Dart Frog Habitat: Setup Guide & 15 Ideas From Owners
Are you interested in keeping such a brightly colorful poison dart frog as a pet? Then, you must ensure its proper habitat first. For this, you require an accurate setup guide and helpful ideas from owners.
So, firstly you need to know about the ingredients to set up. Then, you can proceed with the guidelines. In addition, you need to know all conditions, requirements, and the processes of setting up a dart frog habitat.
Thus, I’ve conducted some researches and got some ideas, setup guides too. Besides, you might have many curiosity and questions regarding dart frog habitat. So, let’s jump into the list.
What Do You Need For A Dart Frog Vivarium?
Before stepping into the habitat setup process, you need to know all the necessary items. Hence, I’ve summed up what you need for a dart frog vivarium. Let’s take a look-
- Tank (size varies upon the number of dart frogs)
- Glass Lid
- Moss
- Hydro-balls
- Plants
- Larger stones
- Small and medium-sized stones (optional)
- Lights
- Thermometer
- Hygrometer
- Water pump and hose (optional)
- Misting system
- Distilled water
- Bio bag
This list will help you buy everything at once that you need. Now, it’ll be easier to understand the further setup process.
How Many Dart Frogs Can You Keep Together?
You might have known that dart frogs are territorial by nature. Hence, there remains confusion about whether you can keep dart frogs together or not. If you can, then how many dart frogs can live together!
The number of dart frogs you can keep together depends on the dart frogs’ age, species, and tank size. You can easily put 15-20 juvenile dart frogs together in a large vivarium. On the other hand, it’ll be better not to keep more than three adult dart frogs together.
Because the adult dart frogs will end up fighting among themselves. Moreover, many dart frogs in a single vivarium cause stress on them too.
How Do You Make A Dart Frog Terrarium: Dart Frog Habitat Setup Guide
Step 1: Choosing And Placement Of Your Terrarium
When you start setting up a dart frog habitat, the very first essential thing is choosing a terrarium. Hence, you need to know the right size of your terrarium. Then, you can proceed with its placement.
What Size Tank Do Dart Frogs Need?
As I stated before, the length, width, and height of a tank or terrarium vary. These depend on some important factors. They are –
- The number of dart frogs you want to keep
- The age of the dart frogs
- The species of the dart frogs
Hence, I’ve found out some authentic information about the right size of terrariums.
Besides the information in this chart, you can follow a basic rule for choosing a tank or terrarium.
It is to keep at least 5 gallons for one dart frog. But, this habitat is suitable for 2-3 months old baby dart frogs. As they grow fast, they need enough space.
Hence, you should shift them to a larger tank. Till then, a 5-gallon tank is fine.
But, it’s safe and better to keep one adult dart frog in a 10 gal terrarium. If the amount of dart frogs increases, the tank size should be increased too.
However, the more you give space to your dart frogs, the more they get healthier.
Let’s check out the following chart for this.
| The number of dart frogs | Size of terrarium |
|---|---|
| An adult dart frog | 10 gal or 12” x 12” x 12” |
| 1-2 bumblebee or thumbnail dart frogs | 12″ x 12″ x 18″ |
| 2-3 commonly kept species of dart frogs | 18″ x 18″ x 12″ or 18″ x 18″ x 18″ |
| 3 dart frogs can easily adjust | 18″ x 18″ x 24″ |
| 2-4 dart frogs (best suited for Phyllobates species) | 24” x 18″ x 18” |
| 4-5 adult golden poison dart frogs | 36″ x 18″ x 24″ |
| 5-6 dart frogs (specifically, if male and female dart frogs are kept together) | 80″ x 50″ x 50” |
So, you should research a while on your own. According to your dart frogs’ amount, species, sex, nature, you need to choose the perfect tank for them.
Moreover, you need to check if the floor space is enough for your dart frogs or not. Otherwise, the big gallon terrarium won’t help much.
Again, if you think to keep different species of adult dart frogs together, a large terrarium like 75 gallons can be perfect.
