Buying Dart Frog Guide

Trader of Private Breeder?

Dependant upon your financial position, location and spare time, this question is very hard to answer. Below is a very quick summery of the Trader/Private Breeder pros and cons.

Traders tend to:

• Be more expensive than hobbyists / private breeders
• Have less information about the origin of the frogs for sale (some traders frogs are imported from abroad)
• Have less information on the requirements the frogs need in captivity (the information they provide tends to be quite generalised)
• Have a wider range of frogs available at any one time
• Often can offer a better refund policy if the animal you buy dies

Private Breeders tend to:

• Be hard to get hold of
• Often concentrate on breeding a small selection of frogs species
• Be cheaper than Traders
• Have more information on the origin of the frogs for sale - often bred by themselves
• Have more information on the requirements the frogs need in captivity

My advice would be to select the species of frog your are looking for, and try to find a private trader with a good reputation who breeds the frog you have chosen. If you are unsure of a trader or private breeder it might be worth asking questions on the DW forum.

Its very easy if you are new to the hobby, to jump at the very first dart frog you see for sale. Please, for the frogs best heath, do a reasonable amount of research on the Trader/private breeder who is selling the frog in question. Following the above 'guidelines' will normally save you money and or hassle in the long term.

What to look for in a frog?

Having found a supplier of the frog you have thoroughly researched, try and arrange a time you can view the animal(s). If you are not able to do this for whatever reason, a high quality digital photo of the animal(s) normally will suffice.

A dart frog, no matter its age, should be:

• Alert
• Well balanced
• 'Plump' in weight

Unfortunately when a dart frog falls sick, it can be a long hard battle, often resulting in the frogs death. Which is why you should always start with a healthy frog whenever possible. The frog will be stressed highly during its move to its new vivarium and this will be accentuated in an unhealthy frog.

If you are able to see the 'keepers' other frog stock, take the opportunity to assess how everything is kept and to what standard. This can be very helpful in assessing the health of your 'to be' frog.

(...more will be added to this section in the near future.)

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