# Front Leg Breakthrough



## johnc

Taken a few minutes ago. This is a Citronella _D. tinctorius_, bred by Lisa Chesney, and my first foray into dartfrogs, along with 3 younger siblings. See the right front leg has started to tear through the skin?


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## Elf_Ascetic

Nice shot. Did you get more pictures of the same tadpole a few minutes later?


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## johnc

No, I'll give it a look now.

Update: Just took more photos and the tear looks ~the same. Might be slightly bigger. I'll take more later today and see if there is a change.


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## chesney

Awesome pic John! Post some more as they morph further!


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## melas

Awesome pic! Thanks for posting!


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## Julio

very cool shot, i bet if you take another pic by the end of the day it might have poped out by then.


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## johnc

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Here is one taken just now (about 24 hours later). The right tear is much bigger and you can see a toe coming out. You can also see a toe on the left leg under the skin.


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## markbudde

Nice shot! What is your photo shooting setup?


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## johnc

Just holding his tub up in the air and aiming straight up with the camera in the other hand. Pretty basic.


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## markbudde

well then that's a pretty clear tub


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## EricDoan

Those pics are so clear! Very nice.


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## Dragonfly

Very nice photos indeed.


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## johnc

markbudde said:


> well then that's a pretty clear tub


It's one of those 24 oz lunch meat containers (not the Glad ones but the knock-off brand from Stop and Shop).


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## johnc

4 hours later the right leg is out.


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## johnc

Here he is with the right front leg out but no left front leg yet:


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## johnc

Exactly 7 days later (today) all this little one has left is a tail nub:










This fellow hatched on August 15th. So 88 days to this point.


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## HunterB

i love this thread


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## Jellyman

That is amazing how fast he colors up. Thanks for taking the time to post the pic's!


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## johnc

Jellyman said:


> That is amazing how fast he colors up. Thanks for taking the time to post the pic's!


Thanks for letting me show off . Actually I was surprised at how colorful he is in comparison to the Citronella froglets I've seen for sale at shows. I think it's due to the New Life Spectrum food I've been alternating with the frog and tadpole bites. Thanks to whoever it was on dendroboard here who recommended that New Life Spectrum food.


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## ErickG

Great progression pictures! It's interesting to note the white wrists on the little guy. Must be a strong trait from the parents. Perhaps its from the same line of citronellas but I've had some morph out without the white markings that later develop at an older age (~4 months or so). 

Good stuff!


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## andyoconnor83

what camera equipment were you using John? for handheld shots those are very sharp! nice.


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## johnc

ErickG said:


> Must be a strong trait from the parents.


Lisa's female (this one's mother) has slight bracelets.



andyoconnor83 said:


> what camera equipment were you using John?


Nikon D90, macro lens.


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## johnc

Last one, I promise . Took this today (24 hours after the last one) and you can see the tail nub hanging down like a short stubby pony tail:










It's still ignoring fruit flies but was climbing the walls so is now in a growing-out terrarium.


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## laylow

Wow, how long did it take for him to color up? I have a few tads with back legs and they are still dark . . .


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## johnc

laylow said:


> Wow, how long did it take for him to color up? I have a few tads with back legs and they are still dark . . .


Actually I was amazed at how much color he already has - I think it's to do with his food. You can see back through this thread that he's had color since before the front legs came through.


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## johnc

An update! Here he is 7 weeks out of the water:










and again:










Here's another from the same parents (Lisa Chesney bred these) that is 5 weeks out of the water:










See how the blue on the first one is brighter than the second one? There is a real color difference. Also, the first one has bracelets and the second does not.


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## Boondoggle

Nice shots! Just for the record, my favorite stage is when the front elbows pull away from the body but the hands are still connected. We use that as a signal to move tads to the community morph out container, and it's become an inside joke between my wife and I, when feeding, to shout "we have elbows!" when we see one.

Also, the tip about New Life Spectrum food is not to be ignored. I fed one group of leucs tad-bites and the other New Life Spectrum food. The tad-bite frogs morphed out gray in comparison.


