# General Topics > General Discussion & News >  Looking for diurnal breeds of frogs

## Joyszoo

So I love my frogs but would love to see more activity (playing frog hide and seek is fun). I have a 1 tomato, 2 white's, 5 green trees, 5 d.a.w.f. and a pyxie. Would like ones that can do well on cockroaches as my cricket breeding is not successful yet.  :Frog Smile:  Open to all suggestions.

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## bshmerlie

FIRE BELLY TOADS.  I know you're probably thinking,"too entry level".  But they do foot the bill. They are awake day or night, they are very playful, and they eat anything.

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## Paul Rust

*Pacific Chorus Frogs become diurnal in captivity and are quite active.*

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## Joyszoo

so was doing a web search and found these guys Nectophrynoides - sound really neat- now to find them for sale.......

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## Terry

I doubt that the toads in the genera Nectophrynoides (Tanzania) and Nimbaphrynoides (Liberia and Guinea) would ever be available in the pet trade. Many species are endangered and have very limited ranges. You can check out one species, Morogoro Tree Frog (*Nectophrynoides viviparus*), by clicking on the link under Meet the Frog. The Kihansi spray toads (*Nectophrynoides asperginis*) is considered extinct in the wild. Many species are viviparous. You can see them at the Toledo, OH and the Bronx Zoos.

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## JimO

Even hatchling roaches might be too big for the largest dart frogs, but if you would be willing to culture fruit flies, you can't beat some of the larger terrestrial species for boldness and daytime activity. D. tinctorius azureus (my avatar) are my personal favorite. P. terribilis come in several color morphs and are said to be the boldest and one of the largest species (although I've never kept them). They have the added advantage of being compatible in groups, whereas the tinctorius and others are territorial and you would be limited to a pair for many of them. Fruit flies are pretty darn easy to culture and maintain.

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John

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## John911

Agreed with Jimo.  Our trio of tincs are great.  At night the 3 of them will hide under a leaf together.  Its too funny.

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## SethD

> I doubt that the toads in the genera Nectophrynoides (Tanzania) and Nimbaphrynoides (Liberia and Guinea) would ever be available in the pet trade. Many species are endangered and have very limited ranges. You can check out one species, Morogoro Tree Frog (*Nectophrynoides viviparus*), by clicking on the link under Meet the Frog. The Kihansi spray toads (*Nectophrynoides asperginis*) is considered extinct in the wild. Many species are viviparous. You can see them at the Toledo, OH and the Bronx Zoos.



Actually I saw a Nectophrynoides viviparus briefly offered for sale on kingsnake.com several months ago that had come in with other tanzanian imports. It was illegal because they are illegal to import though and the specimen offered for sale was promptly withdrawn. The whole genus of Nectophrynoides has been placed on the CITES I list, whether that was justified for the whole genus is highly debatable given the extremely limited amount of information they had, but either way hobbyists might as well forget about getting any of them as it is extremely unlikely to happen legally. At the moment we still have plenty of interesting and completely legal frogs and toads to chose from though that may change if the "defenders of wildlife" the anti-hunting, anti-reptile/amphibian hobbyist and anti-who knows what all  group manges to get all amphibians not "certified" chytrid free added to the list of injurious wildlife under the lacy act as they are currently trying to do under the pretense of caring about the health of native amphibian populations.

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## Tony

_Nectophrynoides_ are not available legally.

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## Jace

*My votes are with Fire Belly Toads and Pacific Chorus Frogs.  Both species are active, easy to care for and the males are vocal and comical in their pursuits of love.  The females are just as amusing when they ignore them.  *

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## Joyszoo

I actually love the dart frogs but was worried about culturing fruit flies. As long as they are easier than crickets I should be able to do it. At the las vegas reptile expo this last weekend there was even wood lice....

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## Terry

> Actually I saw a Nectophrynoides viviparus briefly offered for sale on kingsnake.com several months ago that had come in with other tanzanian imports. It was illegal because they are illegal to import though and the specimen offered for sale was promptly withdrawn.


Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. 




> The whole genus of Nectophrynoides has been placed on the CITES I list, whether that was justified for the whole genus is highly debatable given the extremely limited amount of information they had, but either way hobbyists might as well forget about getting any of them as it is extremely unlikely to happen legally.


The only reason I can think of is their very limited range and unique method of reproduction has placed them on the CITES list. It may also be difficult to recreate their specialized needs in captivity.




> At the moment we still have plenty of interesting and completely legal frogs and toads to chose from though that may change if the "defenders of wildlife" the anti-hunting, anti-reptile/amphibian hobbyist and anti-who knows what all  group manges to get all amphibians not "certified" chytrid free added to the list of injurious wildlife under the lacy act as they are currently trying to do under the pretense of caring about the health of native amphibian populations.


I agree, Seth. We need to have people with some good ol' common sense making the decisions.

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## JimO

I've been culturing fruit flies for over 10 years and my current cultures are from the original culture I got 3 years ago after I stopped keeping frogs for a few years. Some people report all kinds of problems with mites, mold, sudden die-off, etc. Not to jinx myself, but I haven't had any serious problems (just some cultures that produced fewer flies).  I buy prepared dry media from a reliable breeder who I have dealt with for years. I mix 1/2 cup of media with 1/2 cup warm water in the 32 oz culturing containers; swirl; add excelsior, a coffee filter or something else to increase the surface area for pupae; slap a date on it; and put it on the shelf. I do this once a week and that's it.

If you get good media and prepare them simply and consistently, it's a heck of a lot easier than crickets. It literally takes ten minutes once a week and they start producting in about two weeks and keep producing for up to four weeks. I prepare them weekly so that I have plenty and as a precaution in case a culture crashes (with 35 darts I actually prepare 3 cultures a week now). If you do that and have problems, then, heck, I'll send you some cultures for free.

They also love termites which can be fed to them weekly (at most or they get fat).  There are other smaller feeders that I culture - springtails and isopods - which aren't hard at all either, but these are mainly to feed the froglets from my smaller frogs.  The larger frogs love them and it's a nice treat, but ffs are the staple.


> I actually love the dart frogs but was worried about culturing fruit flies. As long as they are easier than crickets I should be able to do it. At the las vegas reptile expo this last weekend there was even wood lice....

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## Paul Rust

*I'm with Jim,*
*Fruit flies are very simple and I have had no mite or mold problems either. I also culture crickets and I throw a pile of pinheads in with the darts every now and then for a treat, plust the pinheads are an insurance policy against a crashed batch of flies, but that has never occurred either.*

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## John Clare

Dart frogs, definitely.  Once you get the hang of culturing fruit flies, it's a very cheap and sustainable aspect of the frog hobby.  Interaction and activity wise, _Dendrobates tinctorius_ (of which "_Dendrobates azureus_" is now considered a race rather than a separate species) wins over any other frog I know.  _Phyllobates terribilis_ is a beautiful species, and incredibly bold, but they rarely move when not eating, so not very entertaining to the on-looker!

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