Peter Mudde

If you ask experienced frog keepers which are the easiest poison dart frogs for beginners to keep, strangely, Phyllobates terribilis or Phyllobates bicolor will often be mentioned. However, though in the wild these are some of the most toxic animals known, with a mere touch of P. terribilis being sufficient to kill, in captivity they lose the majority of their toxins.

The two species are very difficult to identify as they are visually so similar but P. terribilis is larger than P. bicolor with a more plump build and adults appear as though they are on the verge of obesity. As an adult P. terribilis has the ventral sides a similar colour to the back whilst P. bicolor has darker sides and dark hind legs.

This distinguishing feature is difficult to rely upon as juvenile P. terribilis also have dark sides. The two species are found a couple of hundred km apart in Colombia and the area in between the two colonies has not been studied extensively so it is not yet clear whether these are two species or simply extremes of the same one. Their natural habitat is the tropical lowland and low montane forests of Pacific Colombia. The local people, aware of the threat these animals pose to their children and pets, beat them to death if they come too close to their villages.

For the vivarium this is hardly relevant as both are cared for in identical ways. They need a warm, humid environment; a lot of good food and some hiding places and a well-planted vivarium with a large base will be to their liking. While the name Phyllobates means tree climber they are in fact very terrestrial, spending most of the time walking around the fallen leaves and branches on the forest floor. The temperature must remain above 20°C but with a maximum of about 25°C and a high humidity though the air must not get stale.

They have large appetites and whilst fruit flies can be used as a staple diet, more than any of the other Dendrobatidae, they tend to eat large prey items and should be supplied with larger insects too. They will even readily take fully-grown woodlice and small earthworms. It has been noted with surprise by one keeper, that these frogs paid great attention to small fish in his palludarium. Both will breed readily in captivity and in the process show interesting nuptial behaviour. The male attracts the female with a loud trilling sound similar to a canary and, if the female is interested he leads her to a suitable spawning site. She will make the male aware of her interest by stroking his back every now and then. The spawning site must be covered, clean, smooth and damp such as a leaf or stone. In a vivarium a half coconut 'igloo’ on a dish is usually used. There the animals will sit, vent to vent while the female deposits about 20 eggs that are fertilised by the male. The male then abandons the eggs only returning when the larvae are large enough to hatch. On his return, he wriggles into the eggs to make the larvae aware of his presence, after which they climb onto his back. The male then searches for a suitable small pool, which he will enter to enable the tadpoles to swim away. Generally the tadpoles will remain on the back of the male for a day but exceptionally they may re main for as long as two weeks. These two frogs, and a third species, Phyllobates aurotaenia, are the only real poison dart frogs. The toxic skin secretions are used by the Embera Indians of the Choco region who tip their blowgun darts, which promptly kill any animal, they hit.

The toxin is dangerous to us and each frog has sufficient poison to kill several humans if taken directly into the blood stream. Touching their skin is less dangerous but should be avoided, as in certain circum stances this too can be lethal. How the toxin is produced is still under research though it is known that the essential components of the poison are gathered from their diet, which explains why these frogs gradually lose their toxins in captivity, and why captive bred animals do not secrete any. They are bold frogs that appear indifferent to the presence of people or pets, a behaviour that makes them an attractive vivarium subject. Luckily for hobbyists, these non-toxic captive bred animals behave as though they were still the most poisonous animals on Earth.