# Sticky  Popular and Helpful 'Beginner Discussion' Threads



## carola1155

*This "Sticky" is intended to give beginners quick access to helpful threads. 
It is a combination of popular threads and threads that are found to be particularly helpful.*​
The *User Agreement* is the first stop everyone should make so they can familiarize themselves with the rules and general norms of the forum.

*Helpful Threads:*

*Care Sheets* A great place to start, this is the 'Care Sheet' subforum of Dendroboard.


*Beginner Frog FAQ!* User 'Arklier' created this great FAQ that answers a lot of general first-timer questions.


*My Top 10 Beginner Mistakes* User 'Marty71' started this one back in 2007 and it is still one of the best threads around.


*mixing/multispecies exhibits.* Ed start a very detailed discussion about mixed/multispecies exhibits.


*Don't keep terribilis with mourning geckos.* Graphic photo illustrating why multispecies enclosures are simply disasters waiting to happen.


*Quarantine Suggestions and discussion* Got that first frog? or an addition to your collection? Check out this thread for information about quarantine procedures.


*One important husbandry tool.....* Title says it all here. Members share items they find helpful in their dart frog husbandry.


*Tutorial: How to upload photos to a forum.* Not tech savvy but want to share some pictures of your frogs? This can help get you started.


*Misting for Beginners* Nick Gamble started this great thread with tips and insight on how to properly mist your vivarium.


*Beginners Guide to Microfauna* Nick provides us with another good thread, this time covering microfauna that is beneficial to your frogs and their homes.


*What is the Highest Temperature a Frog can Take before it Dies?* A good discussion on temperatures that a frog can handle.


*Bleach Dilutions* This thread contains a few great explanations to help you determine how much bleach to use when sterlizing vivarium items.
*Popular Threads:*

*Best beginner dart?*


*What water should I use?*


*List of Available Species* (this one is a bit out of date at the moment, but a good place to start)

*Other Stickies To Check Out:*

*Popular and Helpful Food & Feeding Threads* Before you get your frogs, establishing a steady food source for them is critical. Threads in this sticky will help you make sure your frogs are getting the diet they need.


*Popular and Helpful Parts & Constructions Threads* Building your first vivarium? Check out this sticky!


*Proper Due Diligence for online frog purchases* Very good read about what to be aware of when you are buying frogs (or anything else) online.

*Community announcements, concerns and other important topics:*
General community concerns and things that you should be aware of.

*Community Messages Subforum* This subforum is dedicated to announcements from the forum Administrators and Moderators.


*PEARLS OF WISDOM [aka CODE OF ETHICS]* A Great thread outlining some of the general norms of the community, brought to you by the members themselves.


*Dartfrog Warehouse / USdartfrog / Safedartfrogs* This is a hot topic that we know a lot of members are concerned about.


*Last but not least:*

*Regional Subforum* This is a great place to see what is going on in your area. Meeting up with some local froggers or seeing the frogs/setups in person for the first time at a show is a great way to learn. A lot of people recommend finding a local "mentor" and this would be the best place to do it.

Please let me know below if you have any suggestions for additional threads to be added to this sticky


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## carola1155

Just a reminder... these Sticky Threads are intended to be constantly-evolving. If you see a new thread pop up with some helpful information don't hesitate to post it here. 

Thanks to all that have already helped!


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## macuser

the below thread is already stickied in the general health a disease treatment section but since this thread is supposed to give beginners quick access to helpful threads, i think it belongs here too. 

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-health-disease-treatment/9973-froggy-first-aid-kit.html


and heres a list of things you are strongly recommended to have on hand in case you dont want to read everyones comments. 



David M. Frye said:


> As a first aid kit, I strongly recommend having a few drugs on hand at all times. That way when a medical problem arises, you just need to contact me or another vet, and I/we can steer you down the right path.
> 
> Metronidizole is an antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and appetite stimulant..
> 
> Silversulfadiazene is a topical antibiotic and antifungal that promotes healing while discouraging scarring. It should be used on ALL skin lesions.
> 
> Baytril is a strong systemic a strong antibiotic that needs to be mixed carefully.
> 
> Panacur is a powdered de-wormer. It is very safe and easy to use.
> 
> These are by far the most used drugs I see in this hobby other than Calcium Gluconate.
> 
> David M. Frye, DVM
> Milan Area Animal Hospital


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## aquanerd

I thought this one was pretty good to. IDK how to quote from a different page so I just copy and paste.

"Ok, so I have seen a lot of posts over the course of the last few months with questions and comments about bromeliads and care. I have seen a ton of wonderful advise along with a bunch on completely wrong advice. Please note I am not an "expert" but I have 5 years of growing bromeliads under my belt and I am best friends with one of the largest growers of bromeliads in the world. The below information will be for care of the genus neoregelia and not all bromeliads.




Bromeliad care: Outdoor
For outdoor growth most bromeliads will tolerate cold temps to around 32 degrees but it is best to keep them above 50 and below 90. Light is very important in keeping healthy bromeliads. A rule for most Neoregelia is to have 70% shade when growing outside. Now
this means you can have dappled light under a tree or grow under a shade cover if grown in a shade house or in a backyard.

It is important to keep potted bromeliads off the ground. Not only will this help with air flow it will also lessen the chances of getting nematodes in the soil.

A nice light mix of soil is important. I use a mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 small pine chips. Other orchid type mixes work great as well. Try to never use 100% peat as this will aid in the rotting process.

