went 2 herp show today

[Hummingbird2]

well i went to the all ohio reptile show today. i wasn't quite sure what i was looking for but i like small geckos, anoles, and was interested in newts, salamanders, and dart frogs. i was upset that there weren't *any* sals or newts!
there were 2 tables there with dart frogs and the one table had a little wider selection than the other. i asked the guy how much they were (the green/black and blue/black autarus were $25 - not bad). i asked if they could be housed together and said i had heard that males would wrestle and that dart frogs should be kept in breeding pairs or alone. he said they would wrestle but that they wouldn't hurt each other. is this true? he said they could be housed together - even different colors (as long as they were all the same species, just diff color morphs). is this true?
i went to the other table and looked around. had some cute ones, too, but was only selling them in pairs (this was the last hour of the show) so i went back to the first table and the woman was there this time. she was there earlier when i was talking to man and heard everything i had said/asked, so i figured she'd recognize me from 10 minutes ago. i picked up a really cool green/black auratus which was actually kind of green/blue/black. very awesome.
she asks me if i've ever had dart frogs before and i said 'no'. she said (pretty bluntly) 'well then you don't want these guys'. i said 'well i've had tree frogs before'. she said 'well these are totally different animals and you've got to have a cage ready and you've got to know how to make fruitfly media and breed flies and keep the humidity high with the right substrate and food items and everything. they're not for beginners.' she said it in a very rude manner, as well. i said 'oh i know they're very different from tree frogs and i've done a lot of research on the internet and i've heard that the auratus are hardy and good beginner dart frogs and i have all the stuff at home for a proper cage.' she looked away and started cleaning things up to leave! what a royal b*tch! she was just done selling for the day and didn't give a rat's *ss about me! i think a lot may have to do with the fact that i look like i'm 14, too, even though i'm a 21 year old college senior. so anyway after she quit talking to me i just walked off saying 'fine you lose my sale'. too bad the other guy was just selling pairs. i shoulda' just gotten a pair, then. whatever.
so are dart frogs, like, impossible to care for? i've had experience with 4 other kinds of frogs (only, 2 being tree frog species, however) and i know darts need lots of hiding places, high humidity (80% - 90%), warmth (75F - 85F), and at least one feeding per day of small prey like pinheads, ants, and flightless fruit flies. i know they are very different from tree frogs, but at least i have experience with them! what was her problem? is she right? should i not get dart frogs?

cynthia - hurt and kinda confused

EDITED TO ASK: how big do auratus get? how big do mantellas get?

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[LdyDrgn]

Cynthia, people who breed dart frogs are VERY serious about them! Just as we are about our snakes. You can't just buy a dart frog, take it home THEN set up the cage. They are much more demading than that. You have to put the cage together, get the moss growing and have the fly cultures all ready to go BEFORE you buy your frogs. These people deal with "impulse buyers" all the time, and after a while it gets tiring to be polite to everyone. They like to talk to people who are serious about the hobby. To her it probably looked like you were another "ooh neat, these are pretty, I'll take these home with me." You probably should have just asked how to go about getting the cage together so you could get the frogs eventually. Work a few shows with some beloved species and you'll understand. It isn't easy.....

Anyway, yes, she was right. They are not for beginners even if you have kept tree frogs. I would like to keep these one day, but I am totally intimidated by their care requirements!

Check out Quality Captives website for more info.

[Hummingbird2]

well i do understand that - i do i do i do, *but* the guy there was totally nice and she was such a b*tch! she could have explained things to me instead of being rude and then just plain ignoring me. if i did that at any of the jobs i've worked at i would have been fired on the spot. you get more flies with honey, you know?
besides, with the way she said things i would have just bought from the other guy if he had been selling them singly. she didn't want to help me learn how to care for them, she just wanted me out of her face. if they are sick and tired of seeing newbies and impulse shoppers around who 'ask stupid questions and can't take care of the animals' then why aren't they more prepared for it? make up a care sheet for crying out loud and give it to me and tell me to read it over, get some things ready, and "i hope to see you next month - thanks for stopping". not "oh you don't want these - BYE!!". you have to agree that would be a much better way to handle things . . .
and if these animals aren't right for me at this time, why didn't anyone say anything when i asked this week? i had a post asking what i should get and i mentioned darts and no one said anything against them! no one said much of anything, really, except a few people.

EDITED TO SAY: i did check out QC and i think someone else here recommended them. they're even near ohio!

[LdyDrgn]

not "near" Ohio... IN Ohio. They are fairly close to Columbus. They have an impressive breeding colony.

[gemisnake]

I agree. I sell at a swap and deal with impulse buyers a lot. Anyways I am always really nice, because you want to keep the customer happy. If I think they are not prepared I always have good caresheets with me that list websites and books on the type of reptile I am selling and I let them know that maybe they should set up the cage, read about them and come back at the next months swap to pick up the animal. I get a lot of people who take the info and then come back and buy from me in a month or two. It makes me happy because they go from being "cool looking animal I want it, to "Wow I cant wait to care for it and watch it grow" and sometimes I get people who change their mind from one tyype of animal to another that they feel they can care for better. I dont see why she would have been so rude, not a good way to keep customers or get a potential customer.

[Hummingbird2]

well then why does the website say they are at the indy and ky shows and sometimes special arrangements can be made to pick up at cols? you'd think they'd always be at cols and could make special arrangemenets for ky and indy!?

but anyway, if i wasn't prepared (which i apparently wasn't) she should have been - she's the pro here and should be more prepared for "idiots" and less rude to potential customers.

thanks for the support, gemisnake.

[LdyDrgn]

They no longer attend the Columbus show...I don't remember why.

[Hummingbird2]

it might have something to do with the raid last year, i dunno . . .