[calhoun3186]

I spoke with the person who actually orders the dart frogs yesterday. She stated she orders from Vista pet supply. They do sell Auratus and tincs there. The day I purchased the frog the tanks were not fully setup and so they were in an incorrectly labeled display.

I will be ordering my next frogs most likely from Josh's Frogs as most of what I have read suggests Petco and Vista pet supply may not have the best quality.

However, I will say in defense of this Petco it is one of the nicest ones I have ever been to and I go out of my way to purchase from this location. The individual that orders and takes care of the frogs also let me know when the next order comes in that they wont be available for a week or so as she keeps them in the back and makes sure they are eating well, acclimating, ect. This suprised me as Petco seems to have somewhat of a bad rep (perhaps rightfully so) and I expected they were stuck in a tank as soon as they came in to sell.

Because I'm not 100% sure of this frogs morph and lineage I will keeping him alone in his own tank that I am putting together once he gets through QT and testing. Thanks again for the information and advice.

 

[calhoun3186]

Update: frog died. Was doing well but started to have problems getting around. The symptoms looked like SLS to me.
I found a place not to far away from me called DFW Reptarium that sells darts and looked to be clean/practice good husbandry. I might pick up frogs from them once my tank matures a little longer.

 

[Tijl]

Update: frog died. Was doing well but started to have problems getting around. The symptoms looked like SLS to me.
I found a place not to far away from me called DFW Reptarium that sells darts and looked to be clean/practice good husbandry. I might pick up frogs from them once my tank matures a little longer.

Since the frog died, it defenitly was not doing well.. Did it not eat? What did you feed it? What supplements did you use? Did you keep it in the spagnum moss? Temperatures? ,...?

This frog also has no SLS, you can see that clearly on the pictures. It stands on its front legs, if it had SLS this would not be the case..

Why do you have or what gives you the idea the frog had SLS?


I think its important for you to figure out why the frogs was not doing well. Otherwise its not looking good for the next frogs you decide to keep. My guess is that you have issues with your setup and or feeding. Hope we can figure this out.

Greets,
Tijl

 

[calhoun3186]

Fed mels with repashy calcium + and had springtails in the qt enclosure as well. I thought it was SLS because the frog looked like it had problems walking/hopping with his arms out to the sides. I kept him on the sphag which i changed weekly or biweekly. Temperature was 70-75F. Was eating well until the last week before it died.

 

[Philsuma]

Don't buy from Petco or similar stores.

Ever.

Support your local hobbyists. There have to be at least a half dozen in northern texas.

live and learn.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

Update: frog died. Was doing well but started to have problems getting around. The symptoms looked like SLS to me.
I found a place not to far away from me called DFW Reptarium that sells darts and looked to be clean/practice good husbandry. I might pick up frogs from them once my tank matures a little longer.

I'm sorry you lost your frog.

It is unlikely to have been SLS, which is a problem of metamorph development; SLS doesn't show up later after a frog has been doing well.

Tijl is right, of course, to eliminate any possibility of husbandry issues. Given where you bought it, though (and how small and kind of scrawny it looked; I just looked back at your original pics), I don't see any special reason to doubt your care.

Reading online about DFW Reptarium suggests that it is a good shop. It is still best to purchase directly from breeders, if possible (either locally, or breeders here on DB you can research and then have ship to you). Dart frogs are kind of off the radar for the general herp hobby, and I would be very surprised if a general herp store, no matter how wonderful otherwise, is the best source for them (better than a chain store, though, and better than a random show vendor).

 

[calhoun3186]

Don't buy from Petco or similar stores.

Ever.

Support your local hobbyists. There have to be at least a half dozen in northern texas.

live and learn.

QFT. Will take the next few months to try and find a reputable source while my vivarium growns in and microfauna culture.

 

[Tijl]

Fed mels with repashy calcium + and had springtails in the qt enclosure as well. I thought it was SLS because the frog looked like it had problems walking/hopping with his arms out to the sides. I kept him on the sphag which i changed weekly or biweekly. Temperature was 70-75F. Was eating well until the last week before it died.

