How to SET UP a DART FROG VIVARIUM

Hello everyone! Today I'll be showing you how I setup a my most recent dart frog vivarium. Remember to subscribe to the channel if you want to see more content like this in the future.
This is a new vivarium for my Ranitomeya amazonica 'French Guiana Yellow' trio. It has some growing in to do, but I think it'll look awesome in a few months. Let me know what you think about it in the comment section.
Instagram: / gecko_geek06
Plant list:
Neoregelia sp. 'Green'
Davallia fejeneesis
Alsobia dianthiflora
Anthurium warocqueanum
Masdevallia minuta
Epidedrum porpax
Various unknown ferns that appeared from Dusk Tropic's mossmix
Philodendron 'El Choco Red'
Monstera dissecta
Philodendron '69686'
Philodendron atabapoense
Philodendron 'Dwarf Red'
Rhaphidophora tenuis
Ficus pumila 'Quercifolia'
Microgramma vaccinifolia
Selaginella uncinata
Marcgravia umbellata
Begonia prismantocarpa
Monstera obliqua 'Surinam'
Maxillaria tenuifolia
Philodendron verrucosum
Anthurium vittarifolium
0:00 Intro
1:02 The enclosure itself
2:25 Background
3:40 Drainage layer
5:02 Hardscape
5:32 Substrate
7:59 Planting
10:46 Leaf litter
11:29 Plant species
13:40 Clean-Up Crew
13:59 Cycling (waiting to add animals)
14:34 Adding the frogs
15:12 Outro
Music:
Lakey Inspired - This Feeling
Lakey Inspired - Distant
Lakey Inspired - Days Like These

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

As I said in the video, my vivariums tend to look a bit boring in the beginning, but now, 10 months after this video was released, I can say that it’s been growing in really well! If you want to see some updated footage of how this vivarium looks today, feel free to check out my most recent collection tour: kzbin.info/www/bejne/favZl3useLqYpJI

[@cassalamon]

You have got to be the best vivarium channel on youtube right now. Beautiful setups, informative, clearly experienced keeper, good advice, good quality video and audio, and entertaining! Definitely keep it up!

[@mightymouse1111]

Easily the best poison dart frog channel on KZbin. Love your content, you are doing awesome!

[@mikeycbaby]

I'm a fish keeper but you make me want to branch out into dart frogs.

[@sharkloving_aquarist]

I was solely an aquarium hobbyist until recently. I'm even planning on studying ichthyology. However I recently got my first praying mantis! It's a nice refresher. Had my oldest betta die due to age so now I'm thinking of making his 10 gal into a invert tank. It's worth it!

[@EagleSMK]

@3:23 Only small exposed beads of silicone will fully cure in 24hour. Cases like this where it's trapped on both sides and preferably a larger bead it can take up to two weeks to completely cure. Great videos, thanks for all the useful information.

[@shaw2424]

Philodendron 69686 is an ascension number for Missouri botanical garden. Technically now it’s philodendron sp. “big ears” but most people still say 69686

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

That’s very interesting, thank you for the information.

[@thejungledrake]

American living in Sweden here! The Clas Ohlson tip was wonderful! I'm keeping a pair of DT azureus as my first dart frogs

[@dmc3489]

Excellent video! Your expertise has grown immensely over the last two years as clearly shown in your videos. Thank you for your efforts and for sharing with us all. Cheers!

[@kolbehoneyman9419]

Love your videos! Cant wait until the next one

[@frankdizenzo1051]

Your videos are so detailed. Really well done!

[@danasmith8557]

Nice work it's going to look beautiful it the plants grow

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Brilliant! Great video

[@yurrrrgj2783]

Very informative video. Thank you

[@tomsgreengallery]

You’ve inspired me to start with my first pair of dendrobates tinctorius azereus. Thanks for all the info bro, is very appreciated 😁

[@georgeschannel6168]

Very good video! Well explained and easily digestible.

