Yeah, I used to primarily keep tarantulas before I switched over to dart frogs in 2019. This channel used to be called Tarantula Nest and only consist of tarantula feeding compilations lol
I'm jealous of your setups. I have a re-homed Curly Hair Tarantula, a 3 year old pastel ball python (f), and getting Luecs soon. I want to start breeding exotics on a small scale. Your dart videos are super informative. Keep the content coming! You're really good at it! Living in America I have access to Texas Browns, and Arizona blondes. I'm thinking of a sand, and succulent, setup for each species.
Sounds awesome! Though I have to say that sand is a really bad substrate for tarantulas. Most species (with the exception of arboreal species and a few that web a lot instead of digging, like the GBB) should have a deep layer of a substrate that they can dig in, but sand can't really hold up an intact burrow. A mix of 30% sand and 70% coco fiber/peat is a lot better. I personally use some yellow-red-ish soil that I dug up in nature near a lake. It's a little bit sandy, but it also has a lot of clay and dirt in it. I mixed that up 50/50 with some coco fiber to make it easier to dig in.
@@Tropical_Tutorials yeah. It won't be pure sand, but these American ones are found in some very arid, and hot climates. You should see the Texas Browns migration. They'll be everywhere, and looking for a female. Docile too
This is such a good video! I wish to keep dart frogs in the future. And your collection is so amazing and every vivarium looks so beautiful and well taken care of
Great video and great update! I was inspired by you and your last room tour video (also by the in-depth one and more) to build my own one, and I decided to switch from 60x30x30h to 60x30x60h (which is still in the build process), mostly by seeing such beautiful plants, which can be hard to plant in a low-height aquarium. Can't wait to start the planting process. Cheers!
Sorry about the late reply. I currently use "reptile bark" that I buy from pet stores, since that's usually cheaper than orchid bark. My current bag is pine bark from Terra Exotica
I’d like to see your schedule for making fruitfly cultures and feeding. I just started with this amazing hobbie and I’m struggling a bit with keeping the cultures alive and able to produce new cultures again.
Do you have a video dedicated just to your favorite plant choices in dart frog vivarium setups? I would be super interested in that as I am planning out my first one!
I have a video called How to Plant a Dart Frog Vivarium. It’s quite old though and the sound quality is horrible so I’d like to redo that video at some point
Hey Emanuel. Loved your current set ups. I had a few questions that you mentioned in your video: 1) What were some of the biggest problems you ran into during maintenance in the top loading tank? I'd like to do one of the terrarium tanks, but I like the cleaner/simpler look of aquarium tanks better. 2) Why do you think the coco fiber background began to fall? I haven't seen this being discussed in forums often. Thank you for any insight!
1) The aquarium I was using was really old and had a bunch of scratches on the glass, which was the main thing. Either the glass was really foggy or dry with all the scratches visible. I can't exactly say that the metal frame of the aquarium was very pretty either (if you want to see how it looked, you can check out last year's collection tour). My lid mechanism didn't have a very convenient opening either (I just had two long glass panes across the whole thing with a piece of perforated plate lying on the gap between them). If you had a prettier aquarium, a better lid, an internal animal-proof fan (to ger rid of condensation on the glass and provide extra ventilation) you could probably make something prettier and of course there are many dart frog keepers who prefer aquariums, but I don't feel any urge to try that since I think opening from the front is much more convenient anyway. 2) Whatever is keeping the coco fiber liner intact just doesn't do it's job when it starts getting wet. I'll personally never use it again for that reason. The thing about coco fiber liner is that it sucked even before it fell apart, since it doesn't have much water transportation ability at all. Either it'll be completely dry (almost water repellent), or it'll start getting moist (which it really only where it was constantly wet anyways, mainly near the substrate or on places where plants had already rooted themselves into the dry material), and when it got moist, it was only a matter of time before it just started falling apart. I'm much happier with cork bark panels and hygrolon, since those are better at holding/transporting water and don't fall apart.
For your dart frogs, it looks like you've used many different backgrounds including cocoa-fiber, cork, and hygrolawn. I'm wondering, which is your favorite/which you recommend. If you were to start a new dart frog vivarium today & had all 3 options which would you use & why?
