Joined
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2 Posts
Good evening all,
I am new to the site and would describe myself as an eager, yet scrupulous novice to the hobby. I first saw PDFs as a teenager back in the 90s and knew someday I would have them. Over the course of the last year I have read as much as I can on the subject and started off in the world roughly 6 months ago. I started off with a 12 month old Tinc (Surinam Cobalt) which was purchased with its 5-gal. viv already established. Knowing that I was going to be finally getting my first frog I had spent the weeks preceding studying and building a 30-gal viv completes with a running waterfall in slate. I was eager to transfer him in right away (as I felt the 5 gal. was way too small for him) but I wanted to give the tank another week or so just to make certain that the ecology was indeed successfully self-sustaining. I spent a lot of time observing the frog and became fascinated with the realization that such a small creature could establish a consistent daily routine, literally right down to the exact leaf he slept on. Eventually I went out and got 3 more tincs and moved them all into the new 30 at one time.
“Eager”… I now have 28 frogs total…
• (4) D. tinctorius Cobalt (1 is currently quarantined because I want him to gain some weight. He did really well for a long time but over the last week or so became out-casted from the group and began losing weight);
• (3) D. tinctorius Powder Blue;
• (6) D tinctorius Azureus; (although 3 juveniles are establish in a large Zoo Med – 2 Adults I just took in from a bad situation on Craigslist in a 29 gal – and 1 other Adult which I have quarantined in his own tank as he did NOT mix well with the other 2 adults )
• (2) D. leucomelas (my son really wanted me to get “bumble bees”);
• (4) D. auratus Costa Rican green/black;
• (2) D. auratus green/bronze (could use some help indentifying the morph) ;
• (2) D. auratus teal/bronze;
• (2) Ranitomeya ventrimaculatus "Blackwater" -Understory;
• as well as (2) Beautiful Mantellas
“Scrupulous”… Before you assume that I am simply the proverbial “Cat Lady” of Dart Frogs, please let me assure you that I take a lot of pride in the care and presentation of each of these animals. Although I am new to the world, I consider each of these animals both a joy and a responsibility to have; hence this post. I am also very well aware that I do NOT have the experience to attempt to mix these frogs in single tanks. Each of these species has a minimum of 5 gal per frog and I currently have 12 successfully self-sustaining vivs set up in my home office with the majority on a custom shelving system that I built complete with 6 dual T8 fixtures running 6500K bulbs. Noteworthy – I have also gotten my sons in on the hobby…I find it a fantastic way to spend time with them, as well as educate/ learn with them, and teach them responsibility through diligent regular caring for our frogs.
“Novice”… And now we come to the point of this post. (By the way, if you’ve read this far and are still with me, you have my gratitude.) In a nut-shell, I need a mentor. I have obviously jumped in head first and I have no intention of being done ( I certainly am NOT remotely considering purposely breeding any time soon due to my obvious lack of experience. However, I have ample room for at least 3 more tanks, and there are at least 3 more species that I would like to have. With the exceptions of the2 Craigslist acquisitions (both adult Azureus), and the 1 VI Pets purchase (D. auratus green/bronze [could use some help indentifying the morph]), I have acquired all of my frogs from reputable sources. (Jim at Rain Forest Station in Grand Rapids MI and Brian’s Tropics in Columbus OH) Jim has been a Godsend with his gracious willingness to entertain my countless “quick question” visits. But at this point I would really like to connect with someone local who wouldn’t mind taking a newbie under their wing a little. Perhaps even visiting my “jungle” to check out my frogs and giving me some pointers on my set up. I have TONS of questions and would really appreciate some guidance.
THANK YOU for reading this post. PLEASE feel free to comment and/or reach out. I look forward to yout input.
RC
I am new to the site and would describe myself as an eager, yet scrupulous novice to the hobby. I first saw PDFs as a teenager back in the 90s and knew someday I would have them. Over the course of the last year I have read as much as I can on the subject and started off in the world roughly 6 months ago. I started off with a 12 month old Tinc (Surinam Cobalt) which was purchased with its 5-gal. viv already established. Knowing that I was going to be finally getting my first frog I had spent the weeks preceding studying and building a 30-gal viv completes with a running waterfall in slate. I was eager to transfer him in right away (as I felt the 5 gal. was way too small for him) but I wanted to give the tank another week or so just to make certain that the ecology was indeed successfully self-sustaining. I spent a lot of time observing the frog and became fascinated with the realization that such a small creature could establish a consistent daily routine, literally right down to the exact leaf he slept on. Eventually I went out and got 3 more tincs and moved them all into the new 30 at one time.
“Eager”… I now have 28 frogs total…
• (4) D. tinctorius Cobalt (1 is currently quarantined because I want him to gain some weight. He did really well for a long time but over the last week or so became out-casted from the group and began losing weight);
• (3) D. tinctorius Powder Blue;
• (6) D tinctorius Azureus; (although 3 juveniles are establish in a large Zoo Med – 2 Adults I just took in from a bad situation on Craigslist in a 29 gal – and 1 other Adult which I have quarantined in his own tank as he did NOT mix well with the other 2 adults )
• (2) D. leucomelas (my son really wanted me to get “bumble bees”);
• (4) D. auratus Costa Rican green/black;
• (2) D. auratus green/bronze (could use some help indentifying the morph) ;
• (2) D. auratus teal/bronze;
• (2) Ranitomeya ventrimaculatus "Blackwater" -Understory;
• as well as (2) Beautiful Mantellas
“Scrupulous”… Before you assume that I am simply the proverbial “Cat Lady” of Dart Frogs, please let me assure you that I take a lot of pride in the care and presentation of each of these animals. Although I am new to the world, I consider each of these animals both a joy and a responsibility to have; hence this post. I am also very well aware that I do NOT have the experience to attempt to mix these frogs in single tanks. Each of these species has a minimum of 5 gal per frog and I currently have 12 successfully self-sustaining vivs set up in my home office with the majority on a custom shelving system that I built complete with 6 dual T8 fixtures running 6500K bulbs. Noteworthy – I have also gotten my sons in on the hobby…I find it a fantastic way to spend time with them, as well as educate/ learn with them, and teach them responsibility through diligent regular caring for our frogs.
“Novice”… And now we come to the point of this post. (By the way, if you’ve read this far and are still with me, you have my gratitude.) In a nut-shell, I need a mentor. I have obviously jumped in head first and I have no intention of being done ( I certainly am NOT remotely considering purposely breeding any time soon due to my obvious lack of experience. However, I have ample room for at least 3 more tanks, and there are at least 3 more species that I would like to have. With the exceptions of the2 Craigslist acquisitions (both adult Azureus), and the 1 VI Pets purchase (D. auratus green/bronze [could use some help indentifying the morph]), I have acquired all of my frogs from reputable sources. (Jim at Rain Forest Station in Grand Rapids MI and Brian’s Tropics in Columbus OH) Jim has been a Godsend with his gracious willingness to entertain my countless “quick question” visits. But at this point I would really like to connect with someone local who wouldn’t mind taking a newbie under their wing a little. Perhaps even visiting my “jungle” to check out my frogs and giving me some pointers on my set up. I have TONS of questions and would really appreciate some guidance.
THANK YOU for reading this post. PLEASE feel free to comment and/or reach out. I look forward to yout input.
RC
I have no idea why. I had just recently moved him out of his life-long tank in order to quarantine and help him gain some wieght. Could that have stressed him to the point of death?