But, I’ll discourse you to mix them up, in a single terrarium, because of their territorial nature. If you’re a beginner, take your time as well.
If you are a beginner and just starting with dart frogs, I’ll recommend to get a starter kit to keep your costs checked. I’ll highly recommend the Zilla Terrarium Starter Kit. With this kit, you’ll get a 10 gallon glass tank, bulb, heat mat, humidity & temperature gauge as well as odor absorbing liner. A pretty good deal in my book!
Do Dart Frogs Need Ventilation?
As a beginner, you may be curious to keep a ventilation hole in the terrarium. Hence, you need to know whether dart frogs need ventilation or not.
Dart frogs do not need any ventilation. Moreover, they do not feel good if any dry household air ventilates their tank.
Hence, you need not worry about their suffocation. Because there are plants in the tank for supplying oxygen to dart frogs. Again, there will be chances of escapes through the ventilation holes as the dart frogs are too small.
Step 2: Preparatory Work
After choosing the terrarium of the right size, you need to place it where you want. So, choose the right place beforehand. Otherwise, the tank will be heavy after full setup and it’ll be hard to move.
Then, you need to make some preparation to set up the dart frog habitat.
- Clean and rinse the tank and all necessary materials that you want to keep inside the tank. For example- hydro-balls, stones, plants, a glass of the tank, etc.
- Don’t use any chemical cleaners or tap water. Rinse everything with distilled water and a towel.
- Pre-soak the moss until it gets soft and damp.
Step 3: Adding The Pump (optional)
Many dart frogs owner want to add a submersible pump for pumping excess water. But, this step is entirely optional. If you do not add a pump in dart frogs’ habitat, you need to change the water much more often.
- Firstly, you need to place the pump into a bio-bag. This will save the pump from being clogged up by moss.
- Make a small hole in the bio-bag.
- Add the pump on the opposite end of the terrarium, where you have planned to add the water feature, with attached hoss. Such placement ensures its better circulation.
- Then, attach the hose to the pump through the small hole you’ve made in the bag.
- If there remains an open end of the bio-bag, tie it off.
Step 4: Adding A Substrate
Before adding a substrate, you need to choose the right one first for your dart frogs’ habitat. No wonder, selecting the right substrate among lots of substrate options is a hard task.
Depending on the types of plants, you need to choose the substrate. Because live plants need such substrate adding nutrients to them. On the contrary, fake plants do not need such support from substrates.
So, if you add live plants to your terrarium, choose any substrate from below.
- Coconut Fiber
- Coco Husk
- Moss
- Soil
- Mixes (combination or mixture of different kinds of the substrate)
On the other hand, you should choose a soft and safe substrate if you put fake plants. The sign of a perfect vivarium substrate is that it drains the excess water.
To collect the extra water, you can also create a false bottom. In this case, hydro-balls are pretty popular as a good false bottom.
So, here are some basic guidelines for adding substrates.
- On top of the hydro-balls, you can add the pre-soaked moss.
- If you want to add any other substrate instead of moss, fill it up.
- To promote humidity level, the substrate must be moist. But, don’t make it dripping wet.
- An important note is to make the substrate 2-3” deep.
- Adding a drainage layer with it will reduce your hassles also.
The substrate will keep the humidity level perfect inside your dart frogs’ habitat. Moreover, it will help dart frogs save themselves from abrasive materials.
My Recommended Substrates:
For a moss based bedding, I recommend Zilla Moss Bedding.
For a coconut fiber based bedding, My recommendation is Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Fiber.
Step 5: Adding Plants, Branches, Stones
In this step, add some plants in the dart frog habitat in which you’re working on. If you choose live plants, bury their roots in the moss or substrate. You can also add small stones, branches, and other decorative items.
Do Poison Dart Frogs Need Live Plants?
Poison dart frogs need live plants.
Plants supply oxygen as well as provide climbing options for dart frogs. As you’re not going to keep ventilation holes, live plants are necessary for their habitat. Also, this tiny amphibian loves to hide. So, live plants and the leaves can be great hiding locations for them too.
