New member from London with Golden Mantella

[RibbitUK]

Hi everyone,

New member here from the UK, only recently started up in the hobby with 0.0.3 CB12 Golden Mantella...

My Mantella are currently residing in a planted Exo Terra 30 x 30 x 45, but I am currently in the process of planning a new slightly larger home with a 24 x 12 converted aquarium.



Current Vivarium Details:
Brand: Exo Terra 30 x 30 x 45

Background: Expandable foam, covered in Forest fibre attached with PVA.

Substrate:Bottom Layer - Zoo Med Clay HydroBalls with Exo Terra Terrarium Draining Mesh on top, Middle layer - Moss Peat, Top layer - Fine Orchid Bark

Plants: Bromeliad - Neoregelia flandria, Peruvian Heartleaf Plant - Philodendron Sp., Dwarf Tongue fern - Asplenium antiquum, Colombian Creeping Fig - Ficus sp., Sphagnum Moss, Christmas Moss - Vesicularia montagnei, Weeping Moss - Vesicularia ferriei, Moth Orchid - Phalaenopsis sp. & Pink Quill Plant - Tillandsia cyanea

Moisture: Small water dish - Misting with hand pump bottle - Twice a day (AM & PM)

Decoration: Artificial jungle vines, Paranut shell, Smooth pebble stones, Mini Sapucaja shells & Large jungle leaves.

Lighting: Exo Terra Compact Top Canopy with Exo Terra Sun Glo lamp - Set on a timer for 12 hours daylight.

Inhabitants: 0.0.3 Golden Mantella (CB12) and a small culture of Tropical Dwarf Springtails..

Diet: Micro Crickets & Flightless Fruit Flies (Fruit flies and Crickets are fed on alternate days with dusting once a week in vitamin/mineral supplement)


I will no doubt have lots of questions to ask over the coming months, so I thought I had better say hello and introduce myself to start with


All the best,

RibbitUK

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Vivarium pic looks very nice, any of frogs ?

[RibbitUK]

Hello and welcome to FF! Vivarium pic looks very nice, any of frogs ?

Thanks Carlos, Sorry didn't have any good ones at the time...

Here is one with two in view, best I can do for now until they get settled and are a little more bold:



Cheers

[Mentat]

Thanks, frogs looks nice and healthy !

[dbizal]

Hey mate,

Your Viv looks great!

Where did you get your plants from? (I assume they are real?), seeing as you are also from the UK would be great to find out when you get your stock
Thanks in advance,

Danny.

[Geo]

Welcome! We have a few folks on the forum who are mantella caretakers including myself. Feel free to ask us whatever you are curious about to ensure those little critters get the best care. Great start to your habitat. I would point out that unlike some poison frogs mantellas love the presence of leaf litter in their habitats. It gives them a place to hide to feel secure, to get coverage if the light / heat is bothering them, somewhere to forage for fruitflies and pin head critters that went into hiding, and they are most likely going to be prone to laying their legs in damp leaf litter than anywhere else (although some owners have had success with coconut huts setups. They are not as arboreal (tree climging) as some poison frog species are so ground coverage (horizontal) space is more important. It allows the males to stake out a small territory that they defend for mating purposes and offers them a degree of security. Keep the habitat's temps lower then you would most other PDF. They generally can't comfortably tolerate anything above 80 (although captive bred mantellas seem to have a bit more stamina for heat then wild caught). Humidity ideally should be in the 70-80 range although that is a matter of whether or not you are intending to cycle the habitat for a wet/dry season to breed etc. They require a small water setup according to experts as supposedly they can drown. I have not found this to be true with my own Brown Mantella colony as I have a lagoon type setup with about 2 inches of filtered water that I have seen them in soooooo trial and error there I guess. I hope you have a thriving mantella colony.