anybody keep dart frogs?

they are my new thing, for the past 3-4 months ive been doing lots of reading and im getting really interested in them, ive always had them of sale in my old shop but never really got that into them.
ill try get some pics up of the few ive got at the min but lots more to come.

anyone else into them?

Ady, you lucky devil! These are wonderful. i'd love these myself; probably Azureus or Tinctorus. All I need now is that Lottery win!!

Ady,

I'm sure these will be great little subjects, maybe a little write up and a few photos whenever you're set up?? Do you have an idea what you'll be keeping?? For us in the north, is there any restriction in housing these?

i have a pair of tinctorus oyapocks and a pair of orange splash backs, azureus are bought and paid for but they are still in england, its a bit warm to ship frogs at the moment.
ill try get some pics up tonight.

Good stuff Ady looking forward...

if by restriction you mean dwa then no

Correct Ady is there a DWA required?

i couldn't be 100% sure on every species of dart frog, but for most no dwa is required ive never seen any dendrobates on any dwa lists, some are cities listed though

Thanks for that Ady...

I'm into dart frogs.

Just a few of mine…pictures that happen to be on my photobucket.












on the legislation question….according to the NI DWA (links at http://www.thehsi.org/legislation.php ), I find no reference to PDFs.

Normal CITES stuff applies (naturally).

ian

They are superb Ian, are they difficult to keep?

Thanks Jonty.
The answer to the question is Yes and No.

There are certain minimum requirements that they require.....if they are not given them then they will not tolerate that for long, and death can be very rapid.

If someone is willing to give the minimum requirements, then most species seem to do well in captivity. There are some species that can be unpredictably tricky.

Species such as Dendrobates leucomeles (I didn't show any pictures above) and Dendrobates tinctorius (various morphs and sub-species....I showed the azereus sub-species) tend to be readily available, not overly priced, and are good starter species.
They are bold, greedy frogs.

Dendrobates auratus are relevatively cheap, and are easier enough to keep, but can be a bit shy and food size is very important. I'd not recommend them as a starter (the first pic is one of the auratus morphs).

The thumbnail frogs (I showed 2 species), can be problematic because of their size.

There are some other rather easy to keep species, but some of them command premium prices (so not really a starter species).

The basics are:
A clean secure housing (these guys will attempt to find small openings...and they do not survive long out of their humid environment);
Clean soft substrate (not gravel, not grit, not sand);
High Humidity with ventilation (can be tricky to get the balance);
Temperature should be (generally) in the low to mid 20s C; death is very rapid over 30 C.
No basking or hot lamps.
Regular good quality food supply....but it has to be small. This can be a deciding factor.....keeping these means securing a regular supply of small food.
Do not have deep water dishes....these frogs readily drown, and drowing is one form by which some will attempt to kill another frog.

They will require a source of calcium and vitamin D3 (supplying UVB can be problematic, but you can get away with using something like Zolcal....you just don't get the frog activity).

There is, of course more, and it really needs and article....but those are the basics that must be given.

ian

Thanks for the information Ian, ease of care seems to vary greatly from species to species then.

Jonty, to some extent there is. But in general, most have the same basic requirements.

There are some higher altitude species that would require a modification of requirements; there are some species where their shyness is a problem in that they tend to hide and that makes it difficult to identify early signs of problems.

The other aspect of PDFs is that veterinary treatment may not be as advanced as for, say, a bearded dragon in your locality (but, then again it may be).
BUT......if kept in good conditions from the onset and the housing is clean, there should be few problems.

What you also get for your money is quite a lot when you consider that these gems are overtly active all day and have a good life-span.

stunning my friend, ill try get some more pic of mine up, my collection is growing steadily. do you ever have any for sale

Can't wait to see some pics.
As for selling....not really. I do breed some, but they are not for sale.

ian