In my opinion, Dart frogs would have to be considered the king of the terrarium! Tiny, beautiful, and active during day time hours, these frogs are one of the best excuses out there for building a gorgeous over the top rainforest terrarium!! While many reptiles and amphibians may require a “jungley” environment, they generally do not lend them selves well to inhabiting a small to medium size heavily planted tank. These other animals all suffer from one or more shortcomings, the most basic of which is that most are simply too large and active, and in the course of normal activity they damage the plants and furnishing of the tank.  Another common downfall, of frogs in particular, is that most are nocturnal, and sleep all day.

     But for dart frogs more than perhaps any other reptile or amphibian, the opportunities to create a beautiful habitat are many.  In fact for many frog keepers, the terrarium becomes as important, or more so, than the frogs. These hobbyists may take months or even years building large elaborate terrariums, which become beautiful centerpieces for family rooms, game rooms, or offices.    
But while the basic requirements of a dart frog terrarium are pretty simple, and not that hard to achieve, it’s best to start simple, and develop your terrarium building skills over a few less elaborate tanks.  Smaller tanks, such as converted fish tanks, or the new front opening glass terrariums by Exo Terra and Zoo Med, are good places to start.     These tanks can house two to six frogs, depending on the tank size and the frogs, and offer a lot of opportunity for developing skills building water features and backgrounds.  Tanks can be built with materials from the hardware store, or specialty products made with the terrarium in mind. There are also kits and backgrounds that can be bought, which will make the process of building your first terrarium much easier and faster.  We offer several different options here on this site, and there are a variety of other options out there for you as well.

  Remember, terrarium building is an art form of its own, and while its easy enough to imagine a beautiful “slice of the rainforest” with water falls and lush vegetation, get a little experience with the smaller tanks before you go for the big one!!   
Below you will find pictures of tanks built by hobbyists just like you, people who had a vision of how they wanted their little rainforest terrarium to look, and after careful planning, they made it come to life. As time goes by we plan to continue to add to this collection, so check back.  For further inspiration, as well as tips and guides, check out the informative sheets on the Dart Frog Caresheets page for more information. Seek out information on other websites.   Once you get started on your own tank, get out the camera, and make notes on the process…..we’d love to see what you come up with! If we like it, we’ll post it here on this page for every one to see!


This Exo-Terra tank was constructed using two of our large terrarium rocks. These rocks make wonderful centerpieces for a foam background!