# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) >  Is my frog just hanging out or laying eggs??

## GREGCELLENT

Hi group,I'm new to this. Just purchased my frog a few days ago. My frog ice man is just hanging out in the water. I thought darts didn't like staying in water. So is ice man just chilling, laying eggs or something else?

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## Paul

They will stay in water if they are dehydrated. What is the humidity in you tank?

If you could also let me know what the temps are and what you are feeding your frog. How often you feed. Any supplements you dust over the food. Any details you can think of. 

A pic of the tank would be very helpful also.

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## GREGCELLENT

Hi paul , I don't know what the humidity is
What do you recommend I purchase? I mist the tank several times a day. I try to keep my house 75 degrees
 Sometimes It gets to 80 before my ac kicks on.i feed him once a day and sprinkle repashy vitamin A on the fruit flys ..any I doing something wrong? What do you recommend? Thanks..I added a pic of the tank 






> They will stay in water if they are dehydrated. What is the humidity in you tank?
> 
> If you could also let me know what the temps are and what you are feeding your frog. How often you feed. Any supplements you dust over the food. Any details you can think of. 
> 
> A pic of the tank would be very helpful also.

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## Eli

Im still learning about darts and not nearly as knowledgable as Paul and others but i can help a little. I know that dart frogs like it nice and cool from 65-75 degrees. A high quality digital hygrometer is essential to proper husbandry. The humidity should be over 90. A mist king or exo terra monsoon mister or repti fogger would help if you have trouble keeping the humidity high. A calcium powder and a separate multi vitamin powder would be ideal as well. Calcium every other feeding and multi vitamins once a week. Good luck :Smile: !

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## GREGCELLENT

Thanks eli. I Will order something tonight to help with the humidity

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## Paul

Greg,

Sorry I somehow missed your response. I fail...

You can get a ZooMed Hydrometer + Thermometer for about $20 on Amazon. The are not GREAT  but they are 100% better than nothing. They also typically are off the actual readings by + or - 10.

You are aiming for around 90% humidity. Some drops are ok, but don't let it fall to low or your poor froggy will suffer and eventually pass away

Couple questions for you to get a better idea of your setup (which will help us help you  :Smile:  )

What top does your tank have on it? Screen or Glass?

What are you using to heat your tank?

What temperature do you keep your tank at?

Do you dust your fruit flies with any supplements? If so how often?

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## GREGCELLENT

i have a screen top. 
im not using antyhting to heat my tank...i am buying the exo terra moonsoon rs400 right now, any feedback on that? will it help?
i have been keeping the tank room temp usually 73-80
i dust them with vitamin A..was doing it every day but i just read that wasnt good so i stopped ...i have only had my frog for a week..

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## Eli

While the monsoon is quite helpful in maintaining humidity, i think a piece if plastic, glass or wood cut to size and place on top with continued frequent mistings would work just as well and also be more cost effective.

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## GREGCELLENT

thanks nice idea

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## Paul

Greg.  You need to replace the screen top with solid glass very quickly. Dart frogs do not need any additional ventilation than what is provided by the small vents below the doors. Putting solid glass up top will trap humidity in your tank. You will not need the Moonsoon to help with humidty. Just put a glass top on and mist like you have been. But please do get a Hydrometer. The Exo terra ones work well enough for giving you a rough idea where the readings are. 

You can either get a piece of glass cut to fit the top of your tank perfectly and not use the Exo Terra top (no ventilation needed) or take your tank top to a custome glass shop and have them remove the screen and install glass for you, but you will need to find a way to cover your tank while you wait for that to get done. In the mean time you should cover the screen top is plastic wrap to help trap in humidity. Your frog is probably very dehydrated right now and some steps need to be taken to get the enclosure issues corrected as a temp fix while you work on the more permanent ones. 

I would also put a small dish in the tank (that has been cleaned of any soap or chemicals) and fill it with dechlorinated tap water. Don't make the water to deep, just deep enough so your frog can sit in it to re hydrate himself. 

Your frog will also prefer the temps to be in the mid 70's some temp movement is ok, but high heat will Kill your frog faster than anything else.

Dusting -

Vitamin A is good like once a month. You need to get a Calcium powder that has D3. Rep Cal Makes a great one that is popular in the hobby. You will also need a multivitamin. I use Repashy supervite. 

An example supplement schedule is below (this is what i personally do. It is not the end all be all way to supplement)

Monday - RepCal Calcium + D3
Tuesday - Repashy Supervite
Wednesday - RepCal Calcium + D3 - 
Thursday - Repashy Supervite
Friday - RepCal Calcium + D3
Saturday - Repashy Calcium Plus (This is a Calcium+Multivitamin+Color Enhancer)
Sunday - RepCal Calcium + D3

Ask all the question you want and I will answer what I can and go get help for questions I do not have the answer to. Share all the information you can and I will correct things I see that need some tweaking. 

