[HiMonster]

Sup guys and gals.. i recently captured a d. auratus while i was on a hike.. I feel awful about keeping this guy captive but i really really want to care for this fella and hopefully find him a mate…
If worst comes to worst, i'll release him back to the wild. BUT i have always had an urge to care for exotic animals, and being from hawaii, we don't get much here… I've cared for jacksons, eastern box turtles, fish (salt and fresh), and every other type of animal you are allowed to house in Hawaii.. I've also kept bufo toads b4 but they aren't as nice looking as pdfs.
SETUP:

His Brom - he likes this one more because it doesn't have spiky leaves, at least that what i think.. haha

-Basic set up with plants and such.. I'll post a a thread on the setup with plant specifics in another post..
-gs backround/coco fiber
-waterfall, small water area(not to deep)
-SUBSTRATE- is built on false bottom with long sphagnum, coco fiber, and orchid bark *NEEDS LEAF LITTER and MICRO FAUNA
-LIGHTS-dual t5 6500 bulbs shop light - *tank gets heated kinda quick so i have those small desk fans blowing as long as light is on.. The hood is a fish tank canopy that originally had a t8 bulb.. the canopy has that strip of glass to prevent moisture from getting to the bulbs.. its about 23"L x 4"W.. tank is located near window so it gets normal dawn light maybe around 630-700am.. the tank is completely covered in condensation in the morn. *this is when monster seems to be out and about the most, he's an early riser
I usually wake up around 9-930am this is when i turn on the lights i keep the light strip back behind the glass strip so the tank doesn't get too much light too soon… Then i go to school class for about and hour… I get home and then i slide the light strip over the glass for full effect.. This is where i notice some reoccurring behavior-
Once monster sees the light, he climbs to the highest point on the his brom and starts jumping towards the glass strip that lets the light through (this is when i feel horrible) - He only does it a few times then he figures thats not the way out.. Then he hops around the tank for a while exploring for about 20 minutes… He then finds his "cave" and sits there for hours!?!? Do frogs do that? JUST SIT THERE FOR HOURS!? i figure he's trying to get out of the heat or they just do that in the wild?
And i haven't seen him eaten yet… i only have pinheads as of right now.. and for all i can see, he shows no interest in them..
- how long should i wait to see if he eats before i let him go… I'd rather let him go if he's just gonna starve himself and die!!
-I'm going back to the valley for some wild caught isopods and stuff maybe he will show more interest in them…
fruit flies - i've never seen anyone carrying wingless fruit flies in hawaii, we have the winged stuff.. it's near impossible to ship live creatures into hawaii without a long a grueling process - definately not for ff's
springtails - i have no idea what these creatures look like and if i lifted a rotting leave out in the jungle i wouldn't be able to tell what's what.. there a lot of bugs here.. *It looks like i have some experimenting to do with insects.
-Could i just grab a leaf litter from the jungle? we don't have the same type of leaf litter as most of you folks do..
well heres the pics i've been with holding from you folks.. thanks in advanced

YES THOSE ARE GOLFING T'S!!

 

[guppygal]

He looks like a handsome lil feller, but don't take my word for it. The setup is very nice, too. I'm supposing that you're attempting to emulate his natural habitat, yes? Do you know what you'll be feeding it? If you've done any reading on this board, we recommend fruitfly cultures. If you don't have any of those going, you may have to beg/borrow/or steal a culture from another hobbyist on the island. It takes a minimum of two weeks to get a producing culture, three weeks for Hydei.

Good luck with the lil feller - he's a looker!

kristi

 

[WendySHall]

Perhaps you could pm dendroboard member Manuran (also from HI) and ask him where he gets his feeders. I know he is very busy right now with work, but hopefully he can at least give you some info.

BTW...that's a cute little guy you have there!

 

[Pumilo]

The size of the prey you get for him is probably the most important. Your pinheads may be too big. You may need to do field collected bugs till you can get some cultures going. Look for bugs the size of a fruitfly or smaller. You might be able to find springtails under a piece of damp cardboard, in a pile of decomposing leaves, or under a rotting log.

