# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > General Discussion >  Dart frog time! :D

## Skelly98

Alright, so some of you may have read my other thread about setting up the tank. Well, it's all set up, and now has some frogs living in it!  :Big Grin:  I got two baby Azureus, and some fruit flies. I had also made some modifications to the tank before i put the frogs in, namely i removed some wood that was covered in moss because of mold, and i also removed a giant fern that took up half of the enclosure, plus i took apart an old aquarium and made a glass top out of the glass to keep the humidity and frogs in better. The frogs are hiding right now, but once they come out i'm going to post some photos. (they are also eating the fruit flies  :Big Grin: ).

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## Ryan

Awesome to hear that Mitchell!  :Smile:  Are they hiding often if ever?

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## Skelly98

Yeah, they are hiding right now- well, one is, the other one is exploring the plants. Is hiding a bad thing? Or does it not matter? I've also seen the hiding one eat some fruit flies that wander into his plant. I take it that that is a good sign? They honestly just got put in, and they  both seem to like it in there: D

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## Skelly98

Alright, so now they are both out of hiding and actively exploring one of the terrarium plants. Here's a (pretty cruddy) video:

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## Ryan

You may want to add some more hiding spots, maybe a coconut hide and a natural paper background
 on the sides. They are acclimating to their new home but Dendrobates are pretty bold dart frogs.

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## Skelly98

Got it. Gonna add more stuff in... I actually had much more in there, but I removed some because of mold... Paper backround seems easy. What color should I do? Or will it work with any? Thanks for the advice! 

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## Skelly98

so I'm putting the paper on now, but I'm finding it funny that they are literally climbing the walls......

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## Ryan

Usually a black  paper works or you can use a background with a pond scene, jungle... ect. To make sure the tank doesn't mold up, you may want to introduce Micro-fauna like springtails or pill bugs, these would hide under the leaf litter and clean up the mold and any messes the frogs made.

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## Lynn

> so I'm putting the paper on now, but I'm finding it funny that they are literally climbing the walls......
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


Hi Mitchell,
They are still adjusting. This can take weeks.
They're climbing like that because they're nervous.
Cover three sides of the enclosure ( top and both sides )  and leave them be  :Smile:  
Keep things around them nice and  quiet; trying not to open the door unless it's necessary.
Be sure the water in the dish is not too deep.
They just need a drizzle in there......just enough to get their tummies wet.
You don't want it over their chins   :Frog Surprise: 

Lynn

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Heatheranne

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## Skelly98

The water dish is only up to their chests, it's pretty shallow. I put up some nice brown backround, and the frogs are a lot happier looking now (hopping around the enclosure all day and eating every fruit fly i put in there). It was also a bit cold today, so i hooked up a thermostat and a heat pad. It's set not to get hotter than 85f (the heat pad, not the enclosure), so the viv is pretty well always 75f on the cool side and 80f on the warm side. Also, should i hook up the whole thing so that the heat pad and the light go off at night, or just the light? I know nighttime drops are acceptable, but are they necessary? 

Thanks for the help, 

Mitch.

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## Lynn

> The water dish is only up to their chests, it's pretty shallow. I put up some nice brown backround, and the frogs are a lot happier looking now (hopping around the enclosure all day and eating every fruit fly i put in there). It was also a bit cold today, so i hooked up a thermostat and a heat pad. It's set not to get hotter than 85f (the heat pad, not the enclosure), so the viv is pretty well always 75f on the cool side and 80f on the warm side. Also, should i hook up the whole thing so that the heat pad and the light go off at night, or just the light? I know nighttime drops are acceptable, but are they necessary? 
> 
> Thanks for the help, 
> 
> Mitch.


Hi Mitch,

I use timers ( on heat emitters) for any heat ( if needed) at night. .
It's scary...my enclosure are in my basement. It needs very careful monitoring. 

You might keep a thermometer in the vicinity ( outside)the enclosure(s) as well.
I'm crazy about thermometers...they are everywhere.

You don't want it to go above 80F - ever.
I use 78 as a cut-off.  :Frog Surprise: 

You don't want more than a 10 degree drop at night. Avoid the swings if possible.

If heat is a problem, a low wattage bulb works well (depending on where the enclosure is kept) . 
Remember they need a photo-period of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark.

 :Butterfly:

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## Skelly98

So i just redesigned my whole thermostat setup. I used hot glue to modify the top of the terrarium to allow me to put the probe directly into the terrarium (without leaving a gap) to monitor the air temperature rather than taping it to the heat pad. It's set to 75 and it's staying pretty well around there. 

Anyways, i'm glad i have a temp gun.. my standard thermometer is about five degrees off, and i'd probably be cooking the frogs right now if it weren't for me knowing the actual temps of everything...

Thank you for the help, i really appreciate it and so do the frogs  :Big Grin:

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## Skelly98

so I was dusting their flies today, and some of the powder spilled into the enclosure (its the same calcium supplement I use for all my pets), and I was wondering if I should take It out? The flies are all in the powder, so I'm gonna take it out for now and then feed some undusted flies.... But for the future, should I worry about this, or just leave the calcium in? How could I avoid this?

Thanks for the help,

Mitch. 

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## Ryan

Hi mitchell, In the exo terra calcium, theres a little spoon that comes with the calcium, 
usually only 1/4 of the spoon is enough, if you feel there is too much calcium, there probably is.

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## Skelly98

I see. So one quarter of the spoon? That's so tiny! Man I'm used to uromastyx and other big eaters  :Stick Out Tongue: 

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## Skelly98

Alright, so I've got the supplementing down, and the frogs seem to be enjoying themselves... Right now, I'm feeding them twice a day as much as they eat in five to ten minutes.... I've read this is good for younger frogs? But they seem... Chubby.... Do they look too fat in this Pic? They are acting normal (as far as I know), and are active eaters of melanogaster.... man... I'm worrying a lot about these little guys... Anyways off to feed some axolotl larvae  :Big Grin: 

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## Ryan

in my opinion they look good  :Smile:  as long as they are acting normal.

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