Feeding sounds almost ok, but Melanogaster could be a little big for a young frog. I feed al my young frogs daily (or every day) springtails, aphids, greenbugs so they are able to eat the smallest of insects. After one month I start Melaongaster with supplements (depending on species). So I am not sure the frog got everything it needs, since its stomach is quickly filled by only a few melanogaster..

Moss is also realy not a good substrate imo, waaaay to moist. The frog may never have found a dry spot with shelter. Better to use only Magnolia or oak leaves , I never change these btw. When the leaflitter slinks, I just add more.
Changing the substrate on a weekly or bi weekly base causes a lot of stress for the frog.

Temperature is ok.


For starters I believe this frogs was way to young to be sold and therefore put under to much stress. I also looked like it was not well fed at all. I'm also not sure why you bought a frog that is an unknow species to you?

On the other hand I think your husbandry also was not on point. So if you are going to buy frogs again, you should up your game or this is going to happen all over again.

I don't mean to be negative here, I think you realy did your best for trying to raise this frog. It just seems to me you were not prepared very well.

Next time you should be.

 

[calhoun3186]

Fed mels with repashy calcium + and had springtails in the qt enclosure as well. I thought it was SLS because the frog looked like it had problems walking/hopping with his arms out to the sides. I kept him on the sphag which i changed weekly or biweekly. Temperature was 70-75F. Was eating well until the last week before it died.

Feeding sounds almost ok, but Melanogaster could be a little big for a young frog. I feed al my young frogs daily (or every day) springtails, aphids, greenbugs so they are able to eat the smallest of insects. After one month I start Melaongaster with supplements (depending on species). So I am not sure the frog got everything it needs, since its stomach is quickly filled by only a few melanogaster..

Moss is also realy not a good substrate imo, waaaay to moist. The frog may never have found a dry spot with shelter. Better to use only Magnolia or oak leaves , I never change these btw. When the leaflitter slinks, I just add more.
Changing the substrate on a weekly or bi weekly base causes a lot of stress for the frog.

Temperature is ok.


For starters I believe this frogs was way to young to be sold and therefore put under to much stress. I also looked like it was not well fed at all. I'm also not sure why you bought a frog that is an unknow species to you?

On the other hand I think your husbandry also was not on point. So if you are going to buy frogs again, you should up your game or this is going to happen all over again.

I don't mean to be negative here, I think you realy did your best for trying to raise this frog. It just seems to me you were not prepared very well.

Next time you should be. <img src="http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" alt="" title="wink" class="inlineimg" />

I did notice there would be a bit of flies left after feeding the next day, thats when I added the springtails.

I'll swap to a different substrate next time. Would abg with leaf litter on top work?

I did my best to keep temps in low to mid 70s, even moved to a different room that has more stable temps. I'll use the same location.

It was sold as a tinctorius but after consulting here and confirming that the store sold auratus I believe it was mislabeled.

Perhaps I need to do some more research on dart frogs. I researched and cultured flies, springs, and isopods for quite a while and thought I was ready apparantly I was not.

Not percieved as negative, I want to provide proper husbandry to any animals in my care.

 

[TechnoCheese]

I very frequently shop at the DFW Reptarium! They have good quality animals, though their prices are pretty high. I’ve personally seen their frogs, and they seem to be of very high quality. My favorite item that they sell, however, is their cork bark. 10$ per pound, and since cork bark doesn’t weigh much at all, you can get some very nice pieces for a low price.


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[calhoun3186]

I very frequently shop at the DFW Reptarium! They have good quality animals, though their prices are pretty high. I’ve personally seen their frogs, and they seem to be of very high quality. My favorite item that they sell, however, is their cork bark. 10$ per pound, and since cork bark doesn’t weigh much at all, you can get some very nice pieces for a low price.


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Thanks for the recommendation. I just happened to stumble upon it one day. My son loves all the large vivariums and the parrot as well. I've read some good things about the place online as well. Nice to know there is a decent herp store within a reasonable driving distance to me.