# Retics



## frogman824 (Aug 10, 2005)

I just purchased 3 new retics a few hours ago. They are about 2 months old and I'm keeping them in a gladware container with newzealand sphagnum moss and a few magnolia leaves on the bottom. Does this sound like this setupt would be ok for about 3 months until I complete their viv and give them time to grow. I was also told by the vendor that retics aren't really supposed to be placed on a subtrate with dirt, what does everyone put theirs on when they plant their viv? I was maybe thinking about piling leaf litter on top but want to hear everyone elses intakes. 

Thanks in advance, 

Mike


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## booboo (Jan 22, 2005)

Well new zealand sphagnum as long as its organinc is great for all herps.

Retics as you know are one of the more delicate frogs and dont do so well as froglets most oftenly.

If i were you depending on how much you sepnt i would be pretty paranoid about keeping them in a shoebox for 3 weeks. If i was froced to keep them in a shoebox for 3 weeks i would make sure each one got its own shoebox and daily feedings of springtails and melanogaster ff highly supplemented.

I would suggest next time that you make the tank then buy your frogs unless you know the tank wont take to long to make.

Who did you buy them from?
Any pix?

Good luck


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2005)

3 months is a lot longer than 3 weeks too.


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

booboo said:


> Retics as you know are one of the more delicate frogs and dont do so well as froglets most oftenly.
> 
> i would make sure each one got its own shoebox and daily feedings of springtails and melanogaster ff highly supplemented.
> 
> I would suggest next time that you make the tank then buy your frogs unless you know the tank wont take to long to make.


James gave you very good advice here about not keeping them together at that age. You are almost bound to lose one or two if you keep them together as froglets. I would definately keep them in *seperate*shoeboxes for a few months. I keep my retics in shoeboxes longer than with other frogs, because I want them to be as big and healthy as possible when they go into tanks together.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2005)

frogman824 said:


> I was also told by the vendor that retics aren't really supposed to be placed on a subtrate with dirt. Mike


This scares me. Why wood keeping them on dirt hurt them?
Is the outside world bad for these frogs? 

In the wild these are found hoping and diving in and out of leaf litter 4"+ ! Go with a leaf bottom add lots of springtails and any other micro fauna like mites ect. (add some hollowed out english walnuts that have been soaked and your good to go. These guys need lot of little food. They can be delicate, but with a good tank with lots of little bugs they are great frogs!

You will have to watch the spagnum because it can cause problems if you overfeed and get plies of poo and dead flies. It won't break the stuff down and you can get bacterial bloom. I would go with peat/ spagnum and leaves.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

the dealer was probably talking about impaction due to them sucking up some dirt along with the spring tails and ffs


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Hmmm I haven't had issues with keeping retics as froglets in small groups. Also keeping them in temporary setups ( 9.5 x 6.0 deli cup ) with sphagnum/leaf litter for 2-3 months. We had one group of them out on the kitchen counter for that length of time. They were actually pretty interactive with people.

I guess the best advice is to carefully monitor your frogs in terms of behavior, feeding, etc. regardless of the 'conventional' wisdom. Make sure you have plenty of springtails - you might also want to have wingless FFs on hand in case the retics never take to winged FFs.

Good luck!

Bill


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## frogman824 (Aug 10, 2005)

Thanks for the input everyone. I seperated them in their own gladware containers with sphagnum moss, leaf litter and some small clippings of a viny leaf plant. I feed them melanogaster ff and springtails, I'm about to order them some wingless melanogaster off of blackjungle right now. I plan to keep them in their gladware containers for about 3 months and that will allow me plenty of time to construct their viv and allow the plants time to grow. I will probably be using a 20 gallon tall aquarium, would it be better if I set it up vertical or horizontal? 

Mike


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

No experience with retics, but from what I've read, I'd set the tank up horizontal (standard orientation).


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Mike,

Retics are primarily terrestial so you'll find that a horizontal configuration works well. They will climb up plants - I have a big brom in one viv that they love romping around in - but mostly I find them scampering around the floor of the viv. You might want to compromise and use either a 15H or 20H so you have floor space plus some vertical dimension for plants.

