Skip to content

Built in Calgary since 2000

Sign in Account Cart

Amphibian and bioactive

Dart frog

Dendrobatidae

Kept the same way as the pacman frog and White's tree frog, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build a dart frog setup See the gear
Photograph of a Dart frog
Photograph by H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Dart frog is not one animal. A family (Dendrobatidae), not a species. Dendrobates, Oophaga, Phyllobates, and Ranitomeya are all kept. The figures below span the group, so ask us which one you have before you buy the heating.

Daytime air
22 to 27°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
18 to 21°C
UV index at the basking spot
0.6 to 3 Zones 1 to 2. Crepuscular or shade dweller, thermal conformer
Humidity
70 to 100%
Daylight hours
12 h in summer, 12 h in winter
Where it lives
Leaf litter, Forest floor, Rocks, crevices, or burrows, Foliage or shrubs, Semi-arboreal
Adult length
2 to 6 cm
When it is active
Diurnal
How it lives
Terrestrial
Typical captive life
10 years
Longest recorded life
20 years A record from the literature, not what to expect. Most animals live well short of it.

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that suits a dart frog

Chosen for amphibian and bioactive. The setup builder puts the whole kit together, sized to the animal, with the reason for each piece.

Build the whole kit

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where the figures come from