# Darko's Dart Frog Kingdom!



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

So... I got a new dart frog and he currently is in a 12in zoo med cube, he/she is just a baby I am going to get 'it' a buddy but before I do they will need a new house. This weekend there was a reptile show and well I spent way to much but am off to a great start on there new house. 

What came home with me, 
Tank ExoTerra 18x18x24
Light came w/ tank 2 bulbs 
1 day spectrum for plants 
the other bulb can be a red or blue night? suggestions? will it matter like lizards? 
Fogger
XL grape wood 
3 coconut huts 
dirt 
bark forest floor (shredded)

I am planning on a water feature, I am wanting to do a false bottom with water in it, I was thinking of putting a fish tank heater in there to help control the tank temps? YES NO? then egg crate - hydro balls - carbon - sphagnum moss - potting soil/core fiber mix (non fertilized)- with a moss and leaf litter top. I don't have a set plan for the water but I have some ideas. input is welcome! 

I have been keeping crested geckos for about 2 years now so this is not my first vivarium, but I am VERY NEW TO PDF! So feel free to give me advice, I am getting ready to start my FF in the coming weeks as well! I also keep reef tanks so I got a lot going on! 

This is who all of the fuss is all all about!


----------



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

You have a great healthy-looking specimen there! Get fecal count tests run on him to be sure he is in fact healthy. 

OK---I have a question---are the bulbs you're using incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent lights? I ask b/c the incandescent bulbs usually will make the tank way too hot.

Also, I don't think a heater is a good idea---you will probably cook your frogs. Frogs generally do not like temps over 80 degrees.


----------



## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

Beautiful frog m8........I wouldn't go with a fish tank heater the height the water would need to be would take away a lot of room. Not to mention if it faild it could either over heat the tank or if it is a major failure electrocute the frog....In most cases the lights will be enough to keep temps plus the surrounding air temp....If it did fail then you would have to tear it apart and that would suck.JMHO


----------



## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

I wouldn't bother putting a tank with a water feature... I built one for my friends lec just because he wants to breed his 3 females once we find him a male... But I have gone and added tons of little "water holes" made outta styrofoam, silicone, and dirt lol... Much easier to keep humidity up with pools throughout the viv... I will start taking pictures once I can rip his old tank apart Its really gonna be quite beautiful... =P anyway... First and formost get rid of the grapevine and add something more sturdy like manzanite or ghost wood... second dont bother with using two different lights just do two floresent lights (Not incandescent cause they overheat tanks) with 6500k light rating... third because this is your first viv I would do just a basic Hydroton 4"-6" for drainage then do an ABG mix for soil UNLESS you arent planting then just add about 2" dried spag and then 4" magnolia leaves... Fourth remember that your pdf will need plants so I would order Broms (My personal fav site is NEHerp) that way s/he can hide in them and what not... O and mount them to the back wall and the sides or even the new pieces of wood you get...

Also if that is the quarintine tube then add magnolia leaves for s/he to go and hide under... this will cause the frog less stress

Just my 2 cents but hopefully that helps... need help just look at my post of my viv/terrarium journal


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

earthfrog said:


> You have a great healthy-looking specimen there! Get fecal count tests run on him to be sure he is in fact healthy.
> 
> OK---I have a question---are the bulbs you're using incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent lights? I ask b/c the incandescent bulbs usually will make the tank way too hot.
> 
> Also, I don't think a heater is a good idea---you will probably cook your frogs. Frogs generally do not like temps over 80 degrees.


Thanks you for the fast reply! 

My GF is in VetTech school we have 20+ lizards she does all of heath side of things. She has microscope to do those. The bulb is a repti glow 67k, its a 13w I keep one on a crested gecko tank and don't seem to have heat Issues. 




VenomR00 said:


> I wouldn't bother putting a tank with a water feature... I built one for my friends lec just because he wants to breed his 3 females once we find him a male... But I have gone and added tons of little "water holes" made outta styrofoam, silicone, and dirt lol... Much easier to keep humidity up with pools throughout the viv... I will start taking pictures once I can rip his old tank apart Its really gonna be quite beautiful... =P anyway... First and formost get rid of the grapevine and add something more sturdy like manzanite or ghost wood... second dont bother with using two different lights just do two floresent lights (Not incandescent cause they overheat tanks) with 6500k light rating... third because this is your first viv I would do just a basic Hydroton 4"-6" for drainage then do an ABG mix for soil UNLESS you arent planting then just add about 2" dried spag and then 4" magnolia leaves... Fourth remember that your pdf will need plants so I would order Broms (My personal fav site is NEHerp) that way s/he can hide in them and what not... O and mount them to the back wall and the sides or even the new pieces of wood you get...
> 
> Also if that is the quarintine tube then add magnolia leaves for s/he to go and hide under... this will cause the frog less stress
> 
> Just my 2 cents but hopefully that helps... need help just look at my post of my viv/terrarium journal


Yeah I am going to have a lot of bogs as well, but the water part is.. well lol how this all got started  so I am keeping it for now anyways  

What is ABG mix??