[@stephsexoticpets]

Great video! I've had dart frogs for almost 1 year & appreciate any & all dart frog related content! I have r. imitator "tarapoto", I started with three and now have 10+ and more on the way! I've had to learn fast lol. not a lot of video content on thumbnail species , mostly the larger ones!

[@amphibicast9165]

Great tutorial

[@alexandrajones7]

Really love ur content keep up the good work

[@Toshio13337]

You just earned a sub!

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Thank you!

[@injust1ce2325]

Great video! Can you link the products in the description. I'm specifically looking for the vivariums you are using. Thank you and keep up the good work!

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

The vivariums I’m using are Exo Terras and they can be found from pretty much any local pet store (with reptiles) in the world. Linking in the description probably wouldn’t be very useful, since buying from international companies would mean a higher shipping price compared to buying locally (at least for heavy items like large vivariums and substrate bags). The other products (substrate, geotextile fabric, lighting, cork bark etc.) are mostly sourced from local garden centers and/or pet stores

[@Solhall]

Hello!, Great videos, i am on my way to make my first Vivarium for a future pair of Dart Frogs, and i wonder where you got a hold of the plants here in sweden, or atleast your favorite place to get them? having a hard time to find alot of it, atleast as young plants, Ha ett gått nytt år!

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Jag köper mest av: Privatpersoner online (kolla terrariedjur.se och pilgift.se samt Facebook om du är ute efter ovanliga aroider) Säljare på SDS groddagar Bens Jungle (Tyskland, dock lite halvsketchy då man kan få nemertiner och annat dumt). Om du vill kan jag packa ihop ett billigt paket med sticklingar och skicka med heatpack. Bara att maila [e-mail]

[@celeste062389]

Awesome videos and beautiful tanks! I have a question about the regular 6500k light bulbs. Do red plants get really red with these light bulbs?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

I'm not entirely sure because I don't really have any of the plant species that can get more red with more light. I'd assume they can get really red if they're really close to these bulbs, but there might be better lighting out there if red plants is the goal.

[@alberto2alvarez14]

Hi I love you video do you have a written ingredients for your substitute ?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Around 6:17 in the video I've written out the recipe on the screen

[@stephsexoticpets]

What substrate would work for froglet grow out containers? I've really only seen sphag moss used.

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Sphagnum is quite common for froglets because many clean out their froglet bins quite often, tossing it out every time. I still don't see the point of it and the risk is still there. I'll definitely make a video about froglet care next season once the next group of tadpoles come out of water (I only pull eggs in "waves" so all my tadpoles are around the same age, it has it's benefits but unfortunately it also means that video will have to wait). The short version: I keep them the exact same way as my adults except in smaller vivariums (usually 12'' cubes) with no background and more overgrown plants. Same drainage layer substrate as the one I built in the video, and then I just put a ton of plants in there so it gets really overgrown.

[@stephsexoticpets]

@@Tropical_Tutorials Thank you! I have trouble finding appropriate grow out bins and lighting for them. I cant wait for your videos. There's a lot of videos about breeding larger species, but not the smaller r. imitator dart frogs who's eggs are white not black etc. I LOVE your content. I send it to people who have bought frogs from me. Keep it up!

[@TerrariumCartel]

Can you use ABG mix for the substrate?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Yes

[@MCLegendTBS]

I'm currently working on my first vivarium and I've got a question and if you could point me in the right direction I'd really apricate it. when it comes to making the background, does it matter what kind of material its made of? You mentioned that you use cork bark and I've seen that some people use Insolation foam panels. Is there a general rule to follow?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

