I Miss My Poison Dart Frogs :(

Discussion in 'General Amphibians' started by Karlee, Feb 9, 2012.

  1. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    A few years ago I had a strawberry poison dart frog and a black legged poison dart frog. They were my first real reptiles (or amphibians). I miss Lilypad and Jumper (sucky names, I know). I just made this forum for people to post about their amphibians that have past away. Pictures of them to come... imagesCA1RXW52.jpg imagesCATJRGDE.jpg 77486mr_gecko_tropical_cage-med.jpg
     
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  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. StikyPaws312

    StikyPaws312 Moderator

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    Aw, they were adorable it it looks like a fantastic home they lived in :)
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    Thx, we kinda spoiled them because we had money back then
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Louie

    Louie Member

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    That black leg looks great. The strawberry does also but I have never seen a black legged .
    I have been looking into Dart frogs and so many types that not sure yet.

    Great terrarium

    What did you feed them and day/night temps?

    Did you keep both together?

    Reading about them they seem delicate.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    We fed them basicly what I feed my lizards, crickets and mealworms as a stable. The day time temperatures were kinda hard to control, normally 80-95 degrees (we rarely turned our air conditioner on then so the temperatures were all over the place). Night was normally 75-85 degrees. And at first we hadn't kept them together, but we had their cages next to eachother and they didn't seem to mind each other so we switched them to the terranium you see up there (we bought an entire new terranium so neither is territorial over objects and sold the old ones). We had them together for about two months before Jumper died of old age. Then we had Lilypad for another year until she caught a skin disease and shortly died afterwards.
     
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  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Louie

    Louie Member

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    Thank you very much. I have the terrarium set up and added springtails in the hopes that they breed there and thrive before adding the frogs.

    I have not made up my mind yet as to what type frogs but now that I saw your black leg going to look that up as love the yellow with black leg.

    Did you see them much or mostly hide?
     
  12. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    Well, I can't tell you if yours will hide or not, but Lilypad was kinda off and on with hiding. Like when we first got her and put her in the cage with our other dart frog, she would hide until I put food out. But after she became more comfterable, you saw her more often.
     
  13. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    While its toxicity is weaker than P. terribilis, P. bicolor is still a highly toxic animal, one of the few frogs confirmed to have caused human fatalities. Just 150 micrograms of its poison is enough to kill an adult human. I would be careful handling it, we normally used gloves like a docter has and long sleeves. Just thought you should know that about the Black Legged Dart Frog. But their temperment is great and Lilypad was a very outgoing and bold animal with a spunky personality you could compare to a dog.
     
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  14. Louie

    Louie Member

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    Thank you.
     
  15. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    No problem.
     
  16. Badger711

    Badger711 Member

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    Anyone who says that dart frogs are poisonous (NOT venomous, they are different) in captivity is misinformed. All genus' of dart frogs (such as Dendrobates, Phyllobates, and Mantellas) Lose their toxicity in captivity, due to the diet. These frogs generate the poison that they secrete from glands that utilize the chemicals in the food that they eat, ie; the ants native to their respective region.

    Furthermore, NO amphibians are venomous, such as darts. Poison is different than venom, venom is only harmful when introduced to the bloodstream one way or another, poison is toxic when ingested. In theory you can drink a glass of Inland Taipan venom, and be completely fine. Obviously this is not a recommended practice, due to the high risk of GI/stomach ulcers, which are fairly common. If you have one of these, the venom would come into contact with your blood, and you would need treatment immediately.

    Also, for further reference, NEVER keep different species of any amphibian together. Even if they are of the same genus, it is still harmful to both animals, it's possible it's what killed one of your frogs (That sounded cold, I'm sorry for your loss D: ). All amphibians produce toxins, (not the deadly ones) most don't affect humans adversely, aside from allergic reactions. But the secretions are harmful to other amphibians, in the wild many frogs species are native to the same area, but there is a lot more space for each animal. Also, frogs don't show dominance by fighting like most animals, the behaviours you may see as cute, are actually very stressful to the frogs, like laying on top of one another. The submissive frog may receive less food, and due to the stress of keeping them together, both are more susceptible to diseases.

    That's my long post for the day >.<
     
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