Again, many dart frog keepers shared their experiences that their frogs love to drink water droplets from plants’ leaves than water dishes.
I like these decors for a frog habitat:
What Plants Are Safe For Dart Frogs?
When you think of adding live plants, make sure that the plants are safe. Hence, I’ve conducted some researches to find out which plants are safe for dart frogs.
In the dart frogs’ habitat, you can add safe plants like bromeliads, pothos, ficus vines, anthurium and calathea species, tropical gingers, ferns, etc.
Step 6: Adding The Lighting, Thermometer, and Hygrometer
Before adding your dart frog, set up the remaining gadgets in their habitat. Dart frogs need lighting to understand their day and night cycle. In this case, you can add fluorescent light to their habitat setup.
Some dart frog owners have given ideas of adding a 20-watt bulb in a 10 or 20-gallon tank. Moreover, you need to turn off the fluorescent light at night hours to mimic day and night.
Don’t forget to add a thermometer and a hygrometer. Because these will help you remain concerned about the perfect temperature and humidity.
With this Exo Terra Combometer, you can measure both temperature and humidity in digital screen. It also comes with a remote sensor as well as programmable memory setting feature!
Step 7: Misting The Dart Frogs’ Habitat
Now, you’re going close to finish the entire setup. You must have known that the dart frogs need a specific humidity (above 80%). For this reason, you need to mist your dart frog’s tank or habitat.
Start misting the entire enclosure including the substrate, branches, stones, plants, and everything else. Besides, you can keep a fogger or misting system. Not to mention, a quality setup must include misting system though they’re a bit expensive.
How Do You Mist A Dart Frog Tank?
It depends on the ventilation system of your dart frogs’ habitat or tank.
If the terrarium is full glass with a glass top, it has minimal ventilation. Hence, mist the habitat twice a day for 5-10 seconds. Again, you should mist twice daily for 10-20 seconds, if the tank is full glass with a screen top.
But, it depends on the humidity of the tank. So, it’s better to check your hygrometer to monitor the humidity frequently. On another note, your dart frogs can survive without misting for around 4-5 days.
Step 8: Introducing Your Dart Frog To Its New Habitat
Be patient and gentle while introducing your dart frog to its new habitat. Sometimes the dart frog may show delay. Wait for it to hop out from its old habitat or container on its own. Calmly add the frog and enjoy!
After that, gently remove the old container or box. Also, don’t forget to close the terrarium door or lid.
Step 9: Adding A Glass Lid
Although you can complete the setup without any cover, adding a glass lid will make the entire setup perfect. An important reason for this is to keep the humidity level accurate.
Another reason for adding a glass lid is to prevent dart frogs from escaping. If your dart frogs find any crack or hole in the tank, they tend to escape. Hence, the openings of the terrarium hoods increase their chances of escapes.
Thus, a cover of glass lid can reduce the chances of dart frogs’ escape.
So, do you think that the entire setup is done? Many beginners ask how do they know that the vivarium is complete. Let’s check out the next following section.
How To Know If Your Dart Frog Terrarium Is Ready For Frogs?
You need to check a few things before adding your dart frog into the terrarium. Let’s check out the following conditions to know if the entire habitat setup is complete and ready for frogs.
- Humidity of the habitat is within 80% – 100%. You need to confirm this by using a hygrometer.
- Measuring with a digital thermometer, make sure that the temperature of the habitat or terrarium is stable between 72-82 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Check out if the terrarium has any gap, hole, crack in the wall.
- If there is an algal bloom or growth, scrub the tank with a paper towel.
- Make sure to add water on the substrate side of the tank.
- Check out whether the plants are rooted strongly or not. If you gently tug on the roots, the plants must resist.
- Ensure the presence of microfauna.
- To see better results, ensure that the terrarium or habitat has been embedding up for a minimum of four weeks.
Are Dart Frogs Hard To Keep?
Undoubtedly, the dart frogs’ striking skin color makes anybody amazed to pick them. That’s why people ask a common question that if dart frogs are hard to keep.
