Split from post 'New Here'

[Rancid]

I read somewhere that before I receive responses to my questions, I should provide a meaningful introduction. So, here goes:

I live in Denver and got started with Dart Frogs about a month ago. Truthfully, and perhaps shamefully, I did little research and got these pets in connection with a terrarium project to do with my son for one of his Scouting activities. I think for those seasoned with Dart Frogs, my entry into them may seem like blasphemy, but we do want to be successful and I am hopeful that my entry into these forums demonstrates that we do want to be successful by seeking the advise of those more seasoned. I hope our entry will be well received. I contacted someone for help a couple weeks ago and their response was that my frogs were probably live-captured, will probably die, and I should have done my research before getting them. That all may be true, but does not change things nor gives me anything to help me be successful-- hopefully, posting here will.

We purchased 2-green auratus and 2-brown mantellas. I have them in what I would estimate to be slightly less than a 10-gallon tank and there is access into the tank via an opening front door. The tank is roughly a 15-inch cube.

So far, we have learned that we need to upsize their living space in the near future and probably separate the species. We have not yet ventured into culturing fruit flies, although I am becomming rapidly motivated by the cost of pinhead crickets! The auratus seem to like millworms also and if they do not eat them, seem to like torturing them. :twisted:

I have scanned through these forums and identified a lot of good information and intend on reading in greater detail (when not at work). I really appreciate having a place like this to learn from and my kids and I are really excited about our new hobby. We want to be sure that we learn so that as we make things better for our frogs, we do so informed and do not add another layer of mistakes.

I apologize for coming into this thread, but I could not create my own introductory thread since I was prompted to post twice and I did not see a designated place for introductions to be made. So, I apologize in advance if I have posted in the wrong place.

Scott

[Cindy Dicken]

Hi Scott,
welcome to the forum.

It would be best to seperate the auratus from the matellas, giving each their own larger size tank.

Don't be intimidated by the 'Fruit Fly Experience'. Fruit flys will be the most cost effective way of feeding the frogs.
What you might be seeing with the auratus and the mealworms is the frogs TRYING to eat them. The mealworms have a hard ecto-skeleton that's not palatable to the frogs.
The forums offer a lot of good information, soak it all in, and ask questions.

[brettlt]

I am sorry that the first person you spoke to outside of the forum was less than helpful.

Please do not be stressed about fruit flies, they are actually easy to breed, and it should not cost you much more than $1/week to feed your four frogs, once you have an initial shipment of flies. (Much less than pinhead crickets at a store.)

I would agree that you need to seperate the darts from the mantellas. Sometimes you can find a good deal on Craig's list for a cheap tank. Or 10 gallon tanks are usually around $10 at a pet store. Though I prefer to use at least 15 gallon tanks, an extra ten would help tremendously for seperating the two types of frogs.

I appreciate that you are trying to do some research and find out what is best for your new pets. Though researching beforehand is always best, it cannot always be helped. A few years ago, I was given a bearded dragon, and I expected the person giving it to me to tell me how to take care of it. Wrong. They gave me the dragon, with a 20 gallon long tank and a vitamin supplement. I had to scramble and do research, thank goodness for the internet. He now lives in a 65 gallon enclosure and is doing great.

[Dbr]

Hi

[Rancid]

Thanks for the welcome. After spending time going through these forums, I have absorbed a lot of information and am not as intimidated as I perahps was. I am afraid to say that I lost one of the Brown Mantellas today. I am not suprised since they seem much less active than the green auratus.

I figured out that my terrarium is a 12" x 12" Zoo-Med which I like. But, knowing I need to upsize I would like to stay with a front-loading terrarium. I went to the Exo-Terra website and they have large ones, but no store locator. Are there any recomendations as to how I could find a local retailer that carries the XL version?

And finally, I noticed that there are clubs in some areas of dart frog enthusiasts. Does anyone know of a club in the Denver area? My internet searches turned up zilch.

Thanks again.

[Cindy Dicken]

Scott,
Stace Breland is a frogger in your area, and a member of TWI (Tree Walkers In't.) http://www.treewalkers.org/
I have contacted him to find out about getting in touch with the others in your area.

[RichFrye]

Hi Scott,
Separating the two species is your first priority. There are lots of containers adequate in size for the quarantine period you should put them all through.
Without being able to go into all of the topics needed to start off you will want to read up on topics like quarantine (look this up first), viv enclosures, FF cultivating, and the like. There are quite a few aspects to the hobby and quite a few opinions on how to best go about creating the best possible homes for these frogs. There are a number of topics that should jump out right away. Read away. My best advise would be to read. Read when you have questions. There is a huge trend right now to want to post a question as if it were the very first time that particular question had ever been asked. When this happens with questions such as "should I mix my different colored Darts together in one viv?" or " How many frogs can I put in a 10 gal viv?" many froggers will just refuse to answer anymore because the question has been asked a thousand (at least) times. Adding to an existing thread is the way to go.
The less than helpful remarks you got from whomever you contacted with questions was probably due to the passion most acquire for Darts. There are many frogs that die every year and while I don't think that it is correct to give a simple 'WC, mixed, gonna die' answer I do also get fairly upset when I find new comers who have done zero research in advance , for any animal.
That being said , I am very happy to see you have taken it upon yourself to 'right any wrongs' and get these guys up to speed. Many times when i read of such early mistakes the new owner is less than willing to truly listen to the advise of old timers, even when it was they who had solicited the help. Good fortune with the frogs.

Rich

[Cindy Dicken]

Scott,
you have a PM.

[Rancid]

Cindy: Thanks, I got it and have contacted Stace.

Rich: I appreciate the insight and if I had a magic wand I would definately do things differently. I will get them separated pronto.

Thanks again for the guidance and encouragemnet.

[sbreland]

Ehhh, don't listen to Rich, he's just old and crusty! :lol: Seriously though, all the comments are good advice and if you need anything specific just let me know, I'll be around.