# Who keeps dart frogs at college?



## baenschi9090 (Dec 12, 2007)

Hi, I am attending Western Illinois University next year and I am hoping to keep a 20 gallon tank for some dart frogs in my dorm room. I'm not even 100% sure if the frogs would be allowed but for all they know its just a fish tank with plants. I am worried about a few things such as what to do with the frogs during breaks or weekends when I come home and culturing fruit flies/raising tadpoles in my room. If anyone has any advice for me or can tell me how you kept your frogs in your room ect. let me know, thanks


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

That's a though one...with the breaks and such. You might want to get a feel for you roommate(s) and if he/she would be willing to help and willing to wake up with an occasional fruit fly in the water cup! Many a frog have been lost to ignorant frog-sitters.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

check with yoru school when i went to college we were allowed to keep just about anything in a 10 gallon tank.


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## baenschi9090 (Dec 12, 2007)

Well the good thing about that is I already know my roomate and he likes frogs also. The problem is he is the one with the car to take me home etc. so he wouldnt be able to look after them. I am thinking about just bringing them home with me for long breaks but that would be a pain on weekends.


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## beachbabe18509 (Oct 29, 2007)

For long breaks you would need to bring them home but I generally only feed my frogs every couple of days anyways, so get a timer for their light and feed them heavily before you head home for the weekend and they should be fine


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

I wouldnt worry too much about weekends... just make sure you have springs in the tank and feed them heavily friday before you leave


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## baenschi9090 (Dec 12, 2007)

Alright that sounds good. What about leaving tadpoles and eggs over the weekend? I was also worried about that also.


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## beachbabe18509 (Oct 29, 2007)

Wel lare you going to be actively trying to breed and raise the frogs? or just if it happens it happens? You may want to just leave tads in the tank to let the parents raise them..


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Just check with the RA's in your dorm and ask what you CANT have. I can guarantee that it wont have anything to do with frogs. The only thing that they will want is for you to fill out a form saying that you have your pets with you and that you can't leave them in the dorm over the major breaks (ex. winter break, spring break). Fruit Flies really shouldn't be that much of a challenge either as your dorm room SHOULD have a closet for you to keep your clothes in and if you can spare room for even a shoebox, then you're all set! I kept many different kinds of animals when i was in the dorms (2 years ago) including a 6 ft ball python and the only problem i came across were people getting mad at me when i didnt tell them that it was time for me to keep my pets. 

The last bit of advice i have is for you to stay a couple weeks in the dorms before bringing in your pets and just talk to your RA. If they're a decent person at all, they should be more than willing to help you out and might even be just as excited as you are for the new froggies to be brought to campus.....I dont think you should have any problems at all. Just make sure you know what the regulations are and then go from there! 

Good luck on your frog expedition!


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## salix (Mar 28, 2008)

One thought on the topic, you might want to stay away from something with a loud call.

Edited to add - When I was a teenager, I kept a 6 foot boa in my closet. My parents had no idea I even had her. I would even take her out of the house and back at times in a pillowcase. Quiet is good! :wink:


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## baenschi9090 (Dec 12, 2007)

Well I called the school today to ask if I could keep a planted aquarium with two small frogs in it. The answer was no only fish. I'm not really sure if they would be able to tell what was in the tank or if they would even ever see the tank. I think I am still going to give it a try and see what happens. Worse case I will have to sell the frogs and their tank.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

I'm supposed to only have a "small fish tank" too... ooops...

Realistically though, i understand why they have the rule but dont think that a couple frogs really go against the reasons they made it. I can see them being uneasy about snakes and things that can get loose and continue to live... but realistically how long is a frog going to live outside the viv? Also, there is no real way it can damage anything in the building or hurt people. Its not like you carry the (very small) risk of salmonella as with a turtle. If anything it is less of a liability than fish because there isnt like 10 gallons of water that could be all over the place...


just be careful and dont let fruit flies start infesting the place... haha


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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