After researching a while, I can ensure you that dart frogs aren’t hard to keep at all. Moreover, their terrarium will be as accurate as nature with misting system, plants, mosses, etc. In this mimic habitat, the dart frogs do well in captivity.
So, you can also keep a dart frog even if you are a beginner. As a beginner, you can try to keep the green and black poison dart frog.
15 Dart Frog Tank Setup Ideas
Keeping poison dart frogs should not be too difficult if you make a comfortable home for your frogs in captivity. When it comes to tank setup ideas, you can turn out any concept into a tank design. If you look for dart frog tank setup ideas, you should take a look at the following 15 tank designs.
1. Urban Jungle Dart Frog Vivarium
| Materials | A large enclosure, substrate, live plants, natural wood, logs, leaf litter, lighting, humidifier, heater, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
To give your dart frog a colorful home, you should choose this urban jungle vivarium design. It will look like you’ve brought a portion of the jungle to your room.
At first, you should choose a large enclosure depending on the number of dart frogs. Keeping the front wall aside, you should set up the background on the other three walls. Since maximum dart frogs are terrestrial, you should make the bottom layer with the substrate or leaf litter.
The urban jungle look will remain incomplete without heavy vegetation. That’s why you should add live plants, floating plants, ferns, etc. Also, you should add natural wood and logs as climbing platforms for your dart frogs.
These plants and leaf litter will give your small dart frogs spaces to hide. However, you must maintain optimal temperature and humidity in your urban jungle vivarium of tour dart frogs.
2. Evolutionary Botanical Vivarium
| Materials | Spray foams, substrate, sphagnum moss, leaf litter, live plants, vines, natural wood, logs, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
This tank design shows an amazing evolution from hardscapes into a botanical vivarium. You can create this natural vivarium as a perfect ecosystem for your dart frogs.
After placing the enclosure, you should set up the background and the bottom layer of the tank. For this, you need to spray and curve foams in the background. To make a false bottom, you can use any kind of substrate, leaf litter, sphagnum moss, etc.
Finally, you should take steps to evolute the entire picture of your dart frog vivarium. You should add moss all over these hardscapes. Choose safe plants for your dart frogs. Such as Labisia, Anthurium, Cryptocoryne, Pothos, Ficus vines, etc.
You need to turn out all hardscapes into greeneries. That’s why you can call this dart frog enclosure an evolutionary botanical vivarium.
3. Poison Dart Frog Vivarium With Waterfall
| Materials | Spray foam, submersible pump, PVC pipe, rocks, substrate, leaf litter, plants, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
A poison dart frog vivarium with a waterfall will surely be one of the most attractive tank design ideas. To construct a vivarium waterfall, you should keep some basic items beforehand. Such as spray foam, vivarium-safe silicone, vivarium waterfall tubing, a submersible pump, substrate, rocks, etc.
Firstly, you need to create the background with spray foam. When the foams become dried, you can carve or scalp them. Then, you can place the required items for setting up the waterfall.
Such as pumps, vivarium waterfall tubing, PVC pipe, etc. To make the waterfall more natural, you can add silicone sand, false bottom, substrate pebbles, etc. Also, you should add some plants and leaf litter to bring perfection. Finally, you can introduce your dart frogs into this beautiful vivarium with a waterfall.
4. Indoor Rainforest For Dart Frogs
| Materials | Hardscapes, foreground plants, trailing plants, bushy plants, rocks, lighting, humidifier, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
Have you planned to set up an indoor rainforest for your dart frogs? Then, you must pick this dart frog tank design idea. The entire vivarium will give you a vibrant green look.
To set up this tank design, you must plan a suitable layout for adding plants. Keep some logs, branches, and natural wood to support the plants. You can keep some trailing growth plants as foreground plants of your dart frog tank.
Choose small plants to cover the hardscapes. For example- Bromeliads, goosefoot, orchids, etc. Besides, bushy plants can pull off the vibe of the heavy vegetation of the rainforest. So, you should keep Ludwigia, Devil’s Ivy, Anubias, etc.
