#POISON DART FROG SKIN#

Many species are threatened by habitat loss and over-collection for the pet trade. They can live 3-15 years in the wild and up to 20 years under human care. Females are slightly less territorial and do not call, but will wrestle with other females over their space. Calls are species dependent and can be anything from a buzz to trilling whistles. The males are territorial, calling to advertise to females and to defend their area. In the Zoo, they eat pinhead crickets and fruit flies. They are diurnal, terrestrial, and carnivorous, eating small invertebrates, particularly ants, which give them their poisonous properties in most cases. These frogs are found in tropical rainforests in north and central South America. They lack webbing between their toes and are poor swimmers they are usually found near water but not in it.

Their feet contain four toes, each with a flattened tip and a suction cup pad used for gripping and clinging to vegetation in its habitat.

They have a long, sticky tongue that darts out and captures their prey. They are small frogs, most are no bigger than a paper clip.

#POISON DART FROG SKIN#

There are over 175 species of poison dart frogs in the family Dendrobatidae all have bright coloration (aposematic coloration), which warns predators of their toxic skin secretions.

The only natural predator of most of the poison dart frog family is the fire-bellied snake ( Leimadophis epinephelus), which has developed a resistance to the frogsвЂ™ poison.

The insects feed on plants that have toxins and those toxins build up within the frog.

Poison dart frogs get their toxicity from some of the insects they eat.