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Dart Den

Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...

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Special needs of thumbnails?
#1
I have been reading about some of the thumbnail species and am having a hard time finding anything in their care that is special. Is it just that they are less hardy and experience with more hardy species is necessary before trying to keep them? It seems like they really need room to themselves and many people dont keep anymore then 2 per tank. Other that they seem to just be basically the same care as the larger frogs. Anyone have any input on this?

Thanks

Mike
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#2
Hi Mike,
I'll have a crack at it.
There are special needs that Thumbs have that tincs and the like do not. I am not sure if you are including D. pumilio or other obligate egg feeders , but I am assuming not. Here are a few special needs.
Food needs
Adult Thumbs can be fed melanogaster FFs but to get them to adulthood they will also need a diet of springtails or some other very small food source. While most larger froglets can down a Hydei almost immediately after morphing, a thumb needs a bit more attention in regards to feeding. I have noticed that some larger species feed with a voracity that I have never witnessed in a Thumb.
Housing
It takes much more attention to detail to make an escape proof viv for an animal that reachs 20mm as opposed to one that reachs 70mm full grown. Most Thumbs are arboreal and climb much more than Tincs. Thumbs will find a way out of your viv , if given the chance. Each Thumb specie's ideal living/breeding environment is at least slightly different (sometimes drastically) , it take time and experience to dial in the right mix. As to keeping Thumbs in pairs; more Thums (and tincs for that matter) seem to do best when paired up. One male and one female equals no external competition. No egg eating , fighting, or pecking orders in need of being established. Egg eating is something that I have only witnessed in Thumbs, no tinc egg eating. Thumbs need no more room than any other Dart . They do prefer certain lay-outs to others , but the "at least five gallons per frog"" rule" works for Thumbs also.
Hardiness
While it is much easier to observe many tincs for any signs of health problems, I am not sure that I would say Thumbs are less hardy than tincs. There are more Thumb species that are harder to observe, making a quick catch of something negative more difficult. Some Thumb species will burrow if not given the proper amount of hiding spots (leaf litter is important) and basically disappear. The key is observation more than anything. There are some Thumb species that are more difficult to breed. There are some species that are easy to stimulate to breed, but very difficult to raise tads and froglets. To answer the question of hardiness, without taking breeding into account, I think that most Thumbs are just as hardy as most tincs, all things equal.

Rich

www.fryebrothersfrogs.com
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#3
Rich,

Thanks that is helpful, I still have some work to do before I am ready to give them a try. Next step is springtails.
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