Paul

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gregcellent

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## Paul

I would not do wood, and plastic cut to size will not seal the top of the tank well enough (if you removed the door and used plastic over time it will start to sag and could fall into the tank or allow a space for your frog to escape). Wood could mold and pose a safety hazard for your frog.

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## GREGCELLENT

Thanks. I'm going to get some glass...I'm a little concerned about trapping in to much heat...right now my house sometimes gets to 80 degrees before the ac kicks on..If I don't have any ventilation in the My tank I'm nervous the heat might get to much for my frog.. is there an air control system that would heat and Cool tanks ? So I could program a set temp and humidity

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## Paul

Greg,

You can put a fan in the room with your frogs to help keep the room cooler. I don't know of an AC unit you could use designed for amphibians unfortunately. 80F is at the top end of what your frog can handle safely. In addition to the Digital Hydrometer+Thermometer I mentioned before it would be a good idea to get a glass aquarium thermometer to put in the tank. This will give you the most accurate temperature reading inside the enclosure. If you see it getting up near 76 - 78 warning bells in your head need to be going off and a fan should be turned on to keep the temperature in check. 68F would be the lowest you want to see the temps. You want to avoid big swings in temp over a short period of time if possible.

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## GREGCELLENT

Update . I added a zilla thermometer and humidity reader and covered the top of the tank with celofane while I wait for my monsoon rs 400 to come in..The tank temp is 70 degrees 90% humidity and ice man seems happy. I'll upload a pic

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## Paul

Zill therm and Humidity - Is that the Analog dual gauge thing? If so I would return it and get a digital one. Analog ones are notoriously inaccurate.

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## GREGCELLENT

Yes its analog..I'll get a digital

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## Paul

but, you are taking steps in the right direction  :Smile: 

We all learn something new everyday if we are lucky.

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## GREGCELLENT

I'm trying ...I want to add more colors to my tank but I need to get control of just 1

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## Lynn

> i have a screen top. 
> im not using antyhting to heat my tank...i am buying the exo terra moonsoon rs400 right now, any feedback on that? will it help?
> i have been keeping the tank room temp usually 73-80
> i dust them with vitamin A..was doing it every day but i just read that wasnt good so i stopped ...i have only had my frog for a week..


Good Morning,
You don't want to dust with Vit A every day.
Save this for when the frog is an adult ....use the Repasy Vit A about 2 X/month.
Daily should be Calcium and Vit D. _Repashy_  has this product ( they have *an all in one... Cal /Vit D, little A, and Vits) 
as well as Re-Cal ( has separate *Ca and Vit D  / separate * Vit supplement ) 
My 2 cents: I alternate all * three produce ----> hoping to get a benefit from 2 manufacturers.
Be sure to get the Ca and vit D into him !!!! The _Rep-Cal_ -- Ca and Vit D is  ( pink and white label ) is at most big box pet stores.

The most common cause of " new dart frog demise" is dehydration; so it's good he found the water you provided  :Smile: 
You will see them sitting in it from time-to time. It looks to be a perfect depth for him...you don't want it too deep.

You could have kept him in the qt for quite some time. 
Be sure he is finding his food (observe him). If not just put him back into the temp tank.
Be sure he is not 'missing' his flies when he attempts to grab them. If so, get him back to the QT immediately.

I had purchased a trio of tics a while back ......one needed an extra month in QT.
Poor baby was missing most of his flies, of which  I believe is a Ca deficiency.  
If they are not implemented properly - they will fail to grow / thrive  :Frown: 

It is best to make 78 a _warning area_ regarding the temp. 
It's the "heads-range". You don't want it to go above 80.

Cheap $1.99 classe aquarium thermometers are great! 
Simply take the rubber stopper off and stick it in the substrate.
They are cheap and easy to move around. 
They provide one added layer of temperature monitoring. 

You will need to close off the screen top, otherwise I doubt you will be able to:
1) maintain the temp 
2) keep the humidity high enough

Your tank looks to be an exo terra. You will need to remove the screen. I remove them completely.
Here you go: ( I buy cheap glass so there is NO UV protection in the glass) 
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...placement.html

There are tons and tons of greats post and tips...I just know how to find mine most quickly.
A little help:
http://www.frogforum.net/plants-plan...ere-we-go.html

 :Butterfly:

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gregcellent

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