Don’t forget to add some swinging plants to this indoor rainforest vivarium for dart frogs. Also, you must keep good lighting to encourage the growth of these plants.
5. Game Of Thrones Themed Vivarium
| Materials | Driftwood, substrate, moss, live plants, ferns, lighting, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
If you’re a fan of the series named Game of Thrones, you must want to try this dart frog tank design. In this enclosure design idea, you can use driftwood looking like a throne. To make your dart frog vivarium a natural palace, you should use varieties of plants inside the enclosure.
Since the main hero of this enclosure is the driftwood, you should set up the driftwood in a suitable position. To ensure its position, you should cover up the bottom layer with the substrate. You can use some carpeting plants over the substrate. Such as Dwarf baby tears, Dwarf Hairgrass, Monte Carlo, etc.
To décor the driftwood, you can apply some moss. Besides, you should add safe plants for your dart frogs. Such as Philodendrons, Silver lace ferns, Buce, Heartleaf plants, etc. Now, the entire tank will look like a palace with a throne in the middle of the vivarium.
6. Colorful Glass Box Jungle
| Materials | Spray foam, substrate, driftwood, vines, branches, live plants, colorful plants, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
To follow this tank design, you need to choose a large enclosure first. The tank size depends on the number of dart frogs to keep. In this tank design, you can recreate a jungle look within the four walls of a glass enclosure.
After placing the enclosure, you should set up the background with spray foam. Then, you can place a few driftwood balances with the background. Besides, you should make a bottom layer of 2-4 inched thick substrate.
In the wild, dart frogs often hide out in natural places. You can mimic the wild environment with leaf litter, live plants, dried leaves, coconut shells, etc.
Finally, you will require varieties of colorful plants that are safe for your dart frogs. To create a glass box jungle, you may add vining plants, bromeliads, silver pothos, spider plants, peace lilies, ficus vines, Neoregelia Fireball, etc. However, you must maintain the ideal range of humidity and temperature of your dart frog enclosure.
7. Natural Vivarium For Dart Frogs
| Materials | Substrate, fertilizer, leaf litter, moss, live plants, plants, natural wood, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
Before choosing dart frogs as pets, you might have heard about the nature of these beautiful frogs. These poison dart frogs can readily get frightened due to their shy nature. So, plants are one of the safest options for these frogs to hide.
Your first work should be setting up the bottom layer and background of the enclosure. After adding substrate, you can put leaf litter, pebbles, moss, and carpeting plants. Add some empty hide boxes for your dart frogs.
But, the real hero of this natural vivarium is plants. There are lots of safe plant options for dart frogs. Such as Philodendron, Devil’s ivy, Silver Pothos, Bromeliads, Spider plants, etc. These quiet frogs will have lots of reliable places among plants in this natural vivarium.
8. Heavily Planted Dart Frog Tank
| Materials | Substrate, fertilizer, bushy plants, carpeting plants, trailing plants, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
Before setting up a heavily planted tank, you must make a detailed plan according to your budget. The first thing to do is to choose safe plants for your poison dart frogs. Then, you need to choose finicky plants, bushy plants, carpeting plants, flowering plants, trailing plants, etc.
You can choose any tank with a suitable size and shape to set up a heavily planted tank. Then, you need to add a good layer of substrates. Some plants require deep soil to grow their roots. For such plants, you should make a deep layer of the substrate.
Not to mention, you must mix good fertilizers with the substrate for these plants. For some plants, you may provide a continuous source of CO2. Another significant thing is to ensure good lighting and water flow. Your dart frogs will find their privacy and natural hideouts in this heavily planted tank.
9. Low Tech Dart Frog Enclosure
| Materials | Substrate, fertilizers, low-maintenance plants, LED lighting, driftwood, stones, moss, live plants, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Easy |
To make a minimal-maintenance terrarium, you should follow this low-tech dart frog enclosure design. You might know that plants require high maintenance.
That’s why you can add low-growing plants to this dart frog tank setup. Such as Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Java Fern, etc. Mosses can add greenery over the hardscapes of your dart frog tank.