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## johnc

Boondoggle said:


> Also, the tip about New Life Spectrum food is not to be ignored. I fed one group of leucs tad-bites and the other New Life Spectrum food. The tad-bite frogs morphed out gray in comparison.


You're not kidding. I worked for Black Jungle at the last White Plains NY show earlier this month and they were selling Citronella and Nikitas. It was like seeing gray versions of my youngsters.


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## RedEyeTroyFrog

There is a HUUUGE difference for me when I compare my citro froglets that received color enhancers and those who didn't....at first I wasn't using any, and most of them were very dull in color...but color up eventually, and they usually had a very large dot on their back...The ones that receive color enhancers are extremely bright yellow right out of the gate! The dot seemed to be about the same size as ur little guy u got there. Great photos, and looks like thats gonna be a great Frog


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## tonybmw328i

where can i buy New Life Spectrum food?


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## johnc

I got it from my LFS. I got the regular one but you could get this (half the size of the regular pellet but same formula):

https://www.petsolutions.com/Default.aspx?ItemID=87940910

I've ordered from pet solutions several times.


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## Boondoggle

There are about a hundred different kinds (ok, not one hundred, but lots). I use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...T31J1RHTE3EYQ9

The results are night and day. Thanks to SmackoftheGods for the tip. I've been meaning to start a thread on this, but I guess this mini-hijack will work.


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## tonybmw328i

Boondoggle your link dident work sorry for the mini hijack should I start a new post on the best one?


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## Boondoggle

Sorry, try this one. 

Amazon.com: Spectrum Thera A Formula - 1 mm - 10.6 oz - 300 g: Kitchen & Dining \

It's the Spectra Thera A formula. Incidentally, my tads have been morphing out larger as well.


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## Leidig

What a great thread. Thank you for posting the pictures. Those alone sold me on the Life Spectrum food.


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## johnc

At this point I suppose I'm just showing off how happy I am with this little fellow. He was my first dart frog after all. He's now 12 weeks out of the water. Comparing him with his sibling, I really think he's going to be male. I know people will say it's too early to tell, but his toe pads are really widening versus his sib.


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## eos

Looking good. I just read this thread from the beginning, so I wanna say congrats and keep us posted!


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## johnc

Thanks Eos.


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## Arrynia

johnc said:


> At this point I suppose I'm just showing off how happy I am with this little fellow. He was my first dart frog after all. He's now 12 weeks out of the water. Comparing him with his sibling, I really think he's going to be male. I know people will say it's too early to tell, but his toe pads are really widening versus his sib.


He is gorgeous! You are an excellent photographer of darts!


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## johnc

Arrynia said:


> He is gorgeous! You are an excellent photographer of darts!


Thank you very much .


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## johnc

A year later, look what he found:










The happy couple:


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## R1ch13

Nice work John.

Great to see them doing so well.

Richie


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## Vagabond324

Nice John, the color on your pair is just beautiful. I have a male (as I was told) and he's my favorite, everyone who see's him is just amazed at his size and color. I'll be looking for a mate for him this coming weekend.


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## What'sAGoonToAGoblin?

Wow excellent pictures! I need to get a macro lens for my camera. Any macro lens suggestions for my Canon EOS Rebel XS?


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## johnc

R1ch13 said:


> Nice work John.
> 
> Great to see them doing so well.


Thanks Richie! Have you seen these?



Vagabond324 said:


> Nice John, the color on your pair is just beautiful. I have a male (as I was told) and he's my favorite, everyone who see's him is just amazed at his size and color. I'll be looking for a mate for him this coming weekend.


Thanks! Well the flash makes the blue a bit brighter. I also use Repashy Calcium+ICB every third feeding and that has some color enhancer in it for the yellows/oranges. Good luck with your search for a female.



What'sAGoonToAGoblin? said:


> Wow excellent pictures! I need to get a macro lens for my camera. Any macro lens suggestions for my Canon EOS Rebel XS?


For terrariums I like lenses between 60 and ~100mm. Just be sure to get a dedicated macro lens, not a zoom lens. Canon actually makes 2 awesome 105 mm macro lenses. Even the cheaper version is _awesome_ from a sharpness point of view.


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