07-21-2014, 04:06 AM
I've been pouring through posts. In fact, I find it a bit annoying that I start reading a bit on my iphone and then switch to my ipad only to realize I left off reading some other post on that...squirrel...
Anyway, through my readings here, I've figured out a few things:
1. Always quarantine new stock
1. Purchase stock from reputable sources, run background checks, ask for promises of first born children
1. Frogs spread diseases, so keep yours zipped.
Seriously (and maybe I shouldn't be posting at midnight when my sense of humor seems to be in hyperdrive), it seems that parasites/diseases seem to be a huge concern. I'm not sure if it's because they are that common or just that worrysome (from Rich Frye's posts, I'm gathering it's really that common).
So, as a would-be first time dart shopper, what age/life stage of frog should I look for?
Are tadpoles as likely to carry bio hazardous creepies as ootw froglets or established adults? If the parents are infected with something, can it be passed on to their offspring or does contact/physical contamination have to occur?
I have already invested a lot of money into my set up and will be investing a ton of time into it. I hate to think of finding out after the purchase that my first inhabitants carry the froggy equivalent of bubonic plague.
Also...
Mites are gross. What other environmental ickies are there to avoid in a viv? Should I rinse my hydro ball clay stuff before using it or just pour it into a tank...it came from a "hydroponic supply store" (now there was a life experience checked off my to-do list: frequent a grow shop)?
When I was window shopping at a local pet shop, which currently has a mixed tank of darts for sale, they had a fairly large millipede in the tank as well. The sales boy said that it helped with clean up, and highly recommended the addition to my viv. Yet, I just read on a post here about a guy with a traded viv having to tear the thing apart to get rid of a millipede infestation. Are there other janitors out there besides the standard springtails and isopods?
BTW...I was so excited this morning, my FFly cultures all have larva in them!! Yay!
Thank you in advance for any answers to my questions.
Anyway, through my readings here, I've figured out a few things:
1. Always quarantine new stock
1. Purchase stock from reputable sources, run background checks, ask for promises of first born children
1. Frogs spread diseases, so keep yours zipped.
Seriously (and maybe I shouldn't be posting at midnight when my sense of humor seems to be in hyperdrive), it seems that parasites/diseases seem to be a huge concern. I'm not sure if it's because they are that common or just that worrysome (from Rich Frye's posts, I'm gathering it's really that common).
So, as a would-be first time dart shopper, what age/life stage of frog should I look for?
Are tadpoles as likely to carry bio hazardous creepies as ootw froglets or established adults? If the parents are infected with something, can it be passed on to their offspring or does contact/physical contamination have to occur?
I have already invested a lot of money into my set up and will be investing a ton of time into it. I hate to think of finding out after the purchase that my first inhabitants carry the froggy equivalent of bubonic plague.
Also...
Mites are gross. What other environmental ickies are there to avoid in a viv? Should I rinse my hydro ball clay stuff before using it or just pour it into a tank...it came from a "hydroponic supply store" (now there was a life experience checked off my to-do list: frequent a grow shop)?
When I was window shopping at a local pet shop, which currently has a mixed tank of darts for sale, they had a fairly large millipede in the tank as well. The sales boy said that it helped with clean up, and highly recommended the addition to my viv. Yet, I just read on a post here about a guy with a traded viv having to tear the thing apart to get rid of a millipede infestation. Are there other janitors out there besides the standard springtails and isopods?
BTW...I was so excited this morning, my FFly cultures all have larva in them!! Yay!
Thank you in advance for any answers to my questions.