@@nathanmoros9207 Hygrolon is my favorite. I tank more about how and why I use it in part 4 of my series Vivarium Rebirth. I do also like cork panels though, which I showcase in “How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium”. Never use coco fiber carpet! It breaks down very quickly and it also has weird water transporting properties that make it tough for many plants to grow on it
My vivariums have three background types. 1. Hygrolon attacked straight to the glass with silicone. 2. Cork bark panels (which I’ve scratched the surface of to make it look more natural). You can see how I use them in the video ”How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium” on my channel. 3. Coco fiber liner. This is a really horrible background because it’s basically hydrophobic, and when it starts getting humid (only areas where plants have rooted into it or areas in direct contact with substrate and humid hardscape) it breaks down and falls apart fairly quickly. I don’t use this anymore and don’t recommend using it, and I only have one setup (the biggest one) that still has this background
@@Tropical_Tutorials question do you advise against the Great stuff foam background with horticultura charcoal, fir bark, and coco fiber? What are your thoughts on that? Sorry I like asking questions. Your videos are awesome by the way thank you.
@@alberto2alvarez14 No problem, feel free to keep asking ;) I have nothing against foam backgrounds and it obviously works really well for a lot of people. Personally I don't care enough to spend hours carving foam and covering it with silicone. My planting style usually includes letting the plants go wild, and in my opinion, a fancy homemade background or a cork bark panel with a slightly scratched surface doesn't make that much of a difference in my tanks. Everything gets covered with plants eventually anyways
I have an old video about how to plant a dart frog vivarium, but I’ve been considering doing an updated plant tour just showing a bunch of species w/ scientific names on the screen without commentary
The vivariums I have (mostly Exo Terras) can be bought from basically any pet store with vivarium related stuff, but I usually get them second hand (which is cheaper) from various Swedish marketplace websites. All the furniture I use is from IKEA
Great video, you're one of the sole reasons I want to get some dart frogs. Quick question however, a coworker of mine said that if I want to raise some tadpoles, which I might some time down the line, I would need to get Arrowhead ( name of water brand in America) distilled water, and put almond leaves in it. The almond leaves make sense and i can get some easily, but i have a Reverse Osmosis unit at home and when I asked if RO water worked he said that it had to be distilled. Does it have to distilled, or can it be RO water? Thanks for your time
I would never use either distilled or RO water for tadpoles, since it's (at least very close to) pure water that lacks some of the necessary minerals and ions that the tadpoles need to develop. If you don't remineralize it in in some way (which is apparently possible with certain products, but I haven't looked into it), there's an increased risk for SLS (spindly leg syndrome, which is when the froglets have very weak legs that can't support the weight of their body). Specifically calcium and phosphor is very important for the tadpoles and there have been studies on some other frogs (not specifically dart frogs) showing that it has a massive impact on the number of SLS cases. There is some debate about if the stuff I just said is applicable for all dart frogs. Some claim that demineralized water is fine for (some) dart frogs since some species (but far from all of them) rear their tadpoles in bromeliads that are regularly flushed with rainwater (which is basically distilled water) in the wild, but at the same time, there are many microbes and bacteria in the wild that we don't have in our tadpole cups. The most common water types to use for raising tadpoles are spring water and aged/dechlorinated tap water. Tap water quality varies a lot depending on your location, so I recommend doing some research on it. We have well water that I use for my tadpoles (with European alder cones to turn it into tadpole tea, but indian almond leaves fulfill the same purpose). There are definitely some people using RO/distilled water with success too, but I have no clue how much success they have and with what species, so I'd use something else.
@Tropical_Tutorials Thank you very much, I thought it was weird that he said only distilled. Me and my coworker work with fish and we both know that you need minerals in your water in order for your fish to do well. The reason I thought I would only use pure water is because I learned that the water in the area where you find dart frogs is very soft and there are very little minerals in the water. But I'll do more research to find out what the wayer quality should be to insure my tadpoles do well. Thank you for answering my question
I just recently came across your channel and i really like how you explain things, so i subscribed but also have a question. What lightning would you recommend for a 50cm cube that will be housing D. leucomelas? I know it's more for the plants ofcourse. I saw in another video of you that you switched to E27 led bulbs 6500K. Are your plants doing good on them and what lumen should i take?
Thank you! I’m still using the cheap E27 6500k and the plants are doing really well with them, so I’d go for something like that if I were you. It says the ones I’m using are 470 lm but the exact number shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
@@MrBeeMeR320D I use bulbs two for my tanks that are around that size, so if you only do one (since your lights are more intense) that might be equivalent? You’ll see if it looks like the light is super intense (which can lead to shy frogs and pale leaves if you have shade dwelling plants, but it’s nothing dangerous) and in that case, you could see if they’re dimmable or just find something else.
In my new setups I use either cork bark panels or hygrolon. In my video "How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium", which I released a little over a year ago, I show you how I prepare the cork bark panels to make the surface of them look more natural etc.