There are tons of options. Unfortunately, there's no rule of thumb. It depends on a lot of things, like personal taste, style and what kind of vivarium you want. I'm not even entirely sure on what method I think is the best one for me, it really depends on a lot of things. I like going with a flat, readymade background made up by some natural material. Before I used mainly coco fiber liner, but that breaks down and falls apart after a few years and it's not the plants' favorite material to grow on. I've also used a lot of hygrolon, which is a great material aside from the fact that it's quite ugly. I've only recently started using cork bark panels. You can't really put any weight on them (by siliconing heavy branches to them or something like that) because it would probably break, but I think it's quite good for the way I use it. It probably won't last forever though. Using expanding foam or styrofoam, which is carved and covered in silicone and some dry dirt, is a common option. I like to avoid it because a) I'm lazy (as I said, the plants cover it all in time anyways) and b) there's a risk that there will be crevices where frogs can get stuck. It can definitely be done well though and it's a common option that works for many people. An interesting option to consider, which I've tried to stick to as much as possible recently, is having a backgroundless vivarium. This makes everything easier if you have to clean out or redo the vivarium in the future, and if you set it up well it can look just as good as a vivarium with a background. However, to have a good backgroundless vivarium, you need tons of hardscape and plants (you should preferably let it become very overgrown), not just some flat ground with some substrate, light coming in from all angles and zero use for the height. I only do backgroundless for small vivariums though (18'' tall max), because in larger vivariums I think it's harder to utilize the entire height and volume of the tank with this technique.

[@mikeycbaby]

Do you use humidity gauges/ hygrometers in your tanks?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

No, I actually don’t. I talk about this in the Humidity-segment in the complete dart frog care guide that you can find on my channel.

[@mikeycbaby]

@@Tropical_Tutorials thanks 🙏🏾 I’ll rewatch it.

[@themountain59]

What lights do you use?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

I’m using the lights that I mentioned in the video. Anything that’s 6500k (and doesn’t emit too much heat) works well

[@MrAhlback]

Hejsan ! Jag har en fundering och det är vad du tycker är bästa bottensubstrat blandningen för en burk med pilgifts grodor och massa levande växter?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Jag går igenom det i videon och ;) För att översätta ingredienserna till svenska är det 60% bark, 30% pimpsten och 10% biokol

[@MrAhlback]

Tusen tack för svaret jag har läst och samlat info i snart 15 år om pilgifts grodor och nu väntar jag på bygg material så jag kan sätta ihop två burkar 😊

[@SkullK---ht]

at 1:15 you describe putting plastic to improve the lid, what kind of plastic do you use?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Just getting some proper glass pieces cut out is relatively cheap and definitely worth it. If you remove the top lid, there’s a perfect edge to lay down the glass pieces on. Get two glass pieces, covering half of the tank each, with a small gap between them (where you can silicone a ventilation strip made out of stainless steel mesh) and you’re good to go. However, I’m very lazy and I’ve occasionally used plastic film that I’ve wrapped around the lid. It works for really small enclosures (I only do it for my froglet growout tanks) or as a temporary solution, but I wouldn’t recommend it otherwise. I’ve also used laminating plastic that I ran through the laminating machine (without putting any paper between it) to lay down on top of the mesh, and it’s what I did for this tank, but Exo Terra used to not use stainless steel mesh for their lids up until a few years ago iirc, so unless your tank is brand new, it might not work to lay plastic on top, since condensation on the plastic would cause rust in the mesh.

[@SkullK---ht]

@@Tropical_Tutorials Thanks for the quick reply, I see on etsy some 3d printed frames that have mesh for ventilation at the front or back instead of in the middle, fitting one piece of glass rather than 2. is the ventilation more effective in the middle of the lid rather than at the edge?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

@@SkullK---ht It should make no difference

[@Ozzy2341]

Do you use any misting system ? Can you please recommend brand / type

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Yes, I use a misting system from the Swedish company Dusk Tropic. In most other countries, MistKing is probably the one that’s best out of the ones that are readily available. Generally, stay away from the cheapest systems, such as the Exo Terra Moonsoon. They don’t give good pressure (the Multi, which is supposed to be able to handle 6 nozzles can barely give enough pressure for 2) and they usually stop working after a while.

[@ianjennings2595]

Exo Terra Monsoon are great choice too

[@irp7861]

Måste man ha reptilbark eller funkar det med vanlig täckbark?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Annat funkar, men gillar inte att täckbarksbitarna brukar vara gigantiska. Kanske går att hacka sönder eller något, men jag brukar köpa något mindre

[@Badtaste6]

where do you buy all the plants?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

A lot of them are from other hobbyists who I meet at our Swedish Frog Day. Some are also from Ben’s Jungle and other webshops

[@carleensmith5359]

Could you use Zeolite instead of the Pumice?

