Care sheet guide by DartFrogsAndGeckos.com

I am often asked to provide a list of items needed to get set up for keeping dart frogs. The first of the following two lists pretty much sums up what I think you should have on hand when you get your first frogs. The next list is of materials needed to setup your first terrarium. I suggest going for a modest setup the first time around, you will learn a lot, and can apply this knowledge to your next tank.

This list, along with the knowledge of your frogs basic requirements, is all you need to get started, if you are purchasing juvenile frogs. Your terrarium can be set up over the next couple of months, while your juvenile dart frogs put on some size:

• A Sterilite Sweater box or two, depending on how many frogs you will have, one frog per box is the best strategy!
• Substrate for these containers, such as “hardwood bark mulch”, gravel, or paper towels. Dead leaves or Pothos type cuttings for hide areas. Pieces of bark or any other hide spots can be used, just make sure there is only an inch or two clearance between the bottom of the wood and the substrate, so the frog feels secure.
• Dechlorinating product for tap water, or gallon jug of spring water.
• Fruit Fly culturing kit
• Repashy Calcium Plus, or good quality supplements. See our care sheet detailing issues you can run into with Calcium Deficiency, an all-too-common problem that is easily avoided by using the right supplements.

• Ten-to-twenty-gallon aquarium, or if getting a front opening tank, choose no smaller than an 18 x 18 footprint tank, this is usually suitable for three frogs or less.
• If using an aquarium, you’ll need a lid, not the “hood” that goes with it for fish. A glass lid cut to fit inside rim of tank is probably the most straightforward approach. Top can be either two pieces, one fixed and one smaller piece for the door…or you can just have one piece. You can silicone a wooden drawer pull to the glass to make opening it easier, or use some packing tape to form a tab. There is also a care sheet here on building your own lid.
• Twenty pounds or so of aquarium gravel. I prefer something natural looking, such as red flint, which is available in the Midwest. Go for a size a little larger than a bb. This is my preferred substrate but there are other ways to go. Avoid Coco husk and similar organic substrates, these are generally going to give a poor result.
• Plants. Obviously, you will need plants for your terrarium. Perhaps you can find all you need at a local nursery, or you can shop our plant selection here. And of course there are many other sources for plants online. Just be aware that plants grow quickly in the rainforest terrarium, and a common mistake is adding too many small plants, that soon become too large for the tanks!
• Terrarium decorations, such as moss, wood, river rocks etc.
• A thermometer, not a stick-on type. I would recommend buying a point and shoot type digital thermometer, this way you can check the temps at the floor of the tank, and at the top of the tank, and then you can use it to see if your fruit fly area is warm enough, etc. The stick-on thermometers are generally going to malfunction soon after being put into a dart frog terrarium…the high humidity is just too much for them. Same with the electronic thermometers that mount in the tank.
• Some kind of background. Smaller tanks such as ten gallons, which are going to be in areas with high traffic would probably benefit if the background extended out onto the sides. This is particularly true when you first set the tank up, as the plants will be smaller and less developed. The background can go inside the tank, like the tree fern panel or cork bark that we offer, or it can go on the outside and be made of paper. Many fish and reptile stores offer attractive rainforest scenes on paper backgrounds. And of course, there are many tutorials online that will show you how to make a background for your tank.
• Lighting…for your first lights, I suggest you use the inexpensive under cabinet lights that are sold at large hardware stores. These slim LED lamps are fairly cheap, and one to two should do the job, depending on tank size. While you are at the hardware store, I suggest the following…
• A grounded timer, and a power strip if you plan to plug in more than one device for your tank, such as pumps or fans.
• A hand sprayer can also be picked up at the hardware store, and don’t forget to pick up some vinyl tubing to fit the pump for your water feature, if you are going this route.

If you wish to set the tank up with the water feature, as described in my tank setup page, then the pump I have used for this with good success is called a mini-jet. See a pet store that deals with fish for this or another good submersible pump. These are usually about 20 or 30 dollars. Avoid units with filters, as you will most likely locate the pump in a location that will make cleaning the filter difficult. Wrap the pump in a piece of foam or some other method to prevent it from being clogged. The gravel substrate will act as a filter, and over time will develop a nice biological filtering capability.