I don't really do anything special to my vivariums in that regard, so a few of them aren't entirely fruit fly proof. They frogs usually eat fairly quickly so there aren't that many flies that escape. There are a few flies in the room but I don't really mind that too much
@@hunterallen2889 I think fruit fly traps would probably be way more efficient (pretty sure you can do some easy ones with vinegar or something, you can probably find something on google), but it’s a good excuse to buy fancy plants
In most of them, I have some transparent plastic lying on top of it. It's not a very good long term solution, but it works if you have relatively new Exo Terras (the older ones don't have stainless steel lids). On the small ones (the 30x30 cm or 12''x12'') I have wrapped the lids in plastic film. On my biggest vivarium I actually don't have anything on top, but I manage to keep the humidity up regardless with the misting system and the large amounts of plants (but that vivarium was too dry for animals for the first 6 months or so when the plants hadn't established). I definitely recommend replacing it with glass (with a tiny strip of ventilation) instead of doing my plastic solutions
For a beginner, I always recommend you to start with at least an 18" cube or an 18''x18''x24''. Something slightly smaller can be acceptable (I'd say absolute bare minimum for 1-3 anthonyis is a 10 gallon), but I never recommend beginners to go for the absolute minimum size. It's much easier to maintain a good climate and a healthy ecosystem in a bigger vivarium, and it's really fun to see how the dart frogs act in a larger vivarium. Feel free to check out my playlist if you haven't already, it should be helpful when starting out :) tinyurl.com/dartfrogcareforbeginners
Mine is 60x45x60 cm (24''x18''x24''). I've actually added a fourth frog since recording this video and four leucs in this size is no problem at all. For 3-4 leucs I'd recommend an 18x18x24 or bigger (18x18x18 would also be acceptable, but the extra height is 100% worth it); I could probably add a fifth to my tank but I don't really feel any need to do that
@@pierrefitch I don’t have any and I don’t really feel any interest to get them, mainly because a nocturnal animal that sleeps all day is much less interesting to me than active dart frogs, and also because I don’t want to breed crickets/roaches or other larger feeder insects in large numbers
All my frogs are dart frogs. No, they are diurnal and only call during the day. I can sleep through even the loudest ones in the mornings. Some of them have very loud calls (search for "Epipedobates anthonyi call" on youtube and turn up the volume) while others are barely audible at all (for example Dendrobates tinctorius, whose call can barely be heard unless you're actively listening for it). I have an in-depth dart frog care guide on my channel where I talk about everything you need to know about keeping them as pets.
hi I want to get myself some vittatus. I also wanted to make a little water area(stream like maybe even waterfall) I know a lot of people are against it but i read on josh`s frogs that vittatus really like water. Maybe i can even keep the tadpoles in that water area (i saw it in a video by antscapes) What are your thoughts about this pls let me know. I cant wait to get some🥰
Hello! Sounds awesome, vittatus are amazing frogs! I have to disagree a bit with Josh's frogs about the water feature (nowadays most experienced dart frog keepers disagree with them in this regard, as well as with the sphagnum; they have some very outdated information that they still distribute on their website). It's very unnecessary and it adds a lot unnecessary risks. The argument that dart frogs can't swim is mostly false, but there's a high risk that the water saturates the substrate (which makes the environment way too wet for our frogs, and can lead to infections and a horrible smell) if you make a small mistake, and it also takes away usable area from your frogs (they won't be "swimming in the open water" like many other frogs would, so every square inch used for the water feature is essentially wasted space). If the enclosure is huge, so the land area alone (subtract the space the water feature takes up) is big enough, it can work if you really know what you're doing, but otherwise, I highly recommend skipping it for your first build since it's not necessary and there's a significant risk that you accidentally make a swamp. It is true that the vittatus can keep the tadpoles in the water feature, which is kinda cool, so I guess they're a bit more suitable for a vivarium with a water feature than other dart frogs, but once again, I'd skip it if you're new. I occasionally put a water dish in with my vittatus though, and they usually drop of their tadpoles in there (but I take the tads out a few days after they're dropped off, since the water dish it too small for a large number of tadpoles to grow up in)
thanks for the info i guess i will do one with water when im more experienced. and i probably wont have to worry about tadpoles for the first year anyway.@@Tropical_Tutorials
do you happen to know a agency for dart frogs like the swedisch one you use except for switzerland, since i would like to get them from private breeders?@@Tropical_Tutorials
It’s a Philodendron mandaianum (which, IIRC, is a cross between P. erubescens and P. domesticum, but I’m not sure). P. erubescens (sometimes called P. “Red Emerald”) looks almost exactly the same and is a lot easier to find though.
I have a question. I’ve heard that poison dart frogs will eat each other’s eggs and that all should be kept as pairs as adults. Could you explain a little more to me how to keep them in groups and if this is true?
