to kill time until then, I started a new build...
I actually found some space in my living room where it'll fit nicely... on top of my plant shelf I recently set up.

Right now, I placed my zebra isopod enclosure there.

It's a 12x12x18" Exo Terra, and I found this beautiful root that seemingly was just made for it.


Top view:


I intend to keep it simple, just loads of bromeliads around the root and the left-hand side along with a trailing plant in the pot at the top to have a nice curtain of leaves going down (I hope). I also want to try a moss wall with hygrolon on the left and leave the right side clear, because it sits in the corner of the room and therefore can be viewed from two sides. I will update you on the process.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Looks great! That button fern really took off.
I like your plan for the new viv. A bunch of broms growing on that root will look awesome. I'm planning something similar for my next build. I'm going to use a tree.fern panel on the back so I can attach plants right on it.

 

[Thekla]

Looks great! That button fern really took off.
I like your plan for the new viv. A bunch of broms growing on that root will look awesome. I'm planning something similar for my next build. I'm going to use a tree.fern panel on the back so I can attach plants right on it.

Thanks!

I was thinking about using tree fern again, but it takes a lot of space away (and this tank is rather small as it is) and it would've been a pain in the neck to cut out a hole for that root. So, I went with only covering the glass.

I look forward to your new build. You should make your own thread to show off all your beautiful vivs.

 

[Dandrobates]

P bicolor clutch take two

 

[moricollins]

@Thekla that tank looks great!

 

[Thekla]

Because of all that corona madness, I didn't get new frogs when I had planned to and my beautiful second viv stood empty for way too long.



I already had to cut down the fern and the one in the middle on the floor (I believe it's a Heterocentron elegans) drastically. And the Aeschynanthus marmoratus took off like crazy. I also changed/added a couple of bromeliads and removed the sphagnum moss that went all over the root in the middle.


Anyway, today was the day I finally got the inhabitants for this tank!

2.2 Ranitomeya variabilis "Southern" (at least I hope they're 2.2 )



This is one of the girls close up:



And then I released them into their new home:



They are so darn cute and quite bold, I think. Right now, they're busy exploring the tank and I can spot them all at any given time. I know, that might change, but for now, they seem really comfy and eager to get to know their new world.

 

[moricollins]

I love the way that tank looks and the frogs are gorgeous! They're on my list of ones I want but might not have space for them on my racks

 

[Alien_Regalis]

I am really jealous. This is something I have always wanted to do. Maybe one day! For now though I will live vicariously!

 

[viper69]

Because of all that corona madness, I didn't get new frogs when I had planned to and my beautiful second viv stood empty for way too long.

View attachment 342450

I already had to cut down the fern and the one in the middle on the floor (I believe it's a Heterocentron elegans) drastically. And the Aeschynanthus marmoratus took off like crazy. I also changed/added a couple of bromeliads and removed the sphagnum moss that went all over the root in the middle.


Anyway, today was the day I finally got the inhabitants for this tank!

2.2 Ranitomeya variabilis "Southern" (at least I hope they're 2.2 )

View attachment 342451

This is one of the girls close up:

View attachment 342452

And then I released them into their new home:

View attachment 342453 View attachment 342454

They are so darn cute and quite bold, I think. Right now, they're busy exploring the tank and I can spot them all at any given time. I know, that might change, but for now, they seem really comfy and eager to get to know their new world.

View attachment 342456 View attachment 342457 View attachment 342458 View attachment 342459

These are gorgeous living jewels. Every time I THINK I know what locality Im going to settling on, poof comes a new one that I didn't know about. I love bright colors in life and I love frogs, PDFs so many choices fit those needs in the beginner category.

That's a really, really gorgeous tank Thekla. How many species of plants? How long did you cycle it? I frequent Dendroboards and the builds there are impressive, yours fits into that level.

 

[Thekla]

These are gorgeous living jewels. Every time I THINK I know what locality Im going to settling on, poof comes a new one that I didn't know about. I love bright colors in life and I love frogs, PDFs so many choices fit those needs in the beginner category.

They are precious! And so much fun to watch, I don't need Netflix anymore. And as far as my research went one of the best beginner thumbnails. I still have to figure out a proper feeding schedule and if the misting is adequate for them, but this will take some time.

That's a really, really gorgeous tank Thekla. How many species of plants? How long did you cycle it? I frequent Dendroboards and the builds there are impressive, yours fits into that level.

Thanks a lot!
I have lots of species in there: Orchids (one Macodes petola - I'm really glad it survived the initial planting - and another one I can't name right now, the one on the left), different kinds of bromeliads, some ranks like the Aeschynanthus marmoratus and a small pothos species, different kinds of moss, Selaginella, a rattlesnake plant in the back, a Cryptanthus, a fern and the Heterocentron elegans. I know it's probably way too much but my frogs seem to like it. They're all over the place.
It cycled for about half a year now. As I said before I had planned to get the frogs way earlier but in the end, I think it's not a bad thing to let it cycle for that long.

 

[viper69]

They are precious! And so much fun to watch, I don't need Netflix anymore. And as far as my research went one of the best beginner thumbnails. I still have to figure out a proper feeding schedule and if the misting is adequate for them, but this will take some time.


Thanks a lot!
I have lots of species in there: Orchids (one Macodes petola - I'm really glad it survived the initial planting - and another one I can't name right now, the one on the left), different kinds of bromeliads, some ranks like the Aeschynanthus marmoratus and a small pothos species, different kinds of moss, Selaginella, a rattlesnake plant in the back, a Cryptanthus, a fern and the Heterocentron elegans. I know it's probably way too much but my frogs seem to like it. They're all over the place.
It cycled for about half a year now. As I said before I had planned to get the frogs way earlier but in the end, I think it's not a bad thing to let it cycle for that long.

It's gorgeous, a slice of rain forest to me. Though the rain forest I've been to weren't this colorful.

A comment brings up a question - how do you know if level of misting is adequate for a given species? More importantly, how do you know if it's not adequate?

My LIMITED understanding of thumbnails is they are considered more challenging merely because of their size, at least that's what an experienced breeder told me....True?

 

[clive 82]

Fantastic set ups @Thekla ! Great looking plants and your frogs are fantastic! Maybe one day when I have the time and space lol! Well done again

 

[moricollins]

It's gorgeous, a slice of rain forest to me. Though the rain forest I've been to weren't this colorful.

A comment brings up a question - how do you know if level of misting is adequate for a given species? More importantly, how do you know if it's not adequate?

My LIMITED understanding of thumbnails is they are considered more challenging merely because of their size, at least that's what an experienced breeder told me....True?

For the misting question: this is a hard one to get nailed down. In My (limited) experience with dart frogs I've found that a misting schedule where the leaf litter JUST BARELY dries out between mistings means that you have the humidity in the right range

The challenges with thumbnail dart frogs arises from a few things: 1. Size- they're small, so there's a bit less ability to tolerate changes/lack of food/etc.
2. They tend to be shy compared to larger bodied dart frogs (which many new keepers don't appreciate)
3. They also tend to JUMP a lot when startled, including right out of the tank (has happened to me a couple of times - no frogs have been lost/injured luckily).

I'm starting on a new frog build I'm the next couple weeks , I'll start a thread on here with pictures and plant lists. I already have the frog species in mind. This is (hopefully) going to be my "dream build" for the species of frog that's captivated me the most, Amereega bassleri "Chrome"