 

[hypostatic]

I don't know when you caught him, but I would give him a few days to acclimate before expecting him to settle down and de-stress before feeding. Also, since he is wild caught I'd expect him to be pretty stressed, so I wouldn't be poking in the viv every five minutes to check up on him (although I know the temptation is HUGE haha).

So according to Poison Frogs by Lötters, tinctorius is a microphagous frog characterized by a thin tongue. Since auratus and leucomelas are both in the "tinc group", I'm gonna assume that they can be treated the same. This means that they specialize in catching small prey items, like fruit flies and isopods and small ants. Lötters mentioned that in a dissection of a wild caught tinctorius, its stomach contents were like 99% ants. Lötters also says that in nature auratus feeds on a variety of arthropods including ants, beetles, and millipedes. So I would actually recommend catching small ants from your area (the are where you caught the frog would be optimal), and trying to feed those.

 

[hypostatic]

I get home and then i slide the light strip over the glass for full effect.. This is where i notice some reoccurring behavior-
Once monster sees the light, he climbs to the highest point on the his brom and starts jumping towards the glass strip that lets the light through (this is when i feel horrible) - He only does it a few times then he figures thats not the way out..

This sounds like "escape behavior" to me, which is a sign that the frog is stressed. Since he is wild caught it might take a while for him to settle down. Try to not disturb him much or it might cause him more stress.

Then he hops around the tank for a while exploring for about 20 minutes… He then finds his "cave" and sits there for hours!?!? Do frogs do that? JUST SIT THERE FOR HOURS!? i figure he's trying to get out of the heat or they just do that in the wild?

I think all frogs experience levels of activity and inactivity. He's probably ired from all that hopping around, and just wants to chill.

-Could i just grab a leaf litter from the jungle? we don't have the same type of leaf litter as most of you folks do..

I think any type of leaf litter is fine as long as it is well cleaned and sterilized.

 

[HiMonster]

WOW!! thanks for the responses guys!!! I will try to contact Manuran for some info on feeders.. maybe i'll throw some ant up in there...

 

[Pumilo]

Keep in mind for leaf litter that you should be using dead, dry, brown leaves. Fresh green leaves will simply rot away quickly. Also, make sure they are non-toxic leaves (not poisonous) as your microfauna will feed on them.

 

[Enlightened Rogue]

Let him go.

John

 

[Steverd]

Let him go.

John

Yeah, I was wondering people's thought on this.

Why do I feel kinda bad for the wild caught animal caged, but not the same for one raised in captivity? Other thoughts?

Steve

 

[HiMonster]

Let him go.

John

:/ i will.. eventually

 

[Glasious]

They are introduced to Hawaii, so as long as you can provide it a good home, g'luck with it, and I hope you have an awesome time enjoying it!

 

[frogface]

Yeah, I was wondering people's thought on this.

Why do I feel kinda bad for the wild caught animal caged, but not the same for one raised in captivity? Other thoughts?

Steve

Or the wild caught frogs and other animals animals that are imported to be sold?

I say let him enjoy his wild caught, non-native, very cool dart frog.

 

[HiMonster]

I figure all captive bred frogs started from wild caught frogs.. the frogs are still wild... maybe a tad bit more domesticated and used to the captive environment but these frogs had to come from somewhere.... i plan to take good care of this little guy.... good news!! He doesn't try to escape anymore...

 

[guppygal]

As previously mentioned, captive bred frogs originated from wild-caught frogs in the first place. I don't think HI allows pdf imports, so this is a good way to get into the hobby.

Do you have any termites? I've never been to HI, would certainly love to, but termites will suffice in the meantime. Don't make termites the main meal as they are very fattening and not as nutritious as other bugs. You will also need to dust your feedings with supplements so that the frog doesn't develop any type of vitamin deficiency. See if you can locate another frog in the wild and quietly watch it while it hunts. This will help you determine what you can feed your frog.

