CARING FOR YOUR DART FROGS

PREPARATIONS & HABITAT:

Dart frogs do best in a vivarium that has adequate drainage, is well planted, and has many places for dart frogs to hide. After years of trying different substrates for drainage, (egg crate, leca balls, lava rock, coco fiber and other substrates that would break down over time) here at Warriors Dart Frogs we now use rain gutter foam that you can find at Home Depot or Matala Pond filter mat if needing to support heavier objects. We then add a screen layer and fill in with black aquarium gravel, moss and leaf litter. Our frogs and plants thrive in this environment and we often have baby frogs morph out in our tanks.

Create interest with different heights in the terrarium. Plant larger plants in back and shorter plants in the front for a layered look. Install your hides and water feature. Lastly, add the damp moss, leaves, flat smooth rocks around your plantings for the final effect. Be sure all cage furniture is secure and cannot harm the frogs. Create bio-activity in the tank with Springtails and Isopods. This allows you to remove any toxins that have accumulated and redecorate. Do not disturb the garden fabric or the clay balls as they are areas where beneficial bacteria live. Never allow water to accumulate above the clay balls. The plants are watered through daily misting.

DIET:

Dart frogs start out on springtails. flightless fruit flies, springtails, isopods, rice flour beetles/larvae and pinhead crickets are options (only terribilis can consume pinheads). All insects must be dusted with a premium vitamin supplement that includes calcium, D3, and vitamin A only monthly. Feeding occurs daily especially for the young frogs. Mature frogs may be fed every other day unless actively producing eggs. If this is the case, continue the daily feeding. Generally, an adult frog will take about a half teaspoon of insects daily. Reduce this feeding if these insects aren’t completely consumed in one day. Choose a feeding area and use a flat, shallow dish to pour the insects onto (placing a slice of banana here can keep the fruit flies in place). This allows for easy cleaning and your frogs will habituate to this area at feeding time. Dart frogs are day feeders (Diurnal), so you should be able to get a good look at them during feeding.

HANDLING DART FROGS:

Handle when necessary, as these frogs will stress easily. When you need to move them, use a clean tub with a lid and gently coax them into it. You can easily crush these delicate frogs with your fingers. When handling, Wear nitrile gloves. This will protect the frog from anything you may have on your skin.

COMMON DISORDERS:

Spindly leg There are many theories on the exact cause of spindly leg syndrome. One theory is that there is a lack of B vitamins in the food of the tadpoles or the adult breeders. It is also believed that there is a genetic predisposition to SLS and that things like a lack of sufficient vitamins or poor water quality can trigger this condition in the tads and newly morphed frogs.

Short tongue This syndrome is when the tongue becomes deformed or too short but that the mucus glands are being clogged with an overgrowth of cells in the ducts and therefore their tongues actually are not sticky enough to catch prey. This overgrowth of cells lining the mucus gland ducts is called squamous metaplasia and is due to a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is necessary for bone metabolism, skin integrity and eyesight among other functions. Vitamin A is only active within the first 6 months of opening powdered supplement jars and only if stored in a cool, dry environment. There is no evidence (yet) that amphibians can metabolize and use the precursors of vitamin A (carotenoids) so use a product that has vitamin A in it and not just beta- carotene.

Chytrid fungus- Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease that affects amphibians worldwide. It is caused by the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), a fungus capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100 percent mortality in others. This can be introduced into your collection by not taking proper quarantine steps of new wild caught amphibians, or collecting plants, sticks, and leaf litter outside without proper care of sterilization.

FEEDING:

We feed our dart frogs Drosophila Melanogaster Fruit-Flies. These flies are genetically bred at low temperatures to develop wings which are reduced in size and do not fully function. These smaller sized flies are extremely prolific and produce huge numbers of offspring. When it is feeding time, we dust the fruit-flies with Repashy, a mixture of calcium and vitamins. Then scatter in the vivarium. Fruit flies are the perfect size for feeding dart frogs. We recommend feeding as part of a varied diet, as with any live food, variety is the key to providing a well-balanced, nutritious diet and the addition of calcium and vitamins is recommended to enhance nutritional content of these flies.

MAKING FRUIT-FLIES:

In a 32 oz. deli cup add 3 Tbsp of media (mixture of potato flakes and yeast), 6 Tbsp hot water (to activate the yeast), 6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 banana peeled and mashed. Mix thoroughly. Place 2 thin slices of banana with peel, on top of the wet mixture. Add 1 ball of excelsior gently fluffed up to fill the cup.

Add live fruit-flies (not included in the WDF culture kit) and secure the lid. Store culture between 70-80 degrees. Culture will begin to produce flies in approx 2-3 weeks. You can re-use the deli cups. see our culture kit here.

LIGHTING & TEMPERATURE:

Dart frogs thrive in the mid-70s. They cannot withstand warm temperatures so the tank should not ever get above 80 degrees. Temperatures can get as low as 60 degrees at night. UVB lighting is often not used in dart frogs and they seem to thrive without UVB as long as D3 is supplemented orally. However, using UVB is not harmful unless you will cause temperatures to exceed 80 degrees as sustained temperatures around 85F will be fatal.

WATER & HUMIDITY:

Make sure there are adequate water features available. This can be a simple bowl or two (extremely shallow and easy to exit) or a recirculating system. The key is to always have clean, chlorine, and chloramine free water available. Humidity is provided by the vivarium but must be supplemented with either daily misting or a fogger system. This must not make the vivarium soggy. Adequate drainage is a must have! Humidity should be high at 80% or above. Be sure you have a thermometer and hygrometer to monitor temperature and humidity. If you see your frogs seeking out this water habitually you then know you are not providing enough humidity in the tank and/or misting often enough.

TADPOLES:

OUR GROW OUT TANK