I am planing on planting it, Broms are on the list I have not done all of my research on plants yet to know what all I want. 

O and that is a tub I got him in but here is a bigger pic when I got him home I didn't want to freak him out so I just put him in and let him come out alone... also he has a coconut hut in there now so he has a lil house. 

maybe it isn't grapevine this is big enough a big lizard could walk on it... see crappy pic?


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Some folks don't like grapewood because it molds over. The mold goes away in a few days. It is a softer wood and will decay, but, not at a terribly fast rate. I like to use it in my tanks because it molds and decays. The microfauna seem to love it and it creates little snack feeding stations for my frogs. 

Lucky score on the GF/vet tech


----------



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Just to be on the safe side, I would check tanks temps after it is filled with adequate moisture and elevate the bulb if at all possible. You don't want it reaching temps over 80 whatsoever. Go ahead and get you a fluorescent light---it runs cooler and then you don't have to worry. That is the standard for lighting with PDF tanks.


----------



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

You will want the GF to test him for coccidia, roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and any other sort of buggie. If you find evidence of infection, do treatments before puttin him in the main tank.


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

frogface said:


> Some folks don't like grapewood because it molds over. The mold goes away in a few days. It is a softer wood and will decay, but, not at a terribly fast rate. I like to use it in my tanks because it molds and decays. The microfauna seem to love it and it creates little snack feeding stations for my frogs.
> 
> Lucky score on the GF/vet tech


Is there bad microfauna that could be a problem? I have some ADD when it comes to takes.... I will rip it apart and redo it before it rots lol... 

Yes the GF is why I got into animals she kept dragging me to shows and stuff... this last one I actually made her go with me... 



earthfrog said:


> Just to be on the safe side, I would check tanks temps after it is filled with adequate moisture and elevate the bulb if at all possible. You don't want it reaching temps over 80 whatsoever. Go ahead and get you a fluorescent light---it runs cooler and then you don't have to worry. That is the standard for lighting with PDF tanks.


I get it, I was planning on having this planted/set up for a while before putting the frogs in. How long do you quarantine? I have the lil tank set up for quarantine so when I get my new one it will be quarantined as well. I have a lazer temp gun so I will make sure the whole vive is within range, however I personally am nevus about keeping it warm at night? does anyone run UTH? or anything at night? I have my crested tank w/o a heater and it can drop pretty cold but they can do fine with it. 

I will give the list to the GF to check out the poo


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I've never had an issue with bad bugs in grapewood. Some folks bake their wood for a while to make sure to kill off anything that might be on it.


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

I currently have 1 PDF how many can comfortably living in a tank this size?


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I am in no way an expert (<-noob), but, I think 3 leucs would fit in an 18x18x24 nicely.


----------



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

SeattlesDarko said:


> I get it, I was planning on having this planted/set up for a while before putting the frogs in. How long do you quarantine? I have the lil tank set up for quarantine so when I get my new one it will be quarantined as well. I have a lazer temp gun so I will make sure the whole vive is within range, however I personally am nevus about keeping it warm at night? does anyone run UTH? or anything at night? I have my crested tank w/o a heater and it can drop pretty cold but they can do fine with it.
> 
> I will give the list to the GF to check out the poo


Yes, they should be quarantined for at least 3 months, and IMO the most humane way to do this is to get a 10G tank and put a bunch of magnolia leaves in the bottom. When you see poops, take them out and view them--the fresher the better. Take at least 4 to make one slide's worth of viewing material. 

Do two or three fecal counts about a month apart during the quarantine (QT) period. 

It is fine for the tank to drop a few degrees at night, but no rapid drops in temps, nor should you put it next to a door or window. Try to keep it out of overly warm or cold areas in general. If we are talking rapid temp. drops at night of more than three or four degrees, you may need to think about heating (someone else chime in for temp. specifics for this species). 

I do not heat at night and house temps are about 76 degrees.