Are the ants you have on the island those nasty, stinging fire ants that we have here in the south? If so, DO NOT offer your frog those ants. They'll kill him in a heartbeat. I just skimmed thru the posts, so I don't know if anybody has mentioned that pdf prey can't be any larger than the width between the frog's eyes.

IMO, you have a very beautiful auratus. If you can find him a girlfriend, he'll be oh so happy

take care,
kristi

 

[Steverd]

They are introduced to Hawaii, so as long as you can provide it a good home, g'luck with it, and I hope you have an awesome time enjoying it!

Very educational, I just read that: Green and Black Poison dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) was introduced in Manoa Valley (Hawaii) in 1932 for mosquito control. (wonder how much of an impact they actually had?)

Are there any Dendrobatidae native to Hawaii?

Steve

 

[Baltimore Bryan]

Are there any Dendrobatidae native to Hawaii?

Steve

No, there are no native dart frogs in Hawaii. The auratus are the only one's that I've heard of and they were introduced by humans intentionally like you said. Since they are not native, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to keep the frog as a pet. I think Hawaii used to give out permits for people to collect up to 4 auratus from the wild to keep, but I'm not sure if they still do that or have something else in place now.
Good luck!
Bryan

 

[HiMonster]

As previously mentioned, captive bred frogs originated from wild-caught frogs in the first place. I don't think HI allows pdf imports, so this is a good way to get into the hobby.

Do you have any termites? I've never been to HI, would certainly love to, but termites will suffice in the meantime. Don't make termites the main meal as they are very fattening and not as nutritious as other bugs. You will also need to dust your feedings with supplements so that the frog doesn't develop any type of vitamin deficiency. See if you can locate another frog in the wild and quietly watch it while it hunts. This will help you determine what you can feed your frog.

Are the ants you have on the island those nasty, stinging fire ants that we have here in the south? If so, DO NOT offer your frog those ants. They'll kill him in a heartbeat. I just skimmed thru the posts, so I don't know if anybody has mentioned that pdf prey can't be any larger than the width between the frog's eyes.

IMO, you have a very beautiful auratus. If you can find him a girlfriend, he'll be oh so happy

take care,
kristi

thankyou so much.. i recently caught some ants and put them in his enclosure.. Hopes he eat them..

Very educational, I just read that: Green and Black Poison dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) was introduced in Manoa Valley (Hawaii) in 1932 for mosquito control. (wonder how much of an impact they actually had?)

Are there any Dendrobatidae native to Hawaii?

Steve

there are actually no native amphibian/reptiles native to hawaii... maybe the occasional sea snake and some skinks/geckos... but they were all introduced by the hawaiians when they arrived... they believe the hawaiians brought geckos over when they were transporting fruits and what not.. The pdf IS an invasive species and the effect of their introduction is not well known.. There are stable colonies here on the island in isolated valleys and as most people know, when you introduce an organism into an area thats been isolated for so long, THERE WILL BE EFFECTS... But the pdf is the least of Hawaii's worries.. Bufo toads, jackson chameleons(compete with native birds for insects and EAT native insects), mongoose, and even wild boars threat the land flora and fauna more than anything... Not to mention the invasive flora that complete with native flora.
It is a big issue...If anything, i'm doing Hawaii a favor by taking the frog home ... Only thing wrong is that i want to breed the frogs and make babies!! hahah The department of agriculture have guys that go out and youthanize invasive animals and they want people to turn in any ivasive creatures found so that they can youthanize... I SAY NO... People brought them here...It's not the animals fault... No killing of the animals!! Except Kalua pork cuz that stuff is the bomb!!

 

[fieldnstream]

No, there are no native dart frogs in Hawaii. The auratus are the only one's that I've heard of and they were introduced by humans intentionally like you said.

There was also a report of D. leucomelas in Hawaii...but I believe it was only a single animal (and a long time ago).

 

[HiMonster]

Re: wild caught auratus.. hawaiian.. He's eating!!!

he's eating!!!!