Poison Dart Frogs

Poison Dart Frogs (or Poison Arrow Frogs) are colorful frogs native to Central and South America. Their bright colors, interesting behavior and relative ease of breeding in attractive terrariums makes them a great terrarium inhabitant.

Are Poison Dart Frogs poisonous?

Some species have toxins in their skin which can be used to lace arrows used in hunting. Only a few species, most notably Phyllobates terribilis, have strong enough toxins to be used in hunting. Thus, the name poison dart is a misnomer for most species, but it is a cool enough name that it has stuck. While most species are not extremely poisonous, most species do have less than lethal toxins in them. This can create hesitation when people are first introduced to them. (It makes sense that people are generally wary of poisonous things). Even the most deadly of species acquire their toxins from their native environment and thus, captive bred specimens are not toxic at all (as far as we know). However, all amphibians can carry bacteria which might make you sick and shouldn't be routinely handled anyway, so don't go licking these frogs!

Why keep them?

Many Poison Dart Frogs have very interesting colors and behaviors, which is a major reason for their popularity. The reason for their bright colors isn't entirely clear. It might have to do with their poison and it might have to do with mating behavior. Both are probably important. Poison dart frogs come in nearly every color and pattern imaginable. Bright yellow, green, red and blue. Striped, spotted, solid and every combination in between. Because poison dart frogs come in so many varieties, and because they can be kept in such naturalistic enclosures, people tend to frown on creating hybrids and selective breeding.

Poison arrow frogs also have some very interesting behaviors. Here is an example. When a run of the mill when a frog or toad mates, the male holds on to the back of the female (called amplexus), and they lay the eggs together in the water, then leave them to develop on their own. The situation is quite a bit more complicated in poison dart frogs. For example, the poison dart frog Ranitomeya imitator mating ritual goes like this... The male frog spots a female frog and he starts chirping. This attracts the female to follow him, and he leads her to a secluded spot. He continues to chirps and jump around in circles and eventually coaxes her to lay two or three eggs on a leaf. He then fertilizes the eggs and the pair leaves the eggs alone for the night. The eggs will take about two weeks to develop, during which time the pair regularly visits the eggs and keeps them moist by peeing on them.

After about two weeks, the eggs have developed from little blobs into little tadpoles, and the tadpoles wriggle through the clear jelly surrounding them, until they are sitting on top of it. The next time the male frog comes to water the eggs, he will notice the tadpole has wiggled free. Sitting next to the tadpole, he will proceed to scoop the tadpole onto his back. He does this by arching his back inward, like a shovel, towards the tadpole. The tadpole then swims up onto the male frogs back. Once securely stuck to the males back, the male frog hops away with his baby (sometimes called a tadpole pack). The frog, with his pack on his back, now must take the tadpole to water, where the tadpole will grow and metamorphosize. The preferred water for these frogs is not a pond or stream. Instead, these frogs prefer just a splash of water found between the leaves of water holding plants such as bromeliads, called phytotelmata. When the male find a suitable water source, he will dip into the water, freeing the tadpole to swim away.

But the frogs work is not yet done. The water that the tadpole is not living in it only a few ounces... enough to keep the tadpole wet, but not enough to supply food to the tadpole. Therefore, the parents must regularly stop by to feed the tadpole. The male frog will perform daily rounds to see if the tadpole is hungry. He dips his lower body into the water, and if the tadpole is hungry, the tadpole will nibble on the male frog. Understanding the signal, the male frog will now hop out of the water and start calling the female. Eventually the female frog will come over to the male frog, who instructs her that the baby is hungry. To feed the tadpole, the mother frog will lay a few infertile eggs for it to eat. The couple will continue to feed the tadpole this way for a few months, until the tadpole has metamorphosized. All of this is readily observable in your terrarium, and doesn't even require any sort of special seasonal cycling. These guys really make awesome vivarium inhabitants.