Forget the dorms. I see way too many problems dealing with ignorant people and having to sneak around and bend senseless rules, albeit well intentioned. In my experience with several universities I know that just about all of them with a decent science department will usually maintain facilities to keep captive laboratory animals. One local university has a large aquarium room full of fish that allow students to undertake research projects using both fish and aquatic inverts. Universities will usually rely on student volunteers to provide the care for these animals. Zoology classes often rely on preserved specimens for labs but often welcome live animals, if available, for that purpose. 
I assume you are a science major ? Check with your biology dept about volunteering to care for any live animals that they may have. Once you get your foot in the animal room, you shouldn't have any problems convincing the faculty to allow you to mantain a rack of dart frogs. They will probably foot the bill for all the tanks, lighting, etc. In return the frogs can provide wonderful subjects for studying embryology, parasitology, rainforest ecology, etc. Get a couple tenured professors on your side and I'm pretty sure they will allow you to keep as many frogs as you want. The biggest obstacle for most universities is finding a suitable volunteers who are willing to take on husbandry responsibilities. Your demonstrated knowledge of dart frogs and initiative to set it up and make it happen will win them over. Also most genetics labs rely heavily on the use of fruitflies. They normally order them from science supply companies when needed. Depending on the lab, they may require specific genotypes, but for the most part any flighless fruitfly would work. An added bonus to the school would be someone willing to maintain a ready supply of these flies. Again, paid for by the school, and instead of trashing the excess flies, they can provide the staple diet for your frogs. Good luck.
George


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## beachbabe18509 (Oct 29, 2007)

Ok so I lived in the dorms for one semester, and this is how you do it.

In my case your room gets inspected twice, once about a week or two after the start of the semester and a second time at the end of the semester.
Easy to deal with, don't bring in the set up until after inspection, make sure to take it home before the second one.. And I had mice not frogs and never had a problem.


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## swigen (Aug 24, 2007)

One thing you wont have to worry about is culturing fruit flies. In my bio classes we actually had to bring vials home and raise them for a lab project so if anyone confronts you about those...thats your answer. Also, if you ever get in a crunch for flies, they shouldnt be too far away if your school has any kind of bio program.
As for getting around keeping the frogs, most RA's are pretty flexible. If you get to know yours well enough, bring it up to him/her and chances are you can get them to work with you, or at least turn there head the other way.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

lacerta said:


> Forget the dorms. I see way too many problems dealing with ignorant people and having to sneak around and bend senseless rules, albeit well intentioned. In my experience with several universities I know that just about all of them with a decent science department will usually maintain facilities to keep captive laboratory animals. One local university has a large aquarium room full of fish that allow students to undertake research projects using both fish and aquatic inverts. Universities will usually rely on student volunteers to provide the care for these animals. Zoology classes often rely on preserved specimens for labs but often welcome live animals, if available, for that purpose.
> I assume you are a science major ? Check with your biology dept about volunteering to care for any live animals that they may have. Once you get your foot in the animal room, you shouldn't have any problems convincing the faculty to allow you to mantain a rack of dart frogs. They will probably foot the bill for all the tanks, lighting, etc. In return the frogs can provide wonderful subjects for studying embryology, parasitology, rainforest ecology, etc. Get a couple tenured professors on your side and I'm pretty sure they will allow you to keep as many frogs as you want. The biggest obstacle for most universities is finding a suitable volunteers who are willing to take on husbandry responsibilities. Your demonstrated knowledge of dart frogs and initiative to set it up and make it happen will win them over. Also most genetics labs rely heavily on the use of fruitflies. They normally order them from science supply companies when needed. Depending on the lab, they may require specific genotypes, but for the most part any flighless fruitfly would work. An added bonus to the school would be someone willing to maintain a ready supply of these flies. Again, paid for by the school, and instead of trashing the excess flies, they can provide the staple diet for your frogs. Good luck.
> George


I wish the world was that perfect... but do you realize the odds of them doing all that simply because some little freshman came in and liked dart frogs?

realistically, I think it would be better to just get a feel for the situation and see if you can bring them up... if not, just hope you have someone at home that can care for them


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## baenschi9090 (Dec 12, 2007)

Thanks everyone for your opinions and ideas


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