Females of some species can eat each others eggs: Yes, this is true for some species (common in leucs and auratus). It can be a bit annoying to keep two females of these species together, but not a major issue. All should be kept in pairs: Completely false. Basically the only common beginner friendly frog this applies for is Dendrobates tinctorius (when they’re adult that it; froglets can be kept in groups without issues), which’s females are very territorial. Most other beginner friendly dart frogs (other Dendrobates, Phyllobates, Epipedobates etc.) do really well in groups. I talk about group housing in my complete dart frog care guide, which you can find on my channel (it’s 47 minutes long and contains answers to many questions you may have)
I definitely wouldn't keep them that warm for an extended period of time, but if your room is 30 degrees, your vivarium will most likely be quite a few degrees colder on the inside (as long as it's big enough to provide enough microclimates, and you DON'T put them in direct sunlight or have heat emitting lights on the vivarium), so a 30 degree heatstroke might be fine since the vivarium is usually colder, at least in the humid microclimates. That said, I'd definitely invest in an AC unit if the temperature frequently exceeds 30 degrees; it's fantastic both for you and the frogs.
@@Tropical_Tutorials thank you for replying, here in northern Italy it is very hot in summer, what if I try to use computer fans? I've seen many people use them to cool and ventilate aquariums and terrariums, but I don't know if it would be worth it.
@@arthurxws In vivariums, they’re usually used for extra circulation, which won’t really cool it down that much (except maybe if the problem is a hot light source, which it isn’t in your case). If I were you, I’d set the tank up during the summer to see how hot it really gets during the warmest summer days before getting any dart frogs for it. If it’s too hot, I’d definitely look at an AC unit.
Hej! hittade din kanal genom ett inlägg (2019) jag läste där du ville ha jungfru geckos och pilgiftsgrodor ihop. tänkte kolla om du gjort en sådan kombination och har lite tips då jag vill göra det nu då jag börjat med ett nytt projekt och det ska bli ett paludarium. Gillar hur du fått allt att se ut med dina grodor oxå!
@@Tropical_Tutorials ajemen, det är jag! Letar just nu olika kombinationer och hur människor tagit sig vidare. Har som det står i tråden hållt på länge med reptiler men detta är ngt nytt så gör research innan man börjar med allt 😅
I do sell froglets occasionally (nothing available at the moment though). However, I only do only local pickup in Sweden (near Gothenburg) or meetup at one of the SDS Swedish Frog Days
The most similar frogs I can think of are Mantellas (from Madagascar, so unfortunately not Central/West Africa), but I don't think that means they'll tolerate higher temperatures than dart frogs
@@Tropical_Tutorials Guess I'll try to find some captive born specimens of Phrynomantis. Those tarantula terrariums are really beautiful! It would be interesting if you made a video of how you built them.
@@arthurxws I’ll definitely consider it if I build more of them, but since these were my first time making the glass enclosures, my technique was messy enough without having a camera to worry about ;)
Nice vivarium i love this content, unfortunately for me i’m from italy end the herpetology community it is not very popular, and this is not a very developed hobby in my state.
OMG AND** YOU'RE A TARANTULA KEEPER?!?!??!! This has just become my favorite channel! I have about 40 different types of tarantulas!
Yeah, I used to primarily keep tarantulas before I switched over to dart frogs in 2019. This channel used to be called Tarantula Nest and only consist of tarantula feeding compilations lol
Nice to see your new post. You really succeeded with creating great environments for your animals. Keep up the good work 👍😊
Thank you!
Amazing! Thank you!
Awesome enclosures! ❤
great collection and enclosure designs :)
wait what, i keep rcommending you on facebook. but apparantly i wasnt subscribed lol. Hyped for this video!
I'm jealous of your setups. I have a re-homed Curly Hair Tarantula, a 3 year old pastel ball python (f), and getting Luecs soon. I want to start breeding exotics on a small scale. Your dart videos are super informative. Keep the content coming! You're really good at it! Living in America I have access to Texas Browns, and Arizona blondes. I'm thinking of a sand, and succulent, setup for each species.
Sounds awesome! Though I have to say that sand is a really bad substrate for tarantulas. Most species (with the exception of arboreal species and a few that web a lot instead of digging, like the GBB) should have a deep layer of a substrate that they can dig in, but sand can't really hold up an intact burrow.
A mix of 30% sand and 70% coco fiber/peat is a lot better. I personally use some yellow-red-ish soil that I dug up in nature near a lake. It's a little bit sandy, but it also has a lot of clay and dirt in it. I mixed that up 50/50 with some coco fiber to make it easier to dig in.
