Purchasing and Caring for Poison Dart Frogs

Published by Adam Palander
October 21, 2009, Category: Zoology

Dart Frogs are brightly colored, attention-grabbing exotic pets. However, they require utmost care, and, of course, don’t touch them.

Image via Wikipedia

Purchasing Dart Frogs

While your local pet store may carry dart frogs, it is highly unlikely. Your best bet is to use one of the many internet retailers of poison dart frogs. Believe it or not, in this crazy day and age, you can order frogs over the internet. Depending on your local legislation, purchasing and shipping rainforest reptiles may require permits, fees, or may be flat out illegal. If you are a US customer, most dart frog suppliers will take care of all that paperwork for you, but be sure to contact the seller if you live outside of the Americas. Customers in the European Union may find it especially difficult to have your CITIES permit and CIFA health certificate processed, and can expect wait times of up to a month. Dart frog prices online range from $25 to $500+ and usually require airmail shipping and special packaging. Shipping on a per-frog basis could easily run up to $75. That being said, try to purchase from honest, reputable frog dealerships such as Pumilio and Understory.

Before you Receive your Dart Frog

Before your dart frog arrives, or preferably before you even order it, be sure that you have adequate housing for your frog. At the bare minimum, you should have a 10 gallon (fully planted) terrarium set up for your new frog. Keep this terrarium constantly around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity within the terrarium should not be at a constant 100%, this will cause it to stink to high heavens. Any humidity between 65% and 95% will work excellently. Tropical moss will, believe it or not, help with the humidity levels within your terrarium. Keep your habitats under sufficient lighting. Shop lights and 4ft. fluorescent tube lights keep your plants healthy and your frogs happy.

Image via Wikipedia

When you Receive your Dart Frog

Now that you have received your dart frog, you must do one of two things. If this is your first dart frog, and you have no other reptiles in what is planned to be its habitat, you may place it in the habitat and allow it to familiarize itself with its surroundings. If you have multiple dart frogs, you must keep your new arrival under quarantine in a separate habitat for three months. It might sound like a long time, but the loss of one frog because of a South American pathogen sounds much better than losing your entire collection.

Image via Wikipedia

Dart Frog Diet

In their rainforest home, dart frogs will eat just about any insect they can swallow. But dart frogs in captivity have a bit more limited options. Fruit flies, crickets, waxworms, termites, and springtails make fantastic fodder for your dart frog. breeding your own fruit flies and crickets are easy to grow from culture, and waxworms and springtails may be found at your local pet supply store. I do not advocate feeding dart frogs termites, as they may have dangerous pesticides hidden within them. Even though your options are limited, try to keep your frog’s diet as varied as possible. Dart frogs should receive the following supplements, in rotational order: Herptivite, Rep-Cal, MinerAll, Nekton-REP, Nekton-MSA, and Nekton-E. Do not mix these supplements together.

Image via Wikipedia

Water

Many collectors believe that dart frogs should be given treated tap water so they can receive all the mineral benefits within it. However, if you are properly supplementing your frog, these minerals should not be necessary. I prefer using purified water, which is much more similar to the rain waters that the frogs are used to.