Feeding tropical woodlice.

[George1994]

Hi guys,

I am hoping to get one or two Dart frogs in the future and was wondering how hard it is to get a good producing culture of tropical woodlice for food? How many woodlice will an adult eat in a day? What species do well when feeding off of tropical woodlice?

Thanks

[George1994]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/16QAZQ8RO5ZWI

This is the list of things that I have so far on my amazon basket, the basics for a set up, minus the live plants. Is there anything more you think I need? Thanks.

[aldebono]

Isopods will eat a variety of foods such as fish flakes, cardboard, pieces of fruit and vegetables. They do not eat mold like springtails, but they are a good janitor species that will thrive in your tank.

Your shopping list looks pretty good. You will just need to order fruit flies, fruit fly media, vitamin and calcium supplement as a staple for your darts.

As far as the light, IDK what the bulb is, but it needs to be 6500 Kelvin (K). That is the optimal growth spectrum for plants. Also, you will need to cover that mesh top of the viv to keep the humidity in. I would go with a coco hut instead of the hide, and you actually don't need the water dish as your humidity should be 80-100% anyway.

[George1994]

Isopods will eat a variety of foods such as fish flakes, cardboard, pieces of fruit and vegetables. They do not eat mold like springtails, but they are a good janitor species that will thrive in your tank.

Your shopping list looks pretty good. You will just need to order fruit flies, fruit fly media, vitamin and calcium supplement as a staple for your darts.

As far as the light, IDK what the bulb is, but it needs to be 6500 Kelvin (K). That is the optimal growth spectrum for plants. Also, you will need to cover that mesh top of the viv to keep the humidity in. I would go with a coco hut instead of the hide, and you actually don't need the water dish as your humidity should be 80-100% anyway.

So you don't think that feeding tropical woodlice will a good enough diet for a dart frog? They have a calcium exoskeleton and if fed oat flakes will be gut loaded and have plenty of Calcium and Iron.

Yeah, a coco hut would probably would most probably look better. I am currently looking up types of live pants which will be suitable for the setup.

EDIT: The bulb is 6700 Kelvin (K)

Do you know of any species of dart frog that live well off a woodlice diet? I will mix it up a bit every now and again, giving him variety of prey. I have ages to plan, the Kempton Park reptile show will probably be in mid august again!

[aldebono]

The problem is going to be producing enough isopods to be a complete staple for your darts. They are generally slow to mature and reproduce. Flightless/Wingless fruit flies are going to be a much better staple, and you can mix up the diet with bean beetles, isopods, springtails, wax/silk worms and in some species, roach nymphs.

Actually, you could feed adult Phylobates roach nymphs exclusively as they are a larger frog that can and will take a larger prey item. The only problem with roaches is the same/different than crickets. Roaches may escape while feeding and bury into the soil where they will grow quite large. Crickets will do the same but have a tendency to chew on frogs when they get hungry.

The fruit flies can live through a life cycle in about two weeks and produce thousands of flies in that time period from only 100 original adults. And there are many different types of flies, but two species.

I could guestimate that your frog will eat around 100 to 200 flies a day depending on the size of the species of frog and fly!

[George1994]

Hmm, so it seems like fruit flies are the only real option for it then, maybe offer him some tropical woodlice everynow and again.

I will find out the type of frog I am after and the type of fly and see whatcyou think as to daily intake

I'll research cultivation of fruit flies in the mean time. Speak to you soo

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[aldebono]

Also, looking at that exo, I would get a larger one. First you need to find out what species of frog you want, and then buy the tank for their specific needs. Darts are diurnal, active and territorial. I would get a larger viv even for just a single frog, as they are a joy to watch, but I would suggest a 20 gallon tall tank to be the minimum for a pair of tinctorius or a VERY well planned out 10 gallon. Different species are going to use different areas of the viv as well. you need to know if you are going to get a species that is terrestrial or arboreal.

[George1994]

Also, looking at that exo, I would get a larger one. First you need to find out what species of frog you want, and then buy the tank for their specific needs. Darts are diurnal, active and territorial. I would get a larger viv even for just a single frog, as they are a joy to watch, but I would suggest a 20 gallon tall tank to be the minimum for a pair of tinctorius or a VERY well planned out 10 gallon. Different species are going to use different areas of the viv as well. you need to know if you are going to get a species that is terrestrial or arboreal.

I'm going to bed now, tomorrow I will have a good think about what species I want and how many I want to house! I woll follow up in this thread, so keep ya eyes open Thanks so much for the help!

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[aldebono]

Edit: Exo and other brands come in larger tanks, but I don't know the sizes, so something similar in floor space to a 20 gallon.

Also, before anyone jumps on me for being a "fruit fly purist", I am sure other feeders could work, where there is a will, there is a way. HOWEVER, you will be much happier with a readily available feeder such as fruit flies, especially for a first timer.

ALSO- Start making "practice" cultures before you get your frogs or make contact with someone local who will have backup flies. Culture crash does happen or if you get busy and forget to make cultures.

Darts are a lot of fun, you will soon find out that the hobby is just as much about bugs, plants, and lighting as it is about the frogs.

[George1994]

Edit: Exo and other brands come in larger tanks, but I don't know the sizes, so something similar in floor space to a 20 gallon.

Also, before anyone jumps on me for being a "fruit fly purist", I am sure other feeders could work, where there is a will, there is a way. HOWEVER, you will be much happier with a readily available feeder such as fruit flies, especially for a first timer.

ALSO- Start making "practice" cultures before you get your frogs or make contact with someone local who will have backup flies. Culture crash does happen or if you get busy and forget to make cultures.

Darts are a lot of fun, you will soon find out that the hobby is just as much about bugs, plants, and lighting as it is about the frogs.

I've put some thought into it and the frog I want to get will either be the Maranon poison dart frog or the Blue poison dart frog.



These are the flies that I can get from a local place, are either of these appropriate?

And when you say starting a culture, do you mean get one going, then transfer some to another pot for them to breed, then transfer them afrer a while to another? Meaning that you can have 5 different pots on the go so if you have a culture collapse then you have a backup?

Thank you.

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