# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > Beginner Discussion >  O. pumilio questions

## pez

It turns out that I have the oportunity to get some Oophaga pumilio, but I have some basic questions. I know this aren't the best frogs for a dart begginer but I have had some experience with Dendrobates auratus before. I took care of my cousin's D. auratus tank while he was travelling. 

So here are the questions
-I got the flightless fruit flies (D. hydei) but do the supplements are necessary? I ask this because each jar will cost me about $20. Why so expensive? Because there is only one place where you can get the supplements here.

-How should the terrarium be? Vertical I suppose?

-How many frogs should be kept together? How big for that number of frogs?

Any other recommendations are welcomed.

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## clownonfire

Pez, wow, lucky you! Pums... One day... when my hands will be less full... I had done some research on them a few months back as I was pondering getting some...

Basically. They can be a good frogs for beginners. Again, depending on the morph. But as you said, you a are far from being a frog beginner.

A pair can be held in a 10 gallon. But as usual, bigger is better. And yes, they will take all the space given to them, therefore vertical and terrestrial space.

Because of their size, it's often suggested to feed them D. melanogaster as opposed to D. hydei (and if you end up breeding, the melanogaster will be important). You should also dust them. I know supplements are costly, but because pums do not have the advantage of having a varied diet as in captivity, whatever you feed them should provide all that they need. Therefore a little dusting will go a long way. Seed springtails, as always.

Humidity: 75% and higher. As you would expect, very humid and with good air circualtion.

Let us know as soon as you know which pums you are getting.

Eric

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## Michael

_Oophaga pumilio_ is diurnal and primarily *terrestrial. * They inhabit the forest floor and can often be found in leaf litter in both forested and disturbed areas.  So you want a horizontal setup.

You should always dust your flies before feeding.  The jars of supplements should really last you a very long time.  

Males are extremely territorial and guard small territories.  So I would say only keep pairs or provide enough horizontal space to allow them to setup their territories.




> It turns out that I have the oportunity to get some Oophaga pumilio, but I have some basic questions. I know this aren't the best frogs for a dart begginer but I have had some experience with Dendrobates auratus before. I took care of my cousin's D. auratus tank while he was travelling. 
> 
> So here are the questions
> -I got the flightless fruit flies (D. hydei) but do the supplements are necessary? I ask this because each jar will cost me about $20. Why so expensive? Because there is only one place where you can get the supplements here.
> 
> -How should the terrarium be? Vertical I suppose?
> 
> -How many frogs should be kept together? How big for that number of frogs?
> 
> Any other recommendations are welcomed.

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## pez

> Pez, wow, lucky you! Pums... One day... when my hands will be less full... I had done some research on them a few months back as I was pondering getting some...
> 
> Basically. They can be a good frogs for beginners. Again, depending on the morph. But as you said, you a are far from being a frog beginner.
> 
> A pair can be held in a 10 gallon. But as usual, bigger is better. And yes, they will take all the space given to them, therefore vertical and terrestrial space.
> 
> Because of their size, it's often suggested to feed them D. melanogaster as opposed to D. hydei (and if you end up breeding, the melanogaster will be important). You should also dust them. I know supplements are costly, but because pums do not have the advantage of having a varied diet as in captivity, whatever you feed them should provide all that they need. Therefore a little dusting will go a long way. Seed springtails, as always.
> 
> Humidity: 75% and higher. As you would expect, very humid and with good air circualtion.
> ...


Thanks Eric. I have only one problem on getting D. melanogaster. I can't get them here! The only flightless fruit fly I could get here was D. hydei. Ok, so it looks like I will have so spend some money in suplemments, well it is for the frog's health. I can't buy springtails here, so I can't seed them. On the other hand I have been looking for them to get some, but I haven't find them. Maybe with the sart of the rainy season. I am getting "blue jeans".
Thanks

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## pez

> _Oophaga pumilio_ is diurnal and primarily *terrestrial. * They inhabit the forest floor and can often be found in leaf litter in both forested and disturbed areas.  So you want a horizontal setup.
> 
> You should always dust your flies before feeding.  The jars of supplements should really last you a very long time.  
> 
> Males are extremely territorial and guard small territories.  So I would say only keep pairs or provide enough horizontal space to allow them to setup their territories.



Ok thanks, I wont be getting sexed pairs so I guess I better buy a 50 gal. horizontal tank.

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## clownonfire

Just a comment on Mike's post. Pums are indeed territorial, but they are known to enjoy all the space they are given. Therefore, if you add lots of room to easily climb all, they will take advantage of all the area they can cover.

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## pez

After some reading (yes I read fast) I found out that supposedly males become more aggresive when thare are few or no bromeliads. So the terrarium will have several bromeliads. I will be posting every update about the terrarium building and the frogs.

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## bshmerlie

Mauricio get creative.  If you're going with a 50 gallon that should give you more than enough room to make slopes and levels.  I use pieces of wood to hold back dirt and make tiered levels.  This will allow more terrestrial frogs to use more of the height of the tank. Its easy to do and adds a lot of dimension to the tank. Ramps, slopes, tiers and work your way up the background.

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## pez

Thanks for the idea, I will be using it!

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## berksmike

Just to reiterate what people have said they will make use of any space they are given and despite their small size will need rather large enclosures.

I dont have any pums at the moment but I did have a breeding pair of O.pumilio "Isla Colon" which were housed in a very heavily planted 45x45x60 exo terra and they would be found from the leaf litter to the highest bromeliads.

Branches are good - I have also found the liana type vines very good for thumbnail species - they dont take up too much room, broms can be fixed to them and they are easy to cut and position.

Although I have only kept pairs I have heard of people maintaining trios and even small groups but the key is a large enclosure and very heavy vegetation (particularly broms) which goes a long way to reduce aggression - Out of sight out of mind for the males lol

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## pez

Thanks, I will have no problem finding bromeliads, there are lots of them here.

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## wesleybrouwer

Some morphs like bastimentos or cayo de aqua are somewhat more tolerant to eachother.
Others will start fighting the moment they see eachother, 
If you choose to house them together, make sure to have a  spare terrarium in wich you can put them apart whenever things go wrong and you're in time.

There is also a difference in how bold they are, for example, bastimentos will be in plain sight a lot, but cauchero lives more secretive.
Altough there are some individuals that are different from the rest  :Wink: 

Pumilio's tend to get real aggressive, even drowning much larger frogs like tinctorius.
Even in a large terrarium, space is limited in comparison to the natural environment,
keep that in mind.

If you can't look at them closely before purchasing or aren't sure of you're sexing luck, you need to have multiple terrariums,
As soon as you see one calling, normally this is the most dominant male, males that are not submisive will instantly call back and they'll start a fight, 
others will be submisive in the hope to be left alone.

As soon as you seperated the male(s) from the group, the submisive males will become confident enough to start calling when mature enough.
Keep putting males apart untill you don't see any calling within a month,
you are now 90% sure the ones left in the silent terrarium are the females.

From here, you can try and put some males and females together in couples,
you have to see if their is any potential in this match, just like people, not all the frogs wan't to have babies with eachother  :Wink: 
If nothing happens for a couple of months, try switching some.

It takes some effort, but it is the best way to get yourself a breeding couple or couples.

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