You can use piles of rocks to make layers in the tank. Besides, you should add some driftwood, natural wood, and logs. Some smooth-edged stones may increase the beauty of the tank.
Since it is a low-tech tank, you can use light of medium intensity. But, you must use nutrient riched substrate. You should use high-quality fertilizers for the plants. After all, you need not use any CO2 injection in this low-tech tank setup.
10. Dart Frog Moss Terrarium
| Materials | Substrate, driftwood, stones, moss, flowering plants, humidifier, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
Do you want to give the effect of wild grassland or rolling hills inside your dart frog terrarium? Then, moss will be the most suitable ingredient to help you. To start this tank design, you should choose an appropriate terrarium moss for your dart frog tank. There are mood moss, fern moss, cushion moss, Hypnum moss, etc.
After choosing the right-sized enclosure, you must clean it thoroughly. Then, you should cover the bottom of the tank with a good terrarium substrate. To create the scene, you should do the right placement of the hardscapes including driftwood, stones, etc.
Afterward, you can start to work with the mosses. Before adding moss, you must soak the moss for around 10-30 minutes. You can also trim the moss according to your design idea. Then, you can push the moss to the driftwood, stones, soil, and the background of the tank.
To make your dart frog tank top-notch, you can add some flowering plants. Finally, you must mist the enclosure to maintain optimal humidity for your dart frogs.
11. Simple Dart Frog Bioactive Terrarium
| Materials | A large enclosure, substrate, moss, Philodendron, coconut shell, rocks, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Easy |
If you want to maintain simplicity in a bioactive tank, this dart frog tank design should apply to you. You need not make the terrarium jammed with lots of items in this tank design.
To make this bioactive vivarium, you should choose specific plants and invertebrates. Since your main focus should be dart frogs, you must maintain an optimal thermal environment for your dart frogs. Besides, you should keep proper lighting, heating device, and humidity monitoring equipment.
After making the right placement of the tank, you should start setting up the vivarium with the substrate. You can add soil, orchid bark, cypress mulch, etc. Then, you should cover the bottom layer with moss and small carpeting plants.
Add some dried leaves and a large philodendron plant. A hollow coconut shell cave can attract the attraction of your dart frogs as a natural hideout. Finally, you can release some cleaning crews and small invertebrates before adding your dart frogs.
12. Dart Frog Mushroom Tank
| Materials | Substrate, spray foams, soil, mushroom, humidifier, moss, plants, rocks, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
A mushroom tank can give your dart frog tank an aesthetic appearance due to the blooming mushrooms. First, you need to choose a large enclosure depending on the number of dart frogs. Then, you must prepare a dark background with the spray foams. Such a background will block lighting for the mushrooms.
To set up this tank design, you should spread a 2-3” substrate at the bottom of the tank. Then, you can place the mushrooms all over the substrate layer. You can fill the other parts with moss.
Besides, you can add safe plants to your dart frog tank to increase the aesthetic view. Such as Anubias, Devil’s Ivy, Sagittaria, etc. Some trailing plants can add additional beauty to the tank.
However, you might know that mushrooms grow in moist and dark environments. So, you need to balance the lighting, temperature, and humidity requirements of dart frogs and mushrooms.
13. Dart Frogs Jungle Terrarium
| Materials | Background foams, substrate, driftwood, rocks, live plants, heater, humidifier, lighting, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
Do you picture your dart frog terrarium as a dark jungle? Then, you can create this dart frog jungle terrarium with soil, driftwood, and plants.
To set up a dark environment, you should create the background with dark spray foams. To resemble a rainforest, you should make layers of substrates inside the terrarium. Afterward, you should balance the position of the driftwood with the background and soil.
To bring a jungle vibe, you can add leaf litter on the ground. Lastly, you need to add the life of a jungle. Plants of different sizes and colorations will bring a naturalistic resemblance to the rainforest. Since your dart frogs are shy creatures, you can keep the tank dark with low lighting.
