Pedigree of dart frogs, common species and their characteristic features, tips on the content and menu for a house frog, purchase and price. If you are one of those people who love everything bright, colorful and unusual, then such a pet as a dart frog is perfect for you. It is unlikely that someone from your social circle will have such an original pet.
In addition to their extraordinary appearance, which immediately catches the eye and remains in memory, these small amphibians are also notable for the fact that they do not require increased attention from you, a large amount of living space and do not show capriciousness at all during feeding. In addition, they are quite quiet, which is also their considerable advantage.
But before you bring this extraordinary living specimen into your home, it is better to get to know him better.
Origin and native habitats of poison dart frogs
Looking at these amazing frogs, one involuntarily gets the impression that these unique creatures came to us from a distant "somewhere". And if their previous place of residence was not another planet of the solar system, then the fact that the frog just left the page of a book with bright illustrations is for sure. But people engaged in science do not think so at all, in the process of studying such bright frogs, they classified these representatives of the animal kingdom into the class of amphibians, the order of tailless and the family of dart frogs. The discovery of these small multicolored "pop-eyes" dates back to around 1865.
If we talk about the native lands of the poison dart frogs, they differ depending on one or another type of frog. And in the most diverse corners of our globe, there are over 170 species of these peculiar amphibians.
Types of poison dart frogs and their characteristic features
Sacred tree frog
Dendrobates leucomelas is a very original amphibian that can be found in various places in distant Venezuela, sometimes they travel in the direction of Brazil. As for the area where they prefer to settle, it can be dry hot plains, practically devoid of vegetation and tropical forests, where torrential rains fall almost all year round, they do not bypass mountain locations, these eccentrics feel absolutely comfortable at altitude 800-1000 m above sea level.
In their native territories, these cute creatures spend most of their time on the surface of the earth. During the daytime, when it is especially hot, frogs try to hide in shady, humid places. If these small "animals" live in more arid places, then from extreme heat they save themselves on the banks of various reservoirs. They can get along in the depths of rocky debris, old decayed trees and their rhizomes. Such amphibians do not really like to be alone, therefore, most often they unite in an average group size.
By their nature, poison dart frogs are very poisonous creatures, but their specific glands produce their secret, only when the frogs are in any danger, if there is no such danger for a long time, then this natural "weapon" tends to lose its abilities, so it happens, if the amphibian moves to a safe home environment.
In search of food, these small amphibians usually go out in the afternoon, and sometimes even after dusk. Ants, termites, flies and other small insects are preferred as food.
As for the external appearance of this representative of the world fauna, we can say that it is a very small tailless, the length of its miniature body usually does not exceed 40 mm. Males and females do not differ in size, it seems possible to notice sex differences by examining the limbs of dart frogs. The male half has more developed discs on the tips of the fingers.
The most remarkable feature of these toads is, perhaps, the color of their body, it is simply impossible not to notice it, and later it cannot be confused with anyone, it is so beautiful and contrasting. The main color of the color is coal black, while the skin of the sacred frog is slightly dull, on this basic background you can easily notice an amazing ornament, which is formed by a large number of the most diverse shapes - stripes, circles, lines and spots. These elements of the picture are colored in yellow, orange, and sometimes slightly greenish shades. In some individuals, the pattern on the body is more modest and less noticeable. It consists of a single-color mesh pattern, which is represented by perforated stripes drawn in the cross direction. The projection of the abdominal cavity is always colored in one tone, in this case, saturated black.
Tricolor dart frog
Epipedobates anthonyi - these representatives of the genus of tailless frogs differ in very tiny body parameters. The length of their small body does not exceed 20–25 mm. In this species, sexual dimorphism is also expressed in size - males are usually much smaller than females-dart frogs.
The color of their skin is also very remarkable. The main color is bright red. The area of the vertebral column is represented by a relatively wide strip of yellow color. On the lateral surfaces of the body, rows of small white blotches are immediately striking, which from afar resemble a solid, relatively wide strip, which is located longitudinally. The paws are also covered with a large number of small specks.
These spotted toads honor such South American states as Ecuador and Peru as their Fatherland. They are very fond of occupying locations for permanent residence high above sea level, sometimes such an altitude exceeds 1500 m. Most often, these colorful frogs are found in tropical and subtropical forests. At the same time, each individual individual chooses air humidity for its life, some prefer wooded areas with a very high humidity coefficient, and, on the contrary, supply dry air to others. They can also be seen nearby water bodies, swamps and even agricultural areas.
The tricolor dart frog does not really tolerate the scorching sun, for this reason it goes in search of food either early in the morning, or is already waiting for the afternoon. The basis of his diet is made up of a variety of insects, the main thing is that they are small.
Spotted poison dart frog
Dendrobates tinctorius Cobalt - This inhabitant of the southern part of Suriname prefers to choose tropical forests for his residence, preferably near coastal areas with large abundant vegetation. He also inhabits Brazil and Guyana.
This native of the tree frog family received a very unusual, colorful color of his skin as a gift from Mother Nature. If you contemplate the rather small body of this handsome man, it is not possible to highlight any basic color tone. All parts of his body are individual. The head is painted in yellowish shades, there are stripes on the dorsal part of the body, presented in the same color as the head. The limbs of this frog are of a noble blue color, and the sides of the body are blue, and some individuals have a beautiful turquoise hue.
This bright amphibian is active throughout the day, it is not afraid of either the high temperatures of the external environment, or the direct rays of the hot sun, so if the animal is hungry, it will not wait for the sun to turn a little, the toad boldly goes hunting at lunchtime.
The rhizomes of large trees usually act as their dwellings. The daily menu of these amphibians is quite varied, they can eat both small insects and plant food, they really like various types of algae.
Amazonian tree frog
Dendrobates ventrimaculatus - looking at the name of this living creature, it is not difficult to guess about the places of its natural habitat. Indeed, this frog lives near the northern part of the Amazon and its tributaries, namely Brazil, Ecuador, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia and even French Guinea.
This rather mobile and active frog can rarely be seen "walking" on the ground, usually it spends most of its time high in trees, between dense foliage. But occasionally they still go hunting on the edges of forests and on the banks of small streams. The diet of the Amazonian toad is based on small insects.
Coloring tree frog
Dendrobates auratus - if we talk about this representative of the large kingdom of frogs, then we can say that these are amphibians larger than average in size. Their body grows in length ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 cm. Sexual dimorphism in this species is also noticeable in appearance, females are not only larger than males, but also the shape of their bodies and muzzles is rounded. The male sex, in turn, is slightly slimmer and with a slightly pointed muzzle. In addition, in male poison dart frogs, slightly enlarged discs can be observed at the fingertips.
The appearance of these poison dart frogs can change depending on the environmental conditions in which this or that social group of frogs lives. The most common are amphibians, painted in black and green shades, sometimes you can see golden-black toads, bluish-black, brown or green with a rich metallic sheen. A stricter version of the color, presented in black and white colors, is found near the western part of Costa Rica.
These amphibians with variability of colors can be found in the wild in Central and South America, namely in countries such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Brazil, Bolivia and many others. Coloring frogs inhabit woodlands with high humidity. As their own dwelling, these aesthetes are rarely content with the ruins of trees; they prefer hollows that are already equipped and inhabited by other animals.
This amphibian is very active during the day, she likes a light shade very much, where it is very warm, but the sun gets there a little less, but she does not like to rest. Looking at these living creatures, one gets the impression that they, too, know that movement is life. The diet of this type of frog consists exclusively of flies.
Blue poison dart frog
Dendrobates azureus - These tailless frogs grow no more than 5 cm in length. The basic tone of their color is blue-blue, on the lateral parts of the body and in the projection of the abdomen, it brightens a little. On the skin of the back, you can see a neat pattern, which is formed by many black blotches and medium-sized specks.
The blue poison dart frog is a native of South America, on the territory of his homeland he lives in places where there are large rocky embankments, as well as on the coastal locations of small streams and large forest rivers. If all other species of poison dart frogs live in small social groups, then these bluish frogs create entire populations, the number of which sometimes exceeds 100 individuals.
Yellow-striped poison dart frog
Dendrobates truncates As their homeland, this amphibian venerates a very small area near the border of Brazil and French Guiana. It is there that he comfortably lives in tropical forests of medium humidity. These striped toads spend most of their free time on the ground. They live in small colonies, in which there are approximately 40-50 individuals. Stony outcrops are used as dwellings, which are densely wrapped in shrub thickets. Favorite locations of yellow-striped frogs are coastal slopes near water bodies.
The appearance of this amphibian is also no less original and colorful. The parameters of the body are average, the length of their body ranges from 35 to 70 mm, the female sex is usually much larger than the male. Long longitudinal stripes are neatly drawn against the main coal-black background, painted in bright yellow shades.
Keeping frogs at home
Before you start such a not very familiar pet, take care of his personal home first, because some of your roommates may not really like that a frog "walks" around the house, moreover, a poisonous one. A horizontal type of terrariums are ideal as a house for such a friend, while dart frogs do not require a very large personal living space.
In this very compact dwelling, it is necessary to cover the floor surface with some kind of substrate; small pebbles would be the best solution. The soil in the frog's dwelling should always be moist, but in no case wet, this can be achieved by daily spraying in the terrarium.
Despite the fact that your friend is used to living in a rather hot climate, in your apartment it is quite enough for him, the daytime air temperature is within 24-29 degrees, and at night - about 18-20. For this reason, if it is warm in your house, then you can do without specialized heating devices.
In the personal apartment of your home dart frog, it is necessary to have various branches and snags on which your peculiar pet will climb, thus, he will both have fun and keep his miniature multi-colored body in good shape.
The presence of vegetation in the terrarium is also required; low plants with relatively large leaves, for example, Tradescantia or a wide variety of bromeliads, are well suited as a frog's personal forest.
Your friend cannot do without clean water, it will be good to make a drinker in the terrarium and a separate small artificial reservoir in which it is desirable to place pieces of bark or small pebbles, this measure will help your friend easily get out of such a personal pool.
It will be good to make some small shelters for your pet, so that he can rest in silence and away from the eyes looking at him.
Feeding these colorful exotics at home will not be difficult. The best way to get food is from the market or pet store. Drosophila flies are excellent food for dart frogs. But sometimes there are some problems with them, since these agile insects can easily escape from the frog and start living in different corners of your house, which is not very pleasant, so the alternative to such a delicacy is the dust of crickets, the smallest wood lice, springtails, etc. larvae of caterpillars.
It is very important to periodically add vitamin supplements and calcium to the feed, since frogs are susceptible to a number of pathological conditions, which are most often caused by a decrease in the concentration of calcium in their fragile organisms. These pets will not bring you any inconvenience associated with noise, since they absolutely do not know how to emit signals such as "croaking", you can hear only a quiet rattling sound from them.
Acquisition and price of a dart frog
If you are fired up with the idea of buying such an exotic comrade, then looking through the pages of various online stores, you can see many different types of toads, it all depends on your preferences, your favorite color range, and, of course, on your financial condition. The price for one specimen of a poisonous frog ranges from 1,400 to 25,000 rubles.
How to keep dart frogs:
