# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > Breeding, Eggs, Tadpoles, etc >  My summer with eggs, tads, and froglets

## Don

Well, this has been my first years with the frogs laying eggs and them slowly making their way to the big boy froglet tank.

I decided it would be fun to share my experience with the process and some pics.

*First Eggs*
The first eggs I had found was from my _D__endrobates truncatus_ (yellow stripe) pair but they laid them on the glass and the eggs we not fertilized by the male.  These frogs have not laid eggs since.



*Whoa, Tads*
My next experience with eggs came from my _Dendrobates leucomelas_ pair.

The male calls every morning and these frogs have been the most active with leaving eggs and moving tads out of the three pairs of frogs I have.
The first eggs I found from the Leucs were placed in a bromeliad and when I realized they were there I was a nervous wreck in regards to moving the eggs, and caring for them properly.  The eggs already had tads forming and moving around in the eggs.
 

I pulled the eggs using a some camping stainless steel spoons being careful to scrape slowly under the eggs and move them into the spoon I held below them.  I then placed the eggs onto a leaf and place the leaf into small containers with lids.  Notice the containers are the side dish ones from Kentucky Fried Chicken :-) 
I made a batch of tadpole water using spring water and Tetra Blackwater extract.  You really have to add plenty of extract to get the dark tea color but it works great.   

*Swimmers*
Once the tads were off the leaf and swimming on their own in the container, i made up a similar batch of water and filled to  1 in deep in larger Tupperware containers, added some leaf liter (Live Oak Leaf) and placed the tadpoles into the container.
I fed them Tetra Dried Seaweed, Tetra Tropical Fish Flake, and Tadpole bites once a week.


*Next Batch*
Within weeks, my _Dendrobates tinctorius_  Bakhuis Mountain pair decided to join in the fun and although i never heard any calling, the eggs starting arriving and dad was happily fertilizing them.  
 

I followed the same routine as with the _Dendrobates leucomelas_ and made a separate Tupperware container to place the tads into.
 

As the tads grew, I changed out 1/3 of the water with a fresh batch weekly and continued to feed only once per week.
They grew at different rates, but I think were popping out the front legs about two to three weeks after i saw the rear legs begin to appear.

*Moving on up*
Once i felt that the tad was getting ready to walk out of the water, i would move them to a intermediate container that had plenty of moss and water to allow for the little one to walk out.

 

*Time to learn to eat*
It is pretty exciting coming home to find one has absorbed the tail and is now moving between the water and land.
I would usually leave them in the intermediate tank for a few days and then move them into the big boy froglet tank where they can eat springtails and calcium or supervite dusted fruit flies.

   
  

The froglet big boy tank is an 18x18x18 Exo-Terra and presently is housing both of the species of froglets.  In some of the photos, the froglets look way bigger then their actual size, especially the _Dendrobates tinctorius_  Bakhuis Mountain froglets which are so tiny.

*Going forward*
They are hearty, all looking plum and healthy (except one which has a leg from the knee down that either broke or never properly grew out) and I have more tads to grow out and move their way up into the Exo-Terra.
I will eventually have to split them all up into separate tank but that's the fun part right, making vivariums and moving them in :-)

As for the one with the  deformed leg, he is the boldest of the group and gets around as if nothing is different so he will probably become my favorite of the group.


Don

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## Don

Now to add some more photos and some more info.

Here are a few photos of the froglets and hopefully you can see how small some of them really are.  I take the photos with my 12 megapixal camera on my phone and usually can get the phone right over them before they decide to high tail it undeer the leaves or silly them, to the water dish to hide. :-)  Its clear water, I can see you!

Here is the one I described with the deforrmed leg.  I love this one since he is the boldest so far and really moves about the froglet tank eating and exploring.


