Welcome..............................
Hello!! My name is Darryl and I have devoted
this site to the Dart Frog Hobbyist. This site contains primarily factual information
on Poison Dart Frogs and Dart Frog Collecting. Dart frogs are an interesting
and exciting animal and I cannot spend enough time talking about them.
Much of my site is still under construction
please return soon as I plan to have an excellent photo section and more valuable
information.
Introduction............................
Poison dart frogs belong to the family Dendrobatidae. This
family contains over 170 different species of brown to highly colored frogs.
Hobbyists are most interested in the 65 more colorful species known as poison
dart or poison arrow frogs. These frogs belong to only 4 of the 8 genera of
the family Dendrobatidae. They are: Dendrobates, Epipedobates, Minyobates and
Phylobates.
Dart frogs live primarily in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.
They are a land dwelling
species requiring high humidity (70%+) to survive. Standing water is not a necessity
for these frogs but is often used in breeding. However, it is especially important
to realize dart frogs lack webbed feet and can easily drown in deep pools.
Arrow frogs are a tropical species, but temperature preferences vary widely
among species primarily because of the different habitats. Most prefer temperatures
between 70-80 F. Despite tropical temperatures, dart frogs do not have
specific lighting needs. In the wild most live on dark forest floors, where
very little light breeches the dense forest canopy.
Probably one of the most interesting characteristics of poison dart frogs are
their toxins. These toxins are a defense mechanism secreted by small glands
located primarily on the frogs back that protects the frog from would be predators.
The type of toxin secreted varies by species the most common toxins are pumiliotoxin,
gephyrotoxin, histrionicotoxin,
and the infamous batrachotoxin. Batrachotoxin, produced by P. terribilis, is
the most toxic of the dart frog poisons and one frog can produce enough
toxin to kill over a thousand people. However most darts lose their toxicity
when kept in captivity and captive bred animals are virtually free of all toxins.
While it is still not clear where dart frog toxins originate many believe diet
plays an important role.
In captivity, dart frogs primary food sources are fruit flies, termites, springtails,
and small crickets. Many hobbyists agree that a variety in diet is essential
to raising healthy dart species. Although it is proven that dart frogs can be
sustained with a diet consisting of only fruit flies. In either case it is important
to provide vitamin and mineral supplements. This is usually done by dusting
the food source with a rotating regimen of calcium and multivitamin (e.g. Repti-cal
and Herptivite). Many hobbyists are now experimenting with house flies, ants
and small beetles as viable food sources. In my experience, the hardest part
of keeping dart frogs is not keeping the frogs, but raising the food.
Breeding dart frogs in captivity, in most cases, is fairly easy. Most darts
when housed correctly will breed on there own with little or no intervention.
The exception to this rule seems to be with a group of darts known as obligatory
egg-feeders; containing the species D. pumilio, D. Lehmanni, D. Histrionicus,
D. sylvaticus, D. granuliferus,
D. occulator, D. arboreus and D. speciosus. These species cannot be reared
by conventional methods instead tadpole rearing is best left to the parents
who feed their offspring unfertile eggs as food. Conventional darts will lay
eggs in Petri dishes, film canisters or on leaves which can be removed and raised
separately.
Hot
Topics............................
There is an unspoken
responsibility to owning poison dart frogs. These animals are rapidly disappearing
from the wild and many dart frog enthusiasts feel it is our responsibility to
maintain populations true-to-nature, in hopes that species endangered or extinct
in the wild may survive. This may be the case with the ever popular D. azureus
which has a natural habitat of less than 3000 square feet. Some species,
though geographically separated, can interbreed to produce a poison dart cross
breed that is considered not true-to-nature. I do not cross different species myself nor do I have any interest in doing this but, many dart frog enthusiasts deplore
this act. I feel that intentionally creating a crossbreed is not a crime.
Many species do inter breed to produce crosses naturally; we call these
"Morphs". While pure bred darts will always be more desirable than
crosses I feel creating you own designer dart should be accepted.
Mixing
multiple species or dart frog morphs in one tank is also not recommended for
several reasons. First mixing can lead it unwanted breeding especially across
different morphs of the same species creating unwanted crosses. I choose not
to mix because frogs of different species often have different needs and behaviors.
For example, D. tinctorius tend to be voracious feeders unlike the more timid
D. auratus, which tend to hide while the bolder Tincs would eat all the food.
Another reason against mixing species is disease; the more frogs in one tank
the more likely they are to infect each other, especially if proper quarantine
procedures are not followed.
A flaw exists in naming dart frog morphs. Currently one convention of naming
dart morphs is by the location it was collected, primarily used to classify
D. tinctorius and D. pumilio. This method is flawed because several dart morphs
can and do exist in the same geographical areas from which they are named. Some
examples include, but are not limited to: "Table Mountain", "Olliemarie",
"Weygolt", "New Valley", "New River", and "TafelBurg".
Currently you can find very differently colored frogs with the same name across
the hobby. I own a Tafelburg, Weygoldt, Olliemarie D. tinctorius which
for ease I am calling a "Blonde Alanis". It has markings very similar
to the "Alanis" morph. The difference is in the coloring while "Alanis"
has bright yellow markings the "Blonde Alanis" has white. Therefore
I feel this more accurately describes this morph.
Dart
Frog Care......................
Look Before
You Leap!! Before
investing a single dollar on a dart frog I insist you do some research. These
are not easy animals to keep in captivity and research is the only way to insure
success. While I consider myself experienced I am by no means an expert. Despite
constant research and trials I have still failed. These are valuable "jewels
of the rainforest" and should be protected as such. In this section I will
discuss some basic care click on the links for a more in depth coverage.
Fruit Flies
The most important item to discuss
is feeding. It is most important because I believe it is the most difficult
part to master; several crashed cultures can lead to a quick death for young
darts. Fruit flies are the most common form of food for darts and you should
attempt raising a couple cultures before you get your first darts. Also having
a back up source that sells cultures or pinhead crickets is good.
Tank
Designs When establishing a good dart frog environment temperature
and humidity are very important to master. Dart frogs like many frogs breathe
through their skin. Their skin must remain moist to allow air to exchange. Higher
temperatures and good airflow required to simulate darts natural habitat is
often the enemy of high humidity. Several vivarium designs can easily achieve
this effect.
Health &
Maintainence Dart frogs are usually very simple
to maintain once an equilibrium is reached in their vivarium. However, these
are exotic animals that are susceptable to a variety of health problems including
but not limited to parasites, leasions, bacterial infections, fungi, and genetic
malformations. Unfortunately resorces are limited when treating such small animals
and many can die quickly without proper treatment.
Rewards Owning
darts will bring a variety of challenges at a high cost but will bring you ultimate
rewards. These are truely "Jewels of the Rainforests" and bring enjoyment
to all that keep them. This is very apperent if you ask any frogger "How
many frogs do you have? and do you want any more?"
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Last
Updated:
September 20, 2006