# Oophaga pumilio



## Roho (Feb 22, 2009)

Hi, I joined this forum because I am considering getting a dart frog, _Oophaga pumilio_, sometime in the semi-near future.

I have never owned dart frogs before, only other reptiles - skinks and geckos (and I'll have more geckos, frogs, and a chameleon before I get the dart). I know that _O. pumilio_ is an advanced dart frog. I looked at their care sheet in the care sheet section of this forum and they were listed as advanced for "difficulty in breeding and territorial habits," but I think I'm up to the challenge!

I have a couple questions about this species.

What is the most readily available, easiest to care for, and least expensive out of these morphs - black jeans and man creek? I like both of them, but which one do you think would be better suited for me based on those compenents. And pictures of these morphs would be appreciated!

Would a heavily planted twenty gallon tall vivarium be a good enclosure for two male _O. pumilio_? I was thinking of philodendron, pothos, bromeliads, sansevieria, orchids, and other tropical plants with pillow moss and half coconuts to hide in. Would this vivarium be suitable for some of these territorial frogs?

Do large ponds work out with darts? I was thinking of maybe putting in a large pond the length of the tank with a small shoal (six or so) neon tetras. Has anyone ever attempted this?

Are _O. pumilio_ egg-eaters? If so, how can I aquire the eggs they eat? Also, can you inform me on what egg-eaters really are - sorry, so new to darts! I can give fruit flies (which is better - _D. hydei_ or _D. melanogaster_?) and pinhead crickets also. About how much and how often do the frogs need to eat? And is sprinkling food with paprika a good idea?

Do the frogs need UV lighting, or just the plants?

Are _O. pumilio_ a shy species? Do they come out a lot during the day, or are the shy and secretive? Do they interact with each other often? Play fight and such?

If I get them as froglets, can I house them in individual two gallon or so tupperware containers? Should I give them each spagnum moss substrate, fake or live plants, and a simple water dish?

Thank you.


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Research for a couple of months on here on as many construction builds and feeding topics as you can, basically all the questions you asked are already posted/discussed on at length. By the questions you asked, I think maybe you should just try to read as many of the past and present posts on this forum as you can in the next 2 months before you decide what to do - welcome!


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## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

I don't think they're really that hard to care for as long as they're captive bred, it's just the breeding that's tricky. Also, the morphs don't really differ in difficulty, just color and origin. You're best off going for something cheap and CB. Of course, that's just what I've extrapolated from other people's stories, considering I've never kept them.

People have made paludariums for frogs and fish, there are a lot of good construction threads on that.

If I were you, I'd keep a male and a female, not two males. That way you get eggs and no aggression. In that case you could keep the pair in a ten gallon.

Pumilio tadpoles are obligatory egg feeders, which means they need to eat their mother's infertile food eggs to survive. The adults would take melanogasters. Depending on the morph of pumilio, paprika would help intensify the red color. Still, that's not a priority like the vitamins, minerals, and calcium are. Traditionally they're fed daily, but I feed a lot and let the extra be eaten during the next few days. Kind of a necessity since they don't come running to eat.

Neither the plants nor the frogs need UVB, it's really a waste of money.


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## Roho (Feb 22, 2009)

Do female darts croak too? I know in other frogs females don't croak, but... I just love the sound of chirping frogs. And would there really be so many problems in such a large and divided vivarium, but if there still would be, I'll get one male and one female.

What about the fertile eggs? I don't think I can handle the tadpoles and morphing froglets. What would I do with the eggs they don't eat?


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## Laxgoal100 (Sep 9, 2008)

Well, no matter how large and divided this vivarium is, you've still trapped two frogs within four glass walls... I'd say 1 male 1 female. 



Roho said:


> And would there really be so many problems in such a large and divided vivarium, but if there still would be, I'll get one male and one female.QUOTE]


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

bobberly1 said:


> Neither the plants nor the frogs need UVB, it's really a waste of money.


Not sure I agree with you there. Pumilio can be successfully reared without UVB, but to say it's a waste of money may be a bit speculative. Some of our initial observations (read anecdotal, unmeasured, and unscientific) indicate some level of UVB may be helpful to some frogs including pumilio. I know our success rate with pumilio froglets improved with some UV supplementation. Again, this is simply anecdotal observation. Of course, you would be absolutely correct if the vivarium has a glass lid that blocks the UV anway.


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## evolvstll (Feb 17, 2007)

JL-Exotics said:


> Not sure I agree with you there. Pumilio can be successfully reared without UVB, but to say it's a waste of money may be a bit speculative. Some of our initial observations (read anecdotal, unmeasured, and unscientific) indicate some level of UVB may be helpful to some frogs including pumilio. I know our success rate with pumilio froglets improved with some UV supplementation. Again, this is simply anecdotal observation. Of course, you would be absolutely correct if the vivarium has a glass lid that blocks the UV anway.


I agree with Jeremy in regards to the UVB. I have had better success with froglets of both pumilio and galacs when they parents are exposed to UVB>


Jason


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

As I understand it, _techincally_ PDF's don't need UVB if you're supplementing their food with D3 (a vitamin that helps them absorb calcium). If you aren't supplementing you should have UVB so frogs can create their own D vitamins.

A few other quick comments to quickly respond to some of your questions, for thumbnails (like Pumilios) I might avoid feeding pinhead crickets. If you're getting froglets you're not going to be able to determine sex, so if you're going to go the route of froglets good luck finding specific sexes. Also, my understanding of pumilios is that they're not a strictly terrestrial species, they like to climb, so if you're going to do a 20gal, you might consider making it a vertical viv.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

O. pumilio heavily uses the substrate and a thick layer of leaf litter, so a pond would not be something you'd want to include in keeping this species--it would only reduce valuable floor area they would otherwise utilize.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I'd really consider getting some of the larger species to begin with, such as D. leucomelas (my favorite and first frog), D. auratus, or any of the tinc mophs. They are more forgiving and less expensive.


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