@@Tropical_Tutorials yeah. It won't be pure sand, but these American ones are found in some very arid, and hot climates. You should see the Texas Browns migration. They'll be everywhere, and looking for a female. Docile too
This is such a good video! I wish to keep dart frogs in the future. And your collection is so amazing and every vivarium looks so beautiful and well taken care of
Very nice progress on your collection.
Great Video
Great video and great update! I was inspired by you and your last room tour video (also by the in-depth one and more) to build my own one, and I decided to switch from 60x30x30h to 60x30x60h (which is still in the build process), mostly by seeing such beautiful plants, which can be hard to plant in a low-height aquarium. Can't wait to start the planting process. Cheers!
Awesome tanks!
Thxs ,for sharing !
The tanks look great, nice work! The custom built euro-style (as us North Americans call it) came out really well.
where do you get the "orchid bark" the woodchips seen at 2:58?
Sorry about the late reply. I currently use "reptile bark" that I buy from pet stores, since that's usually cheaper than orchid bark. My current bag is pine bark from Terra Exotica
I’d like to see your schedule for making fruitfly cultures and feeding. I just started with this amazing hobbie and I’m struggling a bit with keeping the cultures alive and able to produce new cultures again.
tinyurl.com/DartFrogCareForBeginners one of the videos in this playlist of mine covers my scrhdule among other things.
Do you have a video dedicated just to your favorite plant choices in dart frog vivarium setups? I would be super interested in that as I am planning out my first one!
I have a video called How to Plant a Dart Frog Vivarium. It’s quite old though and the sound quality is horrible so I’d like to redo that video at some point
@@Tropical_Tutorials Thanks! And it'd be great to see a new one covering rainforest-type ecosystem choices!
Hey Emanuel. Loved your current set ups. I had a few questions that you mentioned in your video:
1) What were some of the biggest problems you ran into during maintenance in the top loading tank? I'd like to do one of the terrarium tanks, but I like the cleaner/simpler look of aquarium tanks better.
2) Why do you think the coco fiber background began to fall? I haven't seen this being discussed in forums often.
Thank you for any insight!
1) The aquarium I was using was really old and had a bunch of scratches on the glass, which was the main thing. Either the glass was really foggy or dry with all the scratches visible. I can't exactly say that the metal frame of the aquarium was very pretty either (if you want to see how it looked, you can check out last year's collection tour). My lid mechanism didn't have a very convenient opening either (I just had two long glass panes across the whole thing with a piece of perforated plate lying on the gap between them). If you had a prettier aquarium, a better lid, an internal animal-proof fan (to ger rid of condensation on the glass and provide extra ventilation) you could probably make something prettier and of course there are many dart frog keepers who prefer aquariums, but I don't feel any urge to try that since I think opening from the front is much more convenient anyway.
2) Whatever is keeping the coco fiber liner intact just doesn't do it's job when it starts getting wet. I'll personally never use it again for that reason. The thing about coco fiber liner is that it sucked even before it fell apart, since it doesn't have much water transportation ability at all. Either it'll be completely dry (almost water repellent), or it'll start getting moist (which it really only where it was constantly wet anyways, mainly near the substrate or on places where plants had already rooted themselves into the dry material), and when it got moist, it was only a matter of time before it just started falling apart. I'm much happier with cork bark panels and hygrolon, since those are better at holding/transporting water and don't fall apart.
@@Tropical_Tutorials thank you so much for this answer. Subbing!!
For your dart frogs, it looks like you've used many different backgrounds including cocoa-fiber, cork, and hygrolawn. I'm wondering, which is your favorite/which you recommend. If you were to start a new dart frog vivarium today & had all 3 options which would you use & why?
@@nathanmoros9207 Hygrolon is my favorite. I tank more about how and why I use it in part 4 of my series Vivarium Rebirth. I do also like cork panels though, which I showcase in “How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium”. Never use coco fiber carpet! It breaks down very quickly and it also has weird water transporting properties that make it tough for many plants to grow on it
@@Tropical_Tutorials Thank you - checking out those other videos
Great vid, what camera do you have?
Canon RP, and mostly an RF 24-105mm f4 zoom.
14:05 what did you use as the background do you have a video 😅?
My vivariums have three background types.
1. Hygrolon attacked straight to the glass with silicone.
2. Cork bark panels (which I’ve scratched the surface of to make it look more natural). You can see how I use them in the video ”How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium” on my channel.
3. Coco fiber liner. This is a really horrible background because it’s basically hydrophobic, and when it starts getting humid (only areas where plants have rooted into it or areas in direct contact with substrate and humid hardscape) it breaks down and falls apart fairly quickly. I don’t use this anymore and don’t recommend using it, and I only have one setup (the biggest one) that still has this background
@@Tropical_Tutorials question do you advise against the Great stuff foam background with horticultura charcoal, fir bark, and coco fiber? What are your thoughts on that? Sorry I like asking questions. Your videos are awesome by the way thank you.
