[Guest]

Hi, im a new member, and am thinking of starting to keep poison dart frogs. I have some experiance with keeping herps,amphibian species i've kept include Fire Bellied Toads & Whites Treefrogs and reptiles include corn snake, great plated lizard & leopard geckos.

I may not be very active on the forum for a few months but I thought I'd register anyways

Early next year im planning on seting up a 4X1.5X2 (lxwxh)foot glass vivarium for some poison darts, i'll probably set it up, and allow it to grow in, etc for a good few months, mabye even as long as 3-4 months before getting poison arrow frogs.

But there is one thing i want to know before starting.

Mixing them. There are a few different types i want but cant afford seperate setups for each one.

There are basically 3 types i want.

Phillobates Terribilis (the yellow ones)
Azereus (the blue ones)
And pumillo (i think), the red ones with blue "jeans".
Sorry for my terrible spelling and lack of knowledge at this current moment.

Is it ok to mix there species, say, 2 of each or somthing like that.


Is it safe to put Red Eyed Treefrogs in with them too?

I'd be grateful for help

Although I probably sound stupid asking these questions, bur i think its better if I ask people with experiance and make myself look stupid than do it myself with no help and get it all wrong and possibly harm the frogs.

Thanks for the help

 

[RSines]

I would think you would have better luck starting with a smaller tank and trying a single group of frogs before attempting to mix. Before anyone mixes they should have a pretty good understanding of darts and their behaviors.

All of the frogs you named are very beautiful but two of them find be very hard to obtain. The blue jeans are impossible to find and the true yellow terriblis are going to be well over $100 a pop if you can even find them.

Azureus are a great frog to start with. Unfortunatly, azureus females fight and are best kept in pairs.

I would suggest you go with the terriblis and get 5 or 6. They are very bold frogs and are easy to keep. This is THE poison dart frog, you will be happy with them.

Red Eye tree frogs don't make the best tankmates for darts for different reasons. I can't say no one as a success story with them, but I wouldn't suggest it.

Good luck
Richard

 

[Guest]

thanks for the advice, im definatly going to stick to a 4ft tank as its cheaper for me to buy one and set it up than buy a 2ft tank, and then an another, etc.

Terribilis sounds good, are they not the most poisonus animal or amphibian in the world? (in the wild of course).

But if there is even the slightest chance of me being able to keep at least one other species with Terribilis what would it be, because id love two kinds, would azureus go with terribilis or could you suggest any others?

Thankss very much again for the advice

 

[kyle1745]

Most people do not like the thought of mixing, as it can add stress to the frogs. Cross breeding is also frowned apon by most. Now thats not to say people don't mix and have success with it.

 

[Guest]

ok thanks for the advice, i guess I wont mix. It wont be till next year till i get down 2 buying any dart frogs but Phyllobates terribilis may be the one I will get.

 

[RSines]

I suggest you spend as much time as possible reading about darts. This forum is a great resource. The more prepared you are before you get the darts the less snags you'll find along the way. Its nice to see you went looking for advice before buying any frogs.

Having more than 1 type of frog may sound appealing at first, but once you get your frogs and really start watching them, I think you'll be content with terriblis.

 

[melissa68]

Before taking the plunge into such a large tank, I would invest in 1 or 2 10 gallon aquariums. You should be able to get one set up and going very inexpensively.

You will learn more from this first aquarium than you will from a lot of research. We often recommend this solution to many people.

It will be less heart breaking to make a mistake on a 10 gallon tank, than a large 4' one.

I suggest you spend as much time as possible reading about darts. This forum is a great resource. The more prepared you are before you get the darts the less snags you'll find along the way. Its nice to see you went looking for advice before buying any frogs.

Having more than 1 type of frog may sound appealing at first, but once you get your frogs and really start watching them, I think you'll be content with terriblis.

 

[devin mac]

Before taking the plunge into such a large tank, I would invest in 1 or 2 10 gallon aquariums. You should be able to get one set up and going very inexpensively.

You will learn more from this first aquarium than you will from a lot of research. We often recommend this solution to many people.

It will be less heart breaking to make a mistake on a 10 gallon tank, than a large 4' one.

I suggest you spend as much time as possible reading about darts. This forum is a great resource. The more prepared you are before you get the darts the less snags you'll find along the way. Its nice to see you went looking for advice before buying any frogs.

Having more than 1 type of frog may sound appealing at first, but once you get your frogs and really start watching them, I think you'll be content with terriblis.

also, ten gallon tanks are cheap, and building a vertical ten is rather enjoyable.

plus, when you have i all set up, you can show your friends, and when they ask you where you got the tank you can say you built it.

