Am I right for pdf's??

[killgorian]

Ok, Im new to the boards, and am fascinated by pdf's. Ive been reading caresheets, and thread after thread about setting up a vivarium, (a term I didnt know until last week!) caring for the frog's, feeding, disease, etc.

This week I went and bought an exo-terra 18x18x18 for a terrarium/vivarium. I plan to set up a terrarium first and see how I do with the plants, humidity levels, etc. From there, if all goes well, I may consider getting a couple of "novice" frogs. Im pretty meticulous so I would want to have the tank running solid and cultures in production before I got them.

My main concern is that I work around 10 hours a day six days a week and Im not sure how much personal attention the frogs will need. With my working so much, I have to ask, am I the right person to raise pdf's??

[cindre2000]

I am fairly new as well, to PDF's that is. However, benevolent neglect is not a bad thing in most cases, with both fish tanks and PDFs. As long as you have time to care for them and enjoy them, I do not see an issue. Frogs are not overly demanding critters and you would probably cause more problems than you will help if you are constantly fawning over them.

[kyle1745]

Their care is rather simple and for someone with a busy schedule they would make a much better choice than a dog or cat in my opinion. With a single tank I would not expect more than 30 mins a week in care. Mist 2-3 times a week and feed about the same amount.

[eLisborg]

YES, i think everybody can be sucessful in this hobby. there is sooo much info available now that didn't used to be and that makes it a heck of a lot easier. i am busy as well, and i have no problem taking care of all my stuff. once you aquire the frogs and get the viv set up the time it requires to care for them is probably a minute or so a few times a week (more when younger) for feeding. the initual viv set up can be pretty time consuming but it well worth the wait.

there are some better ones to start off with, in the new classification system any of the frogs from the family Dendrobates will be great for a starter dart. which include leucomelas, auratus, tincs, the tincs are pretty agressive towards eachother so you will have to be careful if you get more than one when they get older. good luck and keep us updated!

[skylsdale]

Your schedule shouldn't be a problem at all--you'll be fine for keeping them.

[MonopolyBag]

USE Epi-web

from my recent research epi-web looks easier and looks better for the plants, and also is better for environment.

[cliner]

Yeh.. you'll be fine with your schedule. If you plan on breeding then that might change things a bit.

[killgorian]

Wow, thanks for the encouraging responses!

I've looked at epi-web and was planning to research it, as Im still not sure about what to use.

I think breeding would be a natural extension, but I wouldn't try that for quite some time. It seems like something that might be better left to experts.

As for frog's, Im thinking P. Terriblis at the moment because of their personalities and they seem to be semi forgiving to raise. They group well and also dont require cultures if mature, which sound tricky to master.

[slaytonp]

Originally Posted by killgorian

As for frog's, Im thinking P. Terriblis at the moment because of their personalities and they seem to be semi forgiving to raise. They group well and also dont require cultures if mature, which sound tricky to master.

P. terribilis do require you to culture their food--you can't get around this--they are eating machines and you will still need to culture fruit flies as a staple, or obtain pinhead crickets, field plankton and other stuff for them to eat year around, or both. The first thing P. terribilis learn after you obtain them, is who the "Food God" is, and where the manna is about descend from heaven. This is part of their charm. They are among the most fearless of all darts.

On the plus side, fruit flies are a no-brainer to culture. Just start with a kit from one of the breeders and suppliers, which you will have to maintain. This consists of some deli-cups, with lids-- media and starter flies of your choice. You really don't need to go into making your own media, etc., although your can, if you want to. You can buy dried fruit fly media, have a little bit of bakers' yeast on hand and perhaps some excelsior, which is just shredded aspen wood you can get at any crafts store to stuff in for better production. Insist upon the lids that are already vented and lined with a net cloth. Flies don't escape from this as they do from other methods of cutting a hole and lining with paper towels, coffee filters or sponges. (These can be washed and recycled several times.)

Unless you have a very large vivarium and a lot of expertise, bbrock's wonderful "totally self sustaining, without feeding" vivariums idea won't work for a beginner with limited resources, but it's certainly worth considering for the future, when your become addicted to the hobby, and most of the ideas of biological recycling should and can be incorporated in even a small vivarium. In the meantime, you need to build your vivarium, plant it, and make sure it is maintaining the proper temperatures and humidity. Start your food cultures, usually fruit flies and springtails. Then just enjoy.

[sports_doc]

The biggest issue I see with busy schedules is if you are away from home a lot.

Arrangements would need to be made for trips >3-4days. Not a big deal for the 2x/year vacation but if work takes you away more often.

S