# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > Beginner Discussion >  Going Away for a Few Days! What to do about feeding darts when gone?

## megsfrogs

I will be going away for a week and need some advice on how to feed my frogs or if I need to while I am away. I have two 'Cobalt' D. tincs in a 20 gallon tank. They are about 11 months old now and I feed them every other day or every three days depending on if they eat all their flies. The tank is seeded with springtails as well. If I feed them a large amount of flies before I leave will the springtails be enough for them for a week? I have heard of people making small deli cups with media and a number of flies with small holes in the lid to make a slow feeder. What do you all do when you go away and have no one to feed your frogs while you are away?

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## Gazedo

I'm interested to see everyone's ideas cuz I run into this problem often. I've transported my darts' to my brother's house and had him feed them before but it's a hassle for everyone.

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## bill

If you seed the tank heavily with springs and fruit flies before you leave, they 'should' be good for a week. At least as far as food goes. Barring a disaster like excessive heat, you should have no problems. 

I've seen and heard of people using small deli cups, and that is an option, but IMHO, not really necessary. 


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## Lynn

I never go-away......  :Frown: .......
I have practiced the ff culture thing, however  ( just incase there is an emergency) 
A ff culture w 2 or 3 holes punched in the lid works well. ( I actually used a hole punch) 
The flies do not all come out at the same time.
If the area is warm I think I would run a fan facing the enclosure (s) .
They are better cooler than warmer.

Let us know how you make out

 :Butterfly:

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## Heather

I have done the same... ff cultures with a few holes. Be sure to leave a shallow Petri dish of dechlorinated water for them if you don't have an automatic misting system.

Give them a good feeding of calcium/vitamin D3 dusted flies before you go, as well.

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## megsfrogs

Hi all, 

I am back from my vacation and all is well with the frogs. I have air conditioning in the room with my darts and tree frogs so I was not concerned with heat. Both tanks have shallow water areas and are fully automatic lights and misters. When I got home both tanks were within the right temperatures and humidities. My dart tank is heavily seeded with springtails So what I ended up doing was dusting a large amount of fruit flies and set up a feeding station with a piece of banana for the darts. When I got home all the flies were gone but the frogs seemed happy as usual. I am going to try the deli cup next time if I leave longer. I only ended up leaving for five days and they were great on their own. 

Thank you all for the advice and I hope some of this information help you all go on more vacations  :Smile:

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