This is how big he really is and that bowl is a side dish bowl from KFC :-)


One of the Leuc froglets


And one of my favorite pics of the froglets

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## Pluke

Looks like a lot of fun, Don. I need setup my Dart frog tank. Your frogs look great, it's amazing how tiny they are. I saw some Dart Frog tadpoles and some tiny froglets at this last reptile expo I went to and it's just crazy how small and fragile looking they are.

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## Lynn

I enjoyed reading this , again.
Thanks Don

How is the little guy w/ the _bum_ leg doing ?

Lynn

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## bill

just awesome Don. but a question, why use blackwater extract? is it to make the tads more secure in their surroundings? oh, and why not just make your own extract from leaf litter? i have used that tetra stuff for black water tanks and i hated it. ok, sorry, that was more than one question  :Frown:

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## Don

> just awesome Don. but a question, why use blackwater extract? is it to make the tads more secure in their surroundings? oh, and why not just make your own extract from leaf litter? i have used that tetra stuff for black water tanks and i hated it. ok, sorry, that was more than one question



I started with the Black Water Extract because I needed something fast when this all started and Almond Leaves were no where to be found locally so I decided on the Black Water which was recommended by Black Jungle.  The extract helps prevent bacterial infection in the tads.  I put enough to the water to get it to the point of looking like a dark tea.  It has done me well so i haven't changed.

I have about 30 Tads in individual cups now since I found out that once one or two start popping out legs they secrete a chemical that stunts the growth of the other tads.... was wondering why some grew and some stayed tiny tads so long.  Now they all seem to grow at a similar rate.

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deranged chipmunk

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## Don

> I enjoyed reading this , again.
> Thanks Don
> 
> How is the little guy w/ the _bum_ leg doing ?
> 
> Lynn


Ahhh :-(  didn't make it.  the other legs slowly turned into the same condition as the bad leg... like a twig.  Sad since he was eating so well too.

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## exasperatus2002

> Ahhh :-( didn't make it. the other legs slowly turned into the same condition as the bad leg... like a twig. Sad since he was eating so well too.


Thats great information with the black water extract & almond leaves.

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## bill

> I started with the Black Water Extract because I needed something fast when this all started and Almond Leaves were no where to be found locally so I decided on the Black Water which was recommended by Black Jungle.  The extract helps prevent bacterial infection in the tads.  I put enough to the water to get it to the point of looking like a dark tea.  It has done me well so i haven't changed.
> 
> I have about 30 Tads in individual cups now since I found out that once one or two start popping out legs they secrete a chemical that stunts the growth of the other tads.... was wondering why some grew and some stayed tiny tads so long.  Now they all seem to grow at a similar rate.


Thanks Don. You're not the first person i have seen use black water extract. But you are, however, the only person who actually was able to say WHY they used it. Normally i get because so and so said to use it. And i didn't know about them secreting chemicals to prevent others from developing. That's actually a pretty cool survival mechanism when you think about it.

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## Don

> Thanks Don. You're not the first person i have seen use black water extract. But you are, however, the only person who actually was able to say WHY they used it. Normally i get because so and so said to use it. And i didn't know about them secreting chemicals to prevent others from developing. That's actually a pretty cool survival mechanism when you think about it.


Sure is.   I was glad the guys from Black Jungle were there to help when I had my first clutch of eggs.  They talked me through the process and so far I have had great luck with froglets with the exception of the one that had the underdeveloped leg.  

Now if they would slow down laying eggs :-)

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## bill

> Sure is.   I was glad the guys from Black Jungle were there to help when I had my first clutch of eggs.  They talked me through the process and so far I have had great luck with froglets with the exception of the one that had the underdeveloped leg.


do you feel as though maybe the secreted enzyme was responsible for the deformed legs?  




> Now if they would slow down laying eggs :-)


we should all have that problem.....LOL

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## Don

> do you feel as though maybe the secreted enzyme was responsible for the deformed legs?



Definitely.  Soon after moving each into their own cups with new water, they began to grow and pop out rear legs.  Now i start them in there own cups which once they leave the egg and become swimmers.

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