Dart Den
Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...
Dart Den

Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...

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Hi!
#1
I've been keeping dart frogs for a few years. Forgotten exactly how long.
I started with a 15g tank and two male 'Cobalt' tincs. I later upgraded to an 18" cube vivarium with clay-lined walls. Unfortunately, I lost one of my tincs to a vitamin A deficiency, something I don't intend to repeat.
Once I had some replacement vitamins, I bought myself a nice adult 'Azure' tinc. Yes, I know keeping different varieties together is generally frowned upon, but I did my research. They both reach a very similar adult size, they have fairly similar coloration, and I made sure I got another male. The original male chased and bothered the new one at first, so I put the original in a clean strawberry box (holes in the sides) and kept the box in the vivarium for a while so the new one could explore. For about the next week and a half, I could see them singing at each other every time they came into contact, but they calmed down after that and have been living together for quite a while with no problems whatsoever.
I had some low-humidity issues when one clay wall bent/fell down and exposed the terrarium liner that had been helping it cling to the wall. Two days ago, I removed the wall and the liner, and the humidity problems went with it. I also added a small container to keep water in, which I suspect is helping. I also added a bunch more water under the false bottom.
I mist the viv with water from my freshwater aquarium, which I think the plants like. The aquarium has never had any kind of reptile in it, and it's never had any chemicals in it aside from the water conditioner to make tap water safe. I've used a herbal medication in the tank to cure a fish disease called ich, but it's a medication that's safe for everything other than the disease. Also, it was quite a while ago that I used that... the meds are probably out of the tank by now.
Due to the humidity, I lost most of the plants in there. I now have a few feet worth of pothos, two kinds of smallish vines, and two bromeliads. I know a nice couple who raise tropical-type plants in a big greenhouse, and I can get viv plants and some orchids from them. I've had a minor problem finding orchids and plants that seem to like it in there, though, and I'd appreciate some suggestions.
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#2
Hello there and welcome to Dart Den. A real help with your questions would be to post some pics of your enclosure. We can advise you a lot more effectively that way.

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#3
[Image: Plants_zps3693a727.png]
These are two plants I can't ID. The vine I think was called money-leaf or something. Any clue what it is?
The other thing is a pair of broms. The parent was a bit over 5" tall and died a few months ago, most likely just because it was old. I can't get a photo of the other brom because it's behind the pothos, but it's dark green and also small. ID isn't important, it's just minor curiosity... I lost the tags for them.
[Image: Vivandfroggeh_zps44d145c5.png]
Here's my viv. I'm not overly proud of how it looks at the moment, it's still messy and I'm working on making it nicer. I plan to shift the pothos so it's a bit further back and not covering what it's crawling on.
And yes, that's a cow skull under there. It was sun-dried in a field for a couple of years, then I rinsed it really well with a hose to remove the spiders and let it dry in the sun. I'm in Central Texas, so it got HOT out there. After that, I hosed it again and dried it once more before putting it in the viv. The nasal cavity was full of sharp bone bits, so I packed it with dirt to keep the frogs from going in there. I like how it looks, and the frogs seem to like climbing on it and hiding in the eye sockets. Plus, it got all covered in algae and stuff.
As you can see, the back walls are covered in algae and some kind of fluffy not-quite-moss thing.
I don't like the stick on the far left, I just stuck it in there for the vines to climb a bit. They were originally on the clay wall and seem to do better when off the ground.
I think I want to do something with that empty wall, though I'm not sure what. Maybe I'll cover it in something to grow moss/algae on...
I have access to magnolia leaves from a neighbor's tree. I boil them and then add them to the viv. I've also used those leaves in my aquariums, so I know they're fine to use with live things. I think I'll gather more to add at some point.
Any suggestions for what to put on that wall?

I'm in Central Texas, near a decent little pet store that specializes in unusual things like reptiles, overly large spiders, and frogs. They usually have a few baby darts from local hobbyists, and sometimes they have an adult or two from people who traded them in. They also have helpful people.
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