Dendro Dave, resident MAD SCIENTIST from Dendroboard...HERE!

Hi people... Figured It was time to introduce myself.

Be sure to check out my new vivarium special FX thread on your forum here:
http://geckoforums.net/f175-vivariums/94521.htm

And my Youtube channel here:
dmarksvr - YouTube

SNEAK PREVIEW:
[video=youtube;FXi8j-1qnt0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXi8j-1qnt0[/video]


I have been keeping mantella and dartfrogs mostly for the last 9-10 years? Eh..I've lost track Before the major ice storm that ravaged Oklahoma a few years ago I probably had what was the largest Dart/mantella collection in the state...at least the most diverse species wise I believe. I've kept 6-8 species of mantella and over a dozen dart species/morphs.During this time I have also kept a few newts and salamanders...mostly newts. And I have kept them off and on since I was a kid. During my life I have kept Fire bellied newts, fire bellied toad, paddle tails, hong kong warty, a wc tiger salamander that didn't thrive from the start and promptly died, eastern newts, California newts, and probably a couple more I'm forgetting.

I've also kept a dozen or so different gecko species, mostly day geckos of one type or another. I'm mostly focused on rebuilding my Dart frog collection since the Ice storm killed most of the animals I had. I currently keep 6 red galact darts,2 blue azureus darts, along with 2 ferrets and a Fennec Fox. Trio of red trivittatus and 5 green aurotaenia coming soon. No Geckos, newts or salamanders at this time but I'm looking to get a GFP axolotl at some point and I'd like to try building some enclosures using thermoelectric cooling to keep some Pseudotriton ruber or other cooler temp varieties at some point. Also interested in keeping some of the more colorful Anolis species.

Anyways here are a few vivs I've built and animals I've kept over the years...








Special guest appearance from Echo...


I've gotten into coming up with FX ideas for vivariums lately. Here are some of my more interesting DB threads...

Fluorescent and exotic minerals and semi precious stone use in viv construction....
Exotic minerals and semi precious stone use in viv construction.... - Dendroboard

(More) new special FX viv ideas...(Firefly lights, and fiber optic FX for plants)
(More) new special FX viv ideas...(Firefly lights, and fiber optic FX for plants)) - Dendroboard

Firefly lights installed in Hex (With Video)
Firefly lights installed in Hex (With Video) - Dendroboard

Possible ways to create glowing FX for LIVE moss...
Possible ways to create glowing FX for LIVE moss... - Dendroboard

Bioluminescent animals for the vivarium...
Bioluminescent animals for the vivarium... - Dendroboard

Glowing Desert Viv Finished...
Glowing Desert Viv Finished... - Dendroboard

MORE FX...Model train scenery use(fake rock?) and simulated rippling water fx light
MORE FX...Model train scenery use(fake rock?) and simulated rippling water fx light - Dendroboard

And you can check out my vivariums and a few of my animals in these 2 Flickr galleries...
My galleries...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53171039@N07/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22373860@N02/


Anyways thats me. Don't know how active I'll be here since I spend a lot of time on Dendroboard.com and Dartfrogz.com or Dartden.com forums but...HI

Welcome to GF. I love the frogs, though they're too wet for me to want to keep them.

Aliza

Thanks!....To wet? Hmm... well you can do a vivarium with no water feature...the frogs are fine as long as the soil has some decent moisture, and the viv has a glass or otherwise sealed top with maybe a 1 inch strip of screen or porous foam for ventilation area...maybe put a small fan on timer to blow over the vent strip occasionally to facilitate air exchange. Mist it once or twice a week...actually a well sealed viv with water in the false bottom/drainage layer can go over a month without misting and still maintain 70%+ humidity...many froggers keep them at 90+ humidity but that isn't really optimal...there is this misconception that they have to have near 100% humidity and it isn't true people are finally realizing. Basically a tropical viv isn't even half the work of a freshwater aquarium (you never clean a viv...it is a self sustaining ecosystem)...way way way easier then saltwater. Mist every so often, feed the animals, trim some plants occasionally...that is it...that is keeping a tropical viv...you're done

Thanks for the info. I actually have a number of planted tanks including tropical (day geckos), temperate (Rhacs) and "savannah" (African fat tails), none of which I ever clean. Out of room for new projects at this point, though.

Aliza

Rad.... and ya been there. For now though I got plenty to do because an ice storm wiped out most of my collection a few years ago and money was tight so I basically let my vivs go, since no animals were in most of them....now lots of remodeling to do...and build this super fx viv I've been collecting parts for.

Wow those tanks are super cool. Awesome work!