 

[Guest]

I definitely recommend doing a 10 gallon tank first.

Chances are when you buy your frogs your going to get froglets (they're easier to come buy and cheaper). Putting froglets in any thing large/complicated would be a nightmare IMO. You will have trouble finding them, (to look at and enjoy). They might have a harder finding food. Wait till they're bigger to put them in a larger tank. The smaller tank is easier to clean/fix mistakes and you will want another tank anyways (to use as a hospital tank etc).


-tad

 

[Guest]

ok im stupid, but how big in feet are ten gallon tanks? (LXWXH).

Would getting a 4ftx1.5x2 tank and then putting a seperator in the middle to make it into two 2ft long tanks work ok?

I've never used gallons before so im kinda useless at that.

 

[melissa68]

10 gallon aquariums are usually under $10.

The measure 20Lx10Wx12H

 

[EverettC]

The divider idea you have will work but the divider needs to be opaque. Either by Corking it or by painting/buying black material.

 

[melissa68]

Ya, but which would be easier to move around?

The divider idea you have will work but the divider needs to be opaque. Either by Corking it or by painting/buying black material.

 

[Guest]

i hit a sale at Jacks and picked up 4 ten gallons for 4.88 each...you cant get much cheaper than that. Got my glass cut at lowes for two tanks cost me $10 and i picked up DIY screen frames to do the vent at the top and have enough screen(lifetime supply off a 40' roll) maybe cost 50cents to a $1 for that per tank. So im looking at Maybe $20 in cost to make the tank


10 gallon are great for first starting out, hospital tanks, grow out tanks, breeder tanks, etc...they can be used for anything. and like i said CHEAP to build.

 

[Guest]

ok I think i've decided what i might do.

I'll buy a 4x1.5x2 foot vivarium. I'll put a seperator in the middle (make it opaque). I'll set up both halves. One for Phyllobates Terribilis & the other for Azureus. I'll keep Terribilis for a while till i get to know dart frogs & then i'll buy some azureus for the other half.

Of course I will do a lot of research into this as I will set up the tank next year and not buy the frogs till next summer, so over 7 months to plan!

Does that sound ok?

 

[Mantellaprince20]

Hey, that sounds like a good idea. That should be a neat tank. Anyway, I don't know for sure, but, I would probably recommend getting the azureus first, as they are one of the best beginner frogs other than auratus. I am sure terribilis are easy also though. We will see what other people think though. I have never kept either of these species, so it is just a vague opinion from what I have researched. As for the species mixing, without a divider, i don't think it would be a horrible idea, as long as they don't interbreed, and if they do, you don't offer any of the juveniles up for sale. When you get it setup, post some pics for us. I would love to see a divided tank housing two species. That would look pretty neat I would say. Anyway, good luck with your future frogs.

ED

 

[Guest]

ok, thanks for the advice, i'll research on the two and whatever seems the easyist to care for I'll buy, their both beutiful anyways!

Hopefully I will start creating the vivariums spring next year (Late Feburary/Early March) as I have to make some new vivariums for my Whites & Leopard geckos plus I have exams so must study.

I'm really looking forwards to this!

P.S. Should the vivariums have glass sliding doors, or should I just have a lid on the top? Thanks

 

[Guest]

I think azurues and terrilbilis are both very hardy frogs and i will try to give you the pros and cons of both.

Azureus

Pros: very hardy; beautiful frogs; can eat a variety of foods; they are one of those frogs that will get people hook onto this hobby. when someone first sees them in real life, they are like wow is that frog really blue.

Cons: some might not be as bold, so you might not see it as often; cannot eat larger than maybe week old crickets, so if you have problems with your ff cultures as most beginners do (almost 90%), it will be hard to find a pet shop that sells true pinheads.

Terribilis

Pros: very hardy; extremely bold, you will see them sitting there all day long. touch it and it will slap you so hard your mom will feel it, or just sit there ; very entertaining to see them eat, they are pigs. If you run low on ff as mention earlier, you can buy some maybe up to few weeks old cricket at a petshop.

Cons: might not be as attractive as azureus; more expensive; they dont sexually mature until about 2 years old; very hard to sex since both males and females call. Will eat you out of your house and home.

The only reason i would recommend terribilis to beginner is because they can eat small crickets. A lot of beginners have problems with producing enough ff. You can mix these 2 types of frogs since they wont interbreed. Might not be a good idea since terribilis are bigger and might bully the azureus around. Has anyone mix these 2 frogs?

 

[Guest]

Will eat you out of your house and home.

Ha, that's funny. Mine are about 5 months old and doing just that already. :shock: