Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Peter Parrot]

Just recently got a pair of Dendrobates tinctorius "Oyapuk" from my friend Chris.
Here are a few amateurish snaps of them. The only way to get em on camera was to pop em in a box again

Really lively active frogs. Pretty large as darts go, I would thoroughly reccomend them to anyone thinking of giving keeping darts a go.
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[955i]

Well I do believe they are the nicest Oyapoks I've ever seen

[Peter Parrot]

They don`t keep still for long either. The female is the slightly larger of the two here.
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[Peter Parrot]

Few more.....
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[Peter Parrot]

[mattie]

stunning the colours are so vibrant, how do you keep them set ups ect?

[Rickeezee]

Stunning Darts Pete, well done! Let me know when they breed.
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[Peter Parrot]

Hi Mattie, keeping darts has come forward a lot in the last few years. There are now purpose made glass dart frog vivs available, which are water proof, and have sliding doors, and ventilation. It is now standard practice to have an inset below the doors and a horizontal ventilation strip directly below the doors running the entire length of the viv. This helps with cross ventilation and prevents the doors from condensating up and blocking the view of the frogs.
Various methods are used for the substrate, all seem to work and different methods suit different people. Dart frogs suit living in naturalistic set ups, densely planted with bromeliads , tropical ferns and orchids. Regular spraying is neccessary, though misting systems are now available that can run several nozzles and look after a few vivs at once using a timer switch.
Keeping darts allows one to have an almost self supporting miniature Eco-system. Briefly explained; the two main conditions that the frogs require, warmth and humidity, are unfortunately also ideal for molds and fungi to grow in. There is a solution though. Vivarium "custodians" can be introduced such as various species of springtails and/or tropical miniature woodlice. These feed on and keep down the molds. If introduced before the frogs and allowed time to build up their numbers, they also provide an "on tap" food source for young and older frogs alike. So, the springtails eat the molds, the frogs eat the springtails, and the frog and insect poo feeds the plants. All that needs to be done is additional food added for our frogs , which need to eat daily because of their small size and high activity levels. (Nearly all dart frogs are diurnal and very active making them excellant captives)
In fact this is the dart frog keepers biggest concern. Food. Copious amounts of the right sized food items are required. Fruit flies can be cultured, or regular orders from a live food supplier arranged, but that aint cheap. Springtails are easily cultured, as are apparently the various species of tropical woodlice that are available though I myself have not tried them yet. In the summer , the diet can be varied by getting out the secatures and prowling round rose bushes looking for greenfly and black fly infestations.
Water quality is important too, PH 7 being the one to aim for.
If one gets all of the above correct, then your frogs will breed. Many species display fascinating behaviour too. My darts are favourites in my collection , and I am only starting to build them up. There is a vast choice of suitable beginner species, I myself have five species and have found them all easy to care for. I am looking forward to advanceing in a couple of years time to some of the more "advanced" level species which are a tad more exacting in their requirements.
A good book available is the professional breeders series; Poison frogs by W.Schmidt and F.W. Henkel ISBN3-930612-92-5.
A useful British forum is
http://dendroworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

All I can say Mattie is go for it mate! I have met a few people into the hobby and most have been really helpful.

Here are a few pics to tempt you further Mattie;

http://www.dendroworld.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1944

Sounds complicated perhaps , but I assure you it isn`t. I can honestly say that of all my varied collection, it is the Poison arrow frogs that I find to be amongst the most interesting. Stunning to look at, really active, not needing much space, they are seemingly ideal. Sorry if I have rambled on but I think I have touched on everything, now you need to read a book and hunt round on the forum I linked you too.
Good luck!

Rick, as soon as I hear the patter of tiny frog feet I`ll give you a shout:wink:
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[mattie]

[Peter Parrot]

Yes that should be fine for the lighting.
Starter species, Epipedobates tricolor, advantages; very easy to breed. Easy to breed means lots of eggs and lots of tadpoles. Lots of eggs and lots of tadpoles means lots of practice at raising tadpoles so that to me is their greatest advantage. The training in tadpole rearing you will gain.
Disadvantages; None really. A lot smaller than any of the other species that are commonly referred to as "starter" species, and not so colourful.

Dendrobates leucomelas and auratus, advantages; beautiful easy to care for and relatively easy to breed.
Disadvantages; can be a bit shy and hide away a lot. I have a male auratus that is constantly out and about however). Put some fruit flies in the viv though and they soon appear!

Dendrobates Tinctorius, advantages; big, huge range of colour variations (azureus is a tinc) very active. Great fun.
Disadvantages; can`t think of any other than that they seem to do better in pairs than groups. It`s the females that are the problem. The stronger female can often bully the weaker female. One other disadvantage which I will dispell now and that is that they are expensive. Can be if you buy from a retail shop. Private breeders I find sell their surplus stock for less than half the price that I have seen them for in certain shops. It is a far better option as regards back up or after sales service too.

Phyllobates terribilis, bicolor and aurotaenia, advantages; this group of frogs are hugely overlooked as beginner species. Though I have not kept any yet, I have seen plenty in private collections and they are bigger than most darts, (in itself an advantage as they can cram bigger food items into their mouth thus giving more margin for error with a novice keeper) also they are a very active, big ballsy frog , a joy to watch. Breed easily enough too if kept in the right conditions.
Disadvantages; er, they don`t taste very nice! Terribilis is the most toxic animal on the planet. Whether they retain their toxicity levels in captivity with the far less varied diet available is doubtful though.

That should do for now. The book I reccomended you is available from
http://www.dartfrog.co.uk/ Mark, who runs it is very helpful and can provide a lot of other useful equipment too.

Happy frog farming.
_________________
YSBRYDOLI POBL, GWELLA LLEOEDD
INSPIRING PEOPLE, IMPROVING PLACES
www.btcv.org
Visit our website - Gwelwch ein Gwefan
www.btcvcymru.org
Llinell Gymorth / Helpline: 08702 40 48 41