@@alberto2alvarez14 No problem, feel free to keep asking ;) I have nothing against foam backgrounds and it obviously works really well for a lot of people. Personally I don't care enough to spend hours carving foam and covering it with silicone. My planting style usually includes letting the plants go wild, and in my opinion, a fancy homemade background or a cork bark panel with a slightly scratched surface doesn't make that much of a difference in my tanks. Everything gets covered with plants eventually anyways
i've also had an amazonica disappear randomly. weird that they do that sometimes
Could you do a video showcasing the plants in your vivs?
I have an old video about how to plant a dart frog vivarium, but I’ve been considering doing an updated plant tour just showing a bunch of species w/ scientific names on the screen without commentary
Even that would be cool :)
May I ask where you get your tanks and stands? I would love to get myself some :)
The vivariums I have (mostly Exo Terras) can be bought from basically any pet store with vivarium related stuff, but I usually get them second hand (which is cheaper) from various Swedish marketplace websites. All the furniture I use is from IKEA
Great video, you're one of the sole reasons I want to get some dart frogs. Quick question however, a coworker of mine said that if I want to raise some tadpoles, which I might some time down the line, I would need to get Arrowhead ( name of water brand in America) distilled water, and put almond leaves in it. The almond leaves make sense and i can get some easily, but i have a Reverse Osmosis unit at home and when I asked if RO water worked he said that it had to be distilled. Does it have to distilled, or can it be RO water? Thanks for your time
I would never use either distilled or RO water for tadpoles, since it's (at least very close to) pure water that lacks some of the necessary minerals and ions that the tadpoles need to develop. If you don't remineralize it in in some way (which is apparently possible with certain products, but I haven't looked into it), there's an increased risk for SLS (spindly leg syndrome, which is when the froglets have very weak legs that can't support the weight of their body). Specifically calcium and phosphor is very important for the tadpoles and there have been studies on some other frogs (not specifically dart frogs) showing that it has a massive impact on the number of SLS cases.
There is some debate about if the stuff I just said is applicable for all dart frogs. Some claim that demineralized water is fine for (some) dart frogs since some species (but far from all of them) rear their tadpoles in bromeliads that are regularly flushed with rainwater (which is basically distilled water) in the wild, but at the same time, there are many microbes and bacteria in the wild that we don't have in our tadpole cups.
The most common water types to use for raising tadpoles are spring water and aged/dechlorinated tap water. Tap water quality varies a lot depending on your location, so I recommend doing some research on it. We have well water that I use for my tadpoles (with European alder cones to turn it into tadpole tea, but indian almond leaves fulfill the same purpose). There are definitely some people using RO/distilled water with success too, but I have no clue how much success they have and with what species, so I'd use something else.
@Tropical_Tutorials Thank you very much, I thought it was weird that he said only distilled. Me and my coworker work with fish and we both know that you need minerals in your water in order for your fish to do well. The reason I thought I would only use pure water is because I learned that the water in the area where you find dart frogs is very soft and there are very little minerals in the water. But I'll do more research to find out what the wayer quality should be to insure my tadpoles do well. Thank you for answering my question
I just recently came across your channel and i really like how you explain things, so i subscribed but also have a question. What lightning would you recommend for a 50cm cube that will be housing D. leucomelas? I know it's more for the plants ofcourse. I saw in another video of you that you switched to E27 led bulbs 6500K. Are your plants doing good on them and what lumen should i take?
Thank you! I’m still using the cheap E27 6500k and the plants are doing really well with them, so I’d go for something like that if I were you. It says the ones I’m using are 470 lm but the exact number shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
@@Tropical_Tutorials Ow, i was looking into the 1000+ lumen versions...
@@MrBeeMeR320D I use bulbs two for my tanks that are around that size, so if you only do one (since your lights are more intense) that might be equivalent? You’ll see if it looks like the light is super intense (which can lead to shy frogs and pale leaves if you have shade dwelling plants, but it’s nothing dangerous) and in that case, you could see if they’re dimmable or just find something else.
What do you use for background, since you’ve gotten away from coco fiber? You mentioned in the video, but it was very quick and I didn’t catch it.
In my new setups I use either cork bark panels or hygrolon. In my video "How to Set Up a Dart Frog Vivarium", which I released a little over a year ago, I show you how I prepare the cork bark panels to make the surface of them look more natural etc.
My Vitatus were soooo loud my wife made me sell em.
you should have sold her
I am sorry dude 😢
@@eli936tFAX!
Ive been wondering, how do you fruit fly proof a viv?, trying to make a new tank and salvage my current setup as well
I don't really do anything special to my vivariums in that regard, so a few of them aren't entirely fruit fly proof. They frogs usually eat fairly quickly so there aren't that many flies that escape. There are a few flies in the room but I don't really mind that too much
Do yo think some sort of carnivorous plant would solve the issue of escaped bugs
@@Tropical_Tutorials
@@hunterallen2889 I think fruit fly traps would probably be way more efficient (pretty sure you can do some easy ones with vinegar or something, you can probably find something on google), but it’s a good excuse to buy fancy plants
Just wondering with the exo terros how do you keep humidity levels safe with the screen top
In most of them, I have some transparent plastic lying on top of it. It's not a very good long term solution, but it works if you have relatively new Exo Terras (the older ones don't have stainless steel lids). On the small ones (the 30x30 cm or 12''x12'') I have wrapped the lids in plastic film. On my biggest vivarium I actually don't have anything on top, but I manage to keep the humidity up regardless with the misting system and the large amounts of plants (but that vivarium was too dry for animals for the first 6 months or so when the plants hadn't established). I definitely recommend replacing it with glass (with a tiny strip of ventilation) instead of doing my plastic solutions
How big of a tank do you think 3 Epipedobates Anthonyi ‘Santa Isabel’ need?
For a beginner, I always recommend you to start with at least an 18" cube or an 18''x18''x24''. Something slightly smaller can be acceptable (I'd say absolute bare minimum for 1-3 anthonyis is a 10 gallon), but I never recommend beginners to go for the absolute minimum size. It's much easier to maintain a good climate and a healthy ecosystem in a bigger vivarium, and it's really fun to see how the dart frogs act in a larger vivarium.
Feel free to check out my playlist if you haven't already, it should be helpful when starting out :) tinyurl.com/dartfrogcareforbeginners
How big is the vivarium that houses your dendrobates leucomelas? I am looking to get three of them, could your vivarium size possibly house more?
Mine is 60x45x60 cm (24''x18''x24''). I've actually added a fourth frog since recording this video and four leucs in this size is no problem at all. For 3-4 leucs I'd recommend an 18x18x24 or bigger (18x18x18 would also be acceptable, but the extra height is 100% worth it); I could probably add a fifth to my tank but I don't really feel any need to do that
@Tropical_Tutorials Hey thanks a lot, I'm new to the hobby and this advice and your videos have been a big help. You earned my follow!
I'm thinking about red eyed tree frog -- the frog night sounds don't bother you?
@@pierrefitch I don’t have any and I don’t really feel any interest to get them, mainly because a nocturnal animal that sleeps all day is much less interesting to me than active dart frogs, and also because I don’t want to breed crickets/roaches or other larger feeder insects in large numbers
@Tropical_Tutorials okay dart frogs is what you have are they noisy at night
All my frogs are dart frogs. No, they are diurnal and only call during the day. I can sleep through even the loudest ones in the mornings. Some of them have very loud calls (search for "Epipedobates anthonyi call" on youtube and turn up the volume) while others are barely audible at all (for example Dendrobates tinctorius, whose call can barely be heard unless you're actively listening for it). I have an in-depth dart frog care guide on my channel where I talk about everything you need to know about keeping them as pets.
@@Tropical_Tutorials amazing was thinking about one of these Dendrobates tinctorius 'Patricia' (Captive Bred) like you said they aren't as loud these
@@pierrefitch Yes, all Dendrobates tinctorius localities are great beginner frogs and very quiet
hi
I want to get myself some vittatus.
I also wanted to make a little water area(stream like maybe even waterfall)
I know a lot of people are against it but i read on josh`s frogs that vittatus really like water.
Maybe i can even keep the tadpoles in that water area (i saw it in a video by antscapes)
What are your thoughts about this pls let me know. I cant wait to get some🥰
Hello! Sounds awesome, vittatus are amazing frogs!
I have to disagree a bit with Josh's frogs about the water feature (nowadays most experienced dart frog keepers disagree with them in this regard, as well as with the sphagnum; they have some very outdated information that they still distribute on their website). It's very unnecessary and it adds a lot unnecessary risks. The argument that dart frogs can't swim is mostly false, but there's a high risk that the water saturates the substrate (which makes the environment way too wet for our frogs, and can lead to infections and a horrible smell) if you make a small mistake, and it also takes away usable area from your frogs (they won't be "swimming in the open water" like many other frogs would, so every square inch used for the water feature is essentially wasted space). If the enclosure is huge, so the land area alone (subtract the space the water feature takes up) is big enough, it can work if you really know what you're doing, but otherwise, I highly recommend skipping it for your first build since it's not necessary and there's a significant risk that you accidentally make a swamp.