As mentioned before, make sure you have plenty of hiding spaces available - you will find that if they have places to dash to such as leaf litter, you'll find them far more visible during the day. 

I just adore retics and wish you well with your new guys.

Bill


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## frogman824 (Aug 10, 2005)

Thanks for all of the info. I will use a 20 tall for all 3 of them. I hope that out of the 3, there is a pair. Are they usually aggressive towards eachother? I will use mostly bromeliads, leaf litter and a few other plants for more cover. I'll post some pics soon of the 3 frogs.

Mike


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

I wanted to revive this thread to ask a few more questions. Does anyone have suggestions on what size tank they should be kept in? Do they do well in groups (around 6) and if so what size tank would be appropriate for a group that big. Has anyone had any luck sexing them?


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

Hi David,
I love cubes for retics. They allow you room to landscape and enough space to put in a few bigger bromeliads, lots of leaf litter, and create enough cover for the frogs to feel safe. You will hear varying replies about groups, and whether they work or not seems to vary between people. I currently have two in a cube but I am planning to introduce at least one more and see how they do. The most important thing about having them in a group is to give them plenty of spots to get away from each other. They also seem to like to stake out their own bromeliad. In terms of sexing them, it has been said that males have more pronounced pelvic bones. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'll try to get some pics of my tank up.


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Thanks Jordan.

How much do your retics use vertical space?


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

I think the advice Bill gave is great. My retics use the vertical space quite a bit especially in the evenings. It is important to give them plenty of hiding places and leaf litter is great for this. These frogs use all space in my tank. They spend a lot of the time during the day on the ground in the leaf litter but as I mentioned they almost always sleep off the ground.

Also when looking to keep these in groups I think that going bigger is better. Remember that the males can be very aggressive.


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

I am going to house 6 in a simply set-up 20 gallon long with tons of leaf litter and about 10 film canisters on the ground as well. I will be watching them closely.


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## George B (Apr 2, 2005)

*retics*

David, In my experience retics can be one of the most aggressive frogs out there especially once they start breeding. I would recomend trying to keep them in pairs if possible. I would also recomend a much larger tank than a 20 long if you would like to keep 6 of them together like a 40 breeder and then watch them carfully. They are easy to sex once they are mature as the females are larger and fatter than the males. just my two cents. george


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

Hi David,
As promised, here's a pic of my retic tank! It is pretty freshly set-up and has some growing in to do, but i'm pretty happy with it. There is a neo. compacta obscured from view by the tillandsia. Let me know if you have any questions!










And one of the inhabitants!









Jordan


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Jordan,
What type of "soil" are you using below the leaf litter?


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

It's an abg style mix.


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Thanks. I am thinking of changing my tank around a little to accomodate the size of these frogs and I think I want to try something new for a "soil".


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

No fighting so far...I have a ton of leaf litter and film canisters.


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## nburns (May 3, 2005)

Yeah, I have leaf litter in my tank too but I am just not happy with what is underneath. One of them has a tendancy to find little holes here and there and climb down and hide in the leca. I'd like to see them a little more often. I guess it doesn't help that it is probably two males in there. 

David, glad to hear that your group is doing well.


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

I often see 4 out of the 6 roaming around. I think the group setting makes for a higher comfort zone along with all the leaf litter and film canisters. Just by size alone, I think I have a 2.4 group. The *peacefullness/cease fire* might change when some breeding tendancies start to prevail. I can't believe how small these guys are.


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## rmelancon (Apr 5, 2004)

I'll give my opinions on a few things: If you want to keep more than a pair in a tank, raise them together. I've had success raising groups of 4 in a 10 gallon and would go up to 6 in a 20. Just make sure its got a plentiful supply of springtails. My preference is to raise them individually but you can have success both ways if done right. If you have adults and or pairs that were not raised together I would advise against trying to put them together. The couple of times I have tried it I lost females. I don't know that tank size matters in this case unless you're talking really big like a 75, but even then I'd be careful. I know they are small but a 75 really isn't big compared to the forest. As far as sexing, in all the animals I have had and raised the males were always more streamlined than the females. If you have the same sex it's harder to tell what they are but with a pair, usually it's pretty obvious at >6 months of age, given they are raised properly. They are in my opinon one of the harder froglets to deal with.


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