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

Here it is so far... I am using the background that it came with just as a starting point... The background is glued at the corner. I am going to add a few platforms on the back w/ some great stuff. I plan to cover it with a dirt moss mixture. I have the base just about done, I just need a few more things and its about ready.... 










You can see the hole that is to access the pump, there cover I made for it but its not there so you can see. Under the coconut. 









The water will come around to the front. I am going to make a rock bed out of great stuff and rocks that will have flow though it as well it will have filter floss behind it to keep the particulates out as best as I can. I will show you more as I build it. 









I live in Magnolia it was named due to the big Madrone trees that were mistaken as Magnolia's but non the less a simple walk in the park for me for some good leaf litter, these were taken before I baked them. 




















Was wondering if someone could ID this?


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

some more pics I got most of the great stuff done and in place, I need to get the pump still and aquarium / river rocks for the front water part... it looks pretty full in there already.


----------



## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Looks cool so far, all the advice so far was pretty much on point, if your gf really knows what to look for in fecals you shouldn't need a 3 month QT period though, once you get all the frogs that are going in there (hopefully no more than 2 or 3 if they're leucs), QT them separately for a month and do a fecal on each once a week during, if they're clean you're good to go


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

I am pretty happy with how things turned out. I am going to do some touch ups and then run out and get a new pump... I have one but uggg I would rather get a new one, instead of a used one that could die next week.


----------



## fleshfrombone (Jun 15, 2008)

Welcome to the hobby. That leaf you were holding up looks like Chestnut to me. There's several froggers in your area, myself included.


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

I have been busy I am pretty much in the waiting stage now I have have been playing with lights to get the temp perfect. I am working on a fan and some out side of tank mods I will be sure to post pics of all of those too. I added my spring tails and I am going to start culturing those my GF says it shouldn't be to hard. I started my fist FF cultures more waiting there... but my frog seems to be happy in his lil cube he has been out a lot more recently so I am happy I actually get to see him


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

fleshfrombone said:


> Welcome to the hobby. That leaf you were holding up looks like Chestnut to me. There's several froggers in your area, myself included.


Nice to meet you! yes it nice to have people in the area, what kind of frogs do you keep?


----------



## Goji (Oct 14, 2010)

ABG is a great substrate mix I use in my viv. It was created by the Atlanta botanical garden and it has just a right mixture of things that drain well and also thing that hold on to water. joshsfrogs.com has a great price on ABG mix and they also have great info for beginners. Good luck


----------



## fleshfrombone (Jun 15, 2008)

Nice to meet you as well. Currently I keep black bassleri, azureiventris, intermedius, varaderos, galactonotus, and just recently blue jeans pumilio.


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

I am pretty happy with things, you can see the white PVC pipe in this pic but the one on the L is the fan and the R is the fogger. I black siliconed them last night so they should be dry and ready to get installed when I get home. I still have to wire the fan... hopefully tonight. 




































I added an air stone for some water movement I like it  The green is Java Moss with the bubbles it looks cool fanned out. Also Java Moss will go terrestrial so I hope it will start taking off. 



























The top is pretty full the the Tom Pump and filter is something from my reef and a spare air pump for some water movement. 









I took a piece of Plexiglas and silicone it in w/ black. There is a hole for the fogger and one for the fan that is not all the way build but essentially a computer fan and PVC pipe. 










Here is the fan with the mesh front I cut up a filter pad.


----------



## gio (Nov 9, 2010)

i suggest using a different fogger 1. because it heats up and breaks within 2 weeks 2.because it is very hot when u put ure finger over the fogger and ure frog might just get hurt. i sugest using a home made foger just atach a hose and seal it with silicone or great stuff use the repty fogger with a hose 

gio


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

gio said:


> i suggest using a different fogger 1. because it heats up and breaks within 2 weeks 2.because it is very hot when u put ure finger over the fogger and ure frog might just get hurt. i sugest using a home made foger just atach a hose and seal it with silicone or great stuff use the repty fogger with a hose
> 
> gio


Thanks, I will keep that in mind, I have used that same fogger for over a years on a crested gecko tank and have not had a problem but I will keep an eye on it. My gecko actually will go up to the fogger when its on and let it run over her...


----------



## SeattlesDarko (Jul 29, 2010)

here are some pics... BTW the leucs and cobalt are in different tanks.


----------



## GRIMM (Jan 18, 2010)

Very nice. The moss is starting to look great. Moss makes a tank imo.


----------