It is true that the vittatus can keep the tadpoles in the water feature, which is kinda cool, so I guess they're a bit more suitable for a vivarium with a water feature than other dart frogs, but once again, I'd skip it if you're new. I occasionally put a water dish in with my vittatus though, and they usually drop of their tadpoles in there (but I take the tads out a few days after they're dropped off, since the water dish it too small for a large number of tadpoles to grow up in)
thanks for the info
i guess i will do one with water when im more experienced.
and i probably wont have to worry about tadpoles for the first year anyway.@@Tropical_Tutorials
do you happen to know a agency for dart frogs like the swedisch one you use except for switzerland, since i would like to get them from private breeders?@@Tropical_Tutorials
What philodendron is in the left luc enclosure?
It’s a Philodendron mandaianum (which, IIRC, is a cross between P. erubescens and P. domesticum, but I’m not sure).
P. erubescens (sometimes called P. “Red Emerald”) looks almost exactly the same and is a lot easier to find though.
I have a question. I’ve heard that poison dart frogs will eat each other’s eggs and that all should be kept as pairs as adults. Could you explain a little more to me how to keep them in groups and if this is true?
Females of some species can eat each others eggs: Yes, this is true for some species (common in leucs and auratus). It can be a bit annoying to keep two females of these species together, but not a major issue.
All should be kept in pairs: Completely false. Basically the only common beginner friendly frog this applies for is Dendrobates tinctorius (when they’re adult that it; froglets can be kept in groups without issues), which’s females are very territorial. Most other beginner friendly dart frogs (other Dendrobates, Phyllobates, Epipedobates etc.) do really well in groups. I talk about group housing in my complete dart frog care guide, which you can find on my channel (it’s 47 minutes long and contains answers to many questions you may have)
do you know any species of dart frogs that can live in temperatures around 30 degrees for long periods?
I definitely wouldn't keep them that warm for an extended period of time, but if your room is 30 degrees, your vivarium will most likely be quite a few degrees colder on the inside (as long as it's big enough to provide enough microclimates, and you DON'T put them in direct sunlight or have heat emitting lights on the vivarium), so a 30 degree heatstroke might be fine since the vivarium is usually colder, at least in the humid microclimates. That said, I'd definitely invest in an AC unit if the temperature frequently exceeds 30 degrees; it's fantastic both for you and the frogs.
@@Tropical_Tutorials thank you for replying, here in northern Italy it is very hot in summer, what if I try to use computer fans? I've seen many people use them to cool and ventilate aquariums and terrariums, but I don't know if it would be worth it.
@@arthurxws In vivariums, they’re usually used for extra circulation, which won’t really cool it down that much (except maybe if the problem is a hot light source, which it isn’t in your case).
If I were you, I’d set the tank up during the summer to see how hot it really gets during the warmest summer days before getting any dart frogs for it. If it’s too hot, I’d definitely look at an AC unit.
Hej! hittade din kanal genom ett inlägg (2019) jag läste där du ville ha jungfru geckos och pilgiftsgrodor ihop. tänkte kolla om du gjort en sådan kombination och har lite tips då jag vill göra det nu då jag börjat med ett nytt projekt och det ska bli ett paludarium. Gillar hur du fått allt att se ut med dina grodor oxå!
Hej! Misstänker att det är du som lagt ut en tråd på terrariedjur tidigare idag. Skriver ett svar där sen från datorn när jag kommer hem
@@Tropical_Tutorials ajemen, det är jag! Letar just nu olika kombinationer och hur människor tagit sig vidare. Har som det står i tråden hållt på länge med reptiler men detta är ngt nytt så gör research innan man börjar med allt 😅
Do you sell froglets or tadpoles?
I do sell froglets occasionally (nothing available at the moment though). However, I only do only local pickup in Sweden (near Gothenburg) or meetup at one of the SDS Swedish Frog Days
Do you also know of any West/Central African frog species similar to dart frogs?
The most similar frogs I can think of are Mantellas (from Madagascar, so unfortunately not Central/West Africa), but I don't think that means they'll tolerate higher temperatures than dart frogs
@@Tropical_Tutorials Guess I'll try to find some captive born specimens of
Phrynomantis. Those tarantula terrariums are really beautiful! It would be interesting if you made a video of how you built them.
@@arthurxws I’ll definitely consider it if I build more of them, but since these were my first time making the glass enclosures, my technique was messy enough without having a camera to worry about ;)
Nice vivarium i love this content, unfortunately for me i’m from italy end the herpetology community it is not very popular, and this is not a very developed hobby in my state.