starting a terrarium

[strokinbyeu]

so iv been thinking about getting a few frogsmostly bc of a thread i was looking at on here of baby blue dart frogs and iv been reading alot about them. but what im not real sure on is the terrarium. i have a few ? and hope some1 can help me out.

do i need real plants?

what kind of lighting do dart frogs need?

where is a good place to buy supplies and decorations to start up with?

how do i heat the air when the light is off?

do i need a hood or a screen top

with dart frogs i dont need standing water from what iv read but it wont hurt anything if i do have a pool with some water flow will it?

i plan on buying a humidifyer and i know they like it 80%-100% humidity and upper 70s in temp.

i want to use an aquarium instead of an actual terrarium

i welcome any input that anybody has to give and maby a pic or two of your terrarium would be cool. i think they look so neat
thanks for your time

 

[Etunes]

so iv been thinking about getting a few frogsmostly bc of a thread i was looking at on here of baby blue dart frogs and iv been reading alot about them. but what im not real sure on is the terrarium. i have a few ? and hope some1 can help me out.

do i need real plants?

what kind of lighting do dart frogs need?

where is a good place to buy supplies and decorations to start up with?

how do i heat the air when the light is off?

do i need a hood or a screen top

with dart frogs i dont need standing water from what iv read but it wont hurt anything if i do have a pool with some water flow will it?

i plan on buying a humidifyer and i know they like it 80%-100% humidity and upper 70s in temp.

i want to use an aquarium instead of an actual terrarium

i welcome any input that anybody has to give and maby a pic or two of your terrarium would be cool. i think they look so neat
thanks for your time

Ok, i just number your questions.

#1- No you dont even though it makes it prettier IMO.

#2- They dont need any specific light. The light is for the plants not the frogs.

#3- Cant remember sites name but if i do i will come back and post it.

#4- Hopefully it is not that cold in your house but you can put a submersible aquarium heater in the water of the terrarium and between that and the lights you should be fine on tips.

#5- I would have a glass lid as it will keep the humidity and temps up.

#6- No it wont but make sure its real shallow.

This is 1 of the best website you can learn from.
Amphibian Care >> Amphibian and Reptile Information >> Articles and Care Sheets

 

[strokinbyeu]

thank you very much for the infomation. i really want to get atleast 1 dart frog, iplan on using a standard 20gal tank to start with. will 2 frogs be happy in a tank that size? im prob going to avoid a water fall for now. but thinkin about going with a false bottom. im not sure what substrait for now but would like to have some moss and maby 1 live plant. i would like to put a humidifyer in also. for a background i mite try and buld a 3d one but then again mite use cork bark. prob going to be a little while b4 i start the project. any info that you think mite be helpful is welcome thank you

 

[Etunes]

thank you very much for the infomation. i really want to get atleast 1 dart frog, iplan on using a standard 20gal tank to start with. will 2 frogs be happy in a tank that size? im prob going to avoid a water fall for now. but thinkin about going with a false bottom. im not sure what substrait for now but would like to have some moss and maby 1 live plant. i would like to put a humidifyer in also. for a background i mite try and buld a 3d one but then again mite use cork bark. prob going to be a little while b4 i start the project. any info that you think mite be helpful is welcome thank you

If it is a 20 long i could see up too 4 living comfortably. All i can say is RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. You never want to get into darts with being half blind. There are alot of people that breed them out there. I would do what i said and research. I suggest live plants as there gourgous and they are much easier to care for then aquarium plants. As for a background both would work (custom or cork bark).

 

[strokinbyeu]

thank you for your time. yea iv been reading alot about darts. the one thing i gota check is if i can buy small (realy small) crickets at my pet shop or if im going to have to track some down on an online store. are they like fish and like a vairity of diff foods? im thinking a false bottom with peat(so i can maby plant a fly trap) with a moss carpet and 2 or 3 plants along the back. do darts climb? i havent seen anything that says they dont or do

 

[Etunes]

Ya, if you have a cork wall or custom background they will be all over it.

 

[strokinbyeu]

just a few more ?? if i use aquarium safe silicone to attach stuff to the background will it be safe for the frogs also? and how much noise do darts make? again ur input has be very helpful and very appreciated

 

[Etunes]

Ask away, i am trying to get a terrarium/amphibian crowd to this site so as you learn dont forgot to come out and help others. Yes, personally i find it relaxing to listen to frogs, especially the little spurts they make. Video below.

strawberry poison dart frog - 1 of my favorites
YouTube - Strawberry poison dart frog (Dendrobates pumilio) calling in Costa Rica

Using silicone thats aquarium safe is perfectly harmless. And for some inspiration on how i would make the cage look below.

YouTube - Vivarium Leucomelas Poison Dart Frogs

 

[Aquarium1]

Following along, because I'd love to have some darts but they're a little out of my price range. I did read somewhere that you could feed them flightless fruit flies which I think you can breed (not 100% sure tho) and they'd probably be quieter than crickets if that came to be an issue, although etunes probably knows more about them than I do lol.

 

[Deep Seven]

flying fruit flies are super easy to breed, just leave fruit out. I'd imagine flightless fruit flies would be even easier. 1 container, add flies, add fruit and wait a day. The hard part would be finding brood stock.

Quick google and Buy Flightless Fruit Flies, Fruit Fly Cultures, Silkworms and Reptile Food at the Fruitfly Shop sells flies and breeding materials.

Petco online also has flightless friut flies here Flightless Fruit Flies at PETCO these are a fruit fly farm that supposed to produce live flies for 6 weeks.

Both sites have two different size flies they sell.

Edit: in my searches I found a frog grower that said his dart frogs didn't like the flies much, not sure what to make of that.
Edit2: lol, one of the videos shows two frogs munching on fruit flies

 

[Etunes]

Man, you guys beat me to it. I meant to put that in my second post. Yes, flightless fruitflies are a GREAT food for the darts. They are small and easy to eat and are easier to breed then crickets and are quieter. They also contain very good nutrition.

 

[strokinbyeu]

love the vids. do u think they will b quiet at nite with the lites off? liking the idea of the fruit flys. ok got another ? could i hide the humidifyer tube behind the background and bring it up from the bottom or can it just be coming out of the background? im trying to avoid having to pop a hole in the bottom of the tank.

 

[Etunes]

lol, depends on the time of year whether they will be quite or not. Dosent matter about were you put the humidifier, from the back, side, ground, or top. Thats is the great thing about paladirums. I find they are the most customizable thing out there.

 

[kdpuffer]

Well I'm glad to see I'm not the only one sucked into buying PDF's from aa lol. I have been doing tonnes of research myself and was recommended to check out brains tropicals. I recommend going there he has lots of info and suggestions. Also if your anything like me you'll get seduced by the waterfall, he actually details how to make them and shows pictures of his 55g viv with waterfall and it's beautiful. As far as flightless fruits flys go you can order them from any frog breeder as a starter culture and then grow your own, never run out of food. Details on how can be found easily, google lol. Post pics of your setup once your done it would be nice to see