14. Simple Driftwood-Based Dart Frog Terrarium
| Materials | Dried straw mulch, rocks, driftwood, driftwood, Dracaena Trifasciata, Shatavari, humidifier, lighting, heater, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Easy |
Instead of using artificial décor, driftwood can be a stunning natural addition to your dart frog tank. This tank design will show you how to set up a dart frog tank by focusing on hardscapes. You’ll require only large driftwood, rocks, leaf litter, dried straw mulch, and background foams.
After placing the dart frog enclosure, you need to create the background with spray foam. Then, you should set up the dried straw mulch with the background. The next thing to do is to place a large driftwood.
To ensure a strong placement of the driftwood, you should add rocks and soil to the ground. Since the hero of the tank is driftwood, its size, and positioning should be bold. Also, you need not add too many plants to this simple driftwood-based dart frog tank.
Do not forget to maintain a good lighting system. It’ll help your dart frogs find their prey. Besides, you must ensure to keep the dart frog tank around 75-84 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.
15. Dart Frog Terrarium With Mossy Water Feature
| Materials | Substrate, moss, PVC pipe, pump, bamboo sticks, ferns, rocks, water bowl, etc. |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
A tank design can be entirely based on your unique ideas. You can maintain simplicity in your dart frog terrarium with a unique mossy water feature. For this, you need to set up the bedding of your dart frog enclosure.
To arrange a water feature, you should set up a pump to supply water through the pipe. You can put moss over the PVC pipe to create a naturalistic look. That’s why, you can name this tank design- the terrarium with a mossy water feature.
Also, you can keep driftwood, moss, bamboo sticks, ferns, and a water bowl in the tank. You might know that your dart frogs require a high range of humidity levels.
In this tank design, the water feature will help you maintain around 80-100% humidity in the enclosure. However, you must set up a good water-drainage system in this dart frog terrarium with a water feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ideal poison dart frog tank size?
How big do dart frogs get?
Do dart frogs need sunlight?
Providing UV light to dart frogs can help them synthesize vitamin D3, which plays an important role in calcium absorption and bone development.
However, it is important to note that too much UV light can also be harmful to dart frogs, so it is recommended to provide a shaded area in their enclosure to prevent overexposure.
Do dart frogs need ventilation?
However, too much ventilation can also lead to low humidity levels, which can also be harmful to dart frogs. It is recommended to maintain a balance between ventilation and humidity levels in their enclosure.
Can dart frogs live in water?
Dart frogs can safely live in an enclosure with water as long as there are no caves or ledges for them to get stuck on.
Do dart frogs need a water bowl?
Providing standing water can provide many benefits for dart frogs, including providing them with easy access to drinking water, helping them stay hydrated, allowing them to bathe which helps keep their skin healthy, providing an area for them to lay their eggs if they are breeding, and creating an environment where they feel more comfortable
Do dart frogs need to climb?
While some species may stay on the substrate more than others, most dart frogs require vertical space to climb and move around in their enclosure.
Do dart frogs sleep?
What are Poison Dart Frog Terrarium Kits?
These kits typically include a terrarium or vivarium, substrate, plants, lighting, heating, and other necessary equipment to create a healthy and comfortable environment for the dart frogs.
They are designed to be self-cleaning, self-maintaining, and provide a naturalistic environment for the dart frogs to live in.
These kits are a convenient option for those who are new to keeping dart frogs and may not have experience or knowledge about setting up a suitable terrarium for them.
Some popular poison dart frog terrarium kits are: Poison Dart Frog Bioactive Habitat Terrarium Kit from The Bio Dude, Dart Frog Vivarium Kit from Houston Frogs, and tankless kits from Dart Frog Connection.
Final Words
Dart frogs can live long if you take proper care of them. For this, a good setup of their habitat is a must. I hope this article has given you basic guidelines and unique ideas of their habitat setup.
About Author
Hello, I’m Muntaseer Rahman, the owner of AcuarioPets.com. I’m passionate about aquarium pets like shrimps, snails, crabs, and crayfish. I’ve created this website to share my expertise and help you provide better care for these amazing pets.
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