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

I’m not sure since I’ve never used it, but looks like it might be suitable. Might be heavy though, which wouldn’t be ideal, but I’ve never worked with the material so I might be wrong.

[@carleensmith5359]

@@Tropical_Tutorials Thank you for your reply. After much trial and error I found medium sized Pumice today.

[@irp7861]

hej, vet du något tips på hur man kan ta bort vattenfläckar från glasväggarna? vilken temperatur ska man ha och hur kan man få upp den till vad den ska vara. Hur kan man få det att bli så pass fuktigt så att de trivs. bra video!

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Kalkfläckar på glasrutorna är lätta att ta bort med citronsyra, som man givetvis får skölja bort sen. Lättast är dock att ha osmosfilter för vattnet (bra för både dysorna och grodorna, men kanske inte obligatoriskt beroende på ditt kranvatten) så slipper man kalkfläckar helt. Om du är bekväm i rummet är grodorna förmodligen bekväma i sitt terrarium. Någonstans kring 20-24 grader är lagom, och över 26 längre perioder kan vara farligt (men har man flera mikroklimat är det ovanligt att hela terrariet blir över 26). Det är väldigt ovanligt att vi i Sverige behöver värma upp våra grodterrarium, mer än ett par grader som kommer naturligt från t.ex. spillvärme från lamporna. Problemet är snarare det motsatta under sommaren beroende på vilket rum de står i. Fuktigheten hålls uppe med regelbunden sprayning (för hand eller med regnsystem, rekommenderar dock inte fogger) och någorlunda begränsad ventilation (man vill ha korsventilation, men absolut inte ett helt öppet nättak). Om du har ett terrarium med nättak kan jag nästintill garantera att det inte kommer gå att hålla uppe luftfuktigheten om du inte byter ut nätet mot delvis glas (behåll bara en smal strimma med någon ventilation) eller lägger någonting över det. Allt detta går jag in på i lite mer detalj i min video "In Depth Poison Dart Frog Care Guide" :)

[@irp7861]

tack!@@Tropical_Tutorials

[@irp7861]

vart någonstans köpte du dessa växter? @@Tropical_Tutorials

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

@@irp7861 Jag är lika mycket växtsamlare som djursamlare, så jag köper mestadels från privatpersoner via diverse växtcommunityn på Facebook, samt den tyska webbshoppen Bens Jungle. Finns förstås vanliga arter som är lättare att få tag på på närmare håll också

[@alberto2alvarez14]

8:13 you talk about taking the soil off plants do I use water? Lol I know this must be a fullish question I just want to do things right.

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Yeah, if you were to get a potted plant from a garden center, I'd prefer washing away the soil before putting it in the vivarium in case there are fertilizers or pesticides in it. Just rinsing it off with water does the main job and it's probably what most people do, but it doesn't entirely eliminate the risk for pests or pesticides (which would require a quarantine period. Once again, most people probably don't take it that seriously, but SerpaDesign has an excellent video on that). I personally basically only buy plants from other plant/dart frog hobbyists, making quarantine unnecessary. Cuttings are also safer than buying a whole plant with soil (cuttings are pretty much always fine as long as the leaves haven't been directly sprayed with pesticides, which isn't normally the case when they're grown at home by some plant collector). Of course you could also buy a plant from a garden center, grow it out on the windowsill and eventually take a cutting for the vivarium

[@rudij6141]

hi, sehr gutes video. könntest du bitte die pflanzen schriftlich auflisten? mein englisch ist zu schlecht, um es zu verstehen im video. vielen dank

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Alle Pflanzennamen sind in die Beschreibung.

[@rudij6141]

​@@Tropical_Tutorials thx

[@ClawedJord350]

FIRST

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

Indeed

[@sunshinecarnivores1919]

Who cares if your first!

[@ClawedJord350]

@@sunshinecarnivores1919 I hope your day gets better ❤️