One thing that is never really mentioned is pot size. Pot size is very relative when it comes to rotting of the bromeliad. You want to use the rule of what the plant will finish to in size. For example mini neos will do best in 4" pots while medium should be planted in 4.5 to 5" pots, and so on and so forth. At the time of potting a good time release fertilizer works great. You can go with any off the shelf type fertilizer like osmocote or organic fertilizer. Something with a ratio of 13-13-13 will work just fine.

Watering is probably the most important part of out door growth. If you live in a humid environment like Florida you can get away with watering 1-2 times per week in the winter and not at all in the summer. If you live inn the north you will most likely need to water more often. Keep the axils filled with water and once the soil dries out it is time to water again. Water quality is also very important. If you have hard water you may want to consider getting a softener system or even an RO system.

Pups or offsets as a rule should be cut off the mother plant at a 1/3 grown. Now with smaller neos it is best to be close to full grown. If you have a small plant like small fry for example 1/3 grown would be only 1" in size. So the larger the bromeliad the sooner you can cut the pups or offset.





Terrarium Growing:
First off, bromeliads need air flow! I can't tell you enough that just placing a bromeliad in a terrarium without some air flow will most likely rot out your brom. Since it is so humid in a terrarium, most neos will do fine being watered once a week if the axils have water in them. Do not over water them as they do need to dry out some from time to time.

Lighting is also very important. To keep up color you will want to have a light output of 6500k or higher. This will keep the colors up on the broms. I doesn't matter if you use fluorescent or led but the kelvin rating does. Wattage is not important at all and is just the rating on how much the bulb consumes in energy and not the light it omits.

Fertilizer in the terrarium is not important, with the animals running around and urinating and deficating on the plants.

Positioning of bromeliads in the terrarium is well worth noting. As stated above it does stay very humid so planting bromeliads is not the best idea. Neos will do best if grown epiphytically in your terrarium. You can mount them on a background or just place them in the little nooks. I like to mount them on driftwood or just jam them in cracks.





Shipping:
This is a very important part of the mix. Since most people do not live near a bromeliad nursery, you will most likely have to have them shipped. Shipping is very easy and safe if done right.

Plants need to dry before being shipped. As many of you may have noticed, you received a bromeliad in the mail and it has spots in the leaves. It looks like burn and most likely is. Bromeliad leaves will burn each other if wrapped tight when wet. This happens a lot in the summer. I personally wash and then dry plants for 24 hours before shipping. Dry bromeliads are good!

Once your bromeliads arrive they should be unwrapped. They look dry? This happens all the time and the best thing to do is soak them in a bucket of water for a couple hours. Drying out in shipping is very common, especially in the winter. This happens due to the lack of humidity in the winter months as well as the cold. After a day or two they will look just as good as the day they were shipped. It is also a good idea to wash all new plants with a mild 5% bleach solution. This will help kill any foreign contaminants.





Common terms:

Pups vs. Offsets:
Most people believe the use of pup means your going to get a tiny plant, but if you buy an offset it will be larger. This is not true! The use of both terms is standard in the bromeliad industry and refers to the cutting of a brom from a mother plant. You can cut an offset of any mother plant and it can be bigger then the mother and still be considered a pup.

Axil:
This is the "cup" part of the leaf that holds the water.

Stolon:
This is the wood like base of the bromeliad which grows from the mother plant. Some neos like pauciflora have long stolons up to a foot long while others are very short and just extend far enough from the mother for the new plant to grow.

Zap:
You probably never heard of this and it is not all that common. Zap is known as an atmospheric anomaly that just happens. It looks just like burn and probably is. It is not known as of yet what causes this, but may explain burned leaves from time to time.

Scurf:
Scurf is a powder type protection on leaves of bromeliads. It is a natural occurring part of some neos but not that many. It is mostly found on other genus in the bromeliad family.
It can be washed off but if it is it will not come back.

Trichomes:
Trichomes are a hair like growth that naturally occurs is some bromeliads and all tillandsias. These hair like growths collect the moisture out of the air and aid in watering the plant. Most plants in the tillandsia family only have to be misted once a week due to the trichomes.





Pests:

Scale:
Scale is a pest! Hands down the most feared of all the bromeliad pests. There are two basic types dealt with. White scale which is about a 1/16", tends to live on the underside of leaves and deep in the axils. These can be killed with a number of different pesticides or just rubbed off if you have just a couple. Black scale is much harder to spot and is about the size of a pen tip. They are extremely hard to remove and will do best if just treated. Both of these common types of scale feed on the plant and do minimal harm if kept under control.

Spider Mites:
Spider mites are tiny and can be seen based off the damage they do. They will do damage that looks very close to burn on the leaves. They can be wiped off the leaf but will need to be treated as well.

Snails:
Snails are not as much of a problems as the above pests. A quick and easy way to kill them is to spray them with beer. Snails can also be treated with iron but I think the beer is less harmful and makes for a good time killing.

Mealy Bugs:
These are a pain as well. They are small white insects that get to be around 1/8" in size. They do feed on plants and are not usually a problem for bromeliads.






Non problematic insects:

Spider Eggs:
There is a bug which I was told are spider eggs that looks a lot like scale. They are about 1/8" diameter round and live all over bromeliad leaves. If you can look at them and they fall off(not literally) then this is what I am talking about. These bugs are not harmful to your bromeliads.

Algae:
There are two types of common algae that form on bromeliads, green and white. Both can be just washed from the leaves. The white is harder to remove but still comes off with ease.

Silver eggs or algae?:
These are tiny silver/grey spots that form as small cluster, usually in the axils or undersides of leaves. Easily removed, just wipe them off.





Once again I am no expert. I hope this is a help and please do not hesitate contacting me with any questions. Also, please let me know if I left anything out.
Jason"


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