Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As a child, I was fascinated in the 5th grade after reading a book on the rainforest, and snatching a glimpse at a photograph of a frog that I would later come to know as a pumilio. Poison dart frogs, animals that I thought would be unattainable to the general public, and seen only in zoological gardens or their natural habitat, would eventually come into my home and become an integral part of my life.
Why do I keep these animals in a glass box? They have become a facet of my being, a reminder that nature still exists somewhere outside of the trappings of the concrete urban jungle. I can sit in my frogroom amidst this sterile concrete land, and be engulfed in wonder and awe as I watch my imitators call as if they were back at home, and lunge with all their might at an unlucky Drosophila. I am brought into their world in all its splendor, while still in a developed and snow choked country. This hobby offers both an escape, and a window to the outside of the box... that there is more to life than what I see very day. It makes me think every time I flush my toilet where the water might go, or every time I drive my car to the 7-11 what I am doing to the air I breathe.
As much as I dislike the designer corn snake hobby, I can deal with it, because it will always be possible to go out and find a wild cornsnake. We inevitably will not be so fortunate in case of Dendrobatids and Mantellas.
The number of frogs in captivity is finite. If hobbyists pollute the gene pool with crosses and/or hybrids... this will take a substantial portion of future breeding stock completely out of the picture. And because of the fact that wild caught dart frogs will inevitably cease to be a reality due to extinction, extirpation, or political red-tape, would it not seem prudent to keep the blood as clean as possible so that we do not lose an irretrievable part of nature? My problem with the designer mentality is when it comes into the dominion of dart frog husbandry. It is one of those things that should be cheked at the door with your jacket. These are not animals we can take for granted, and they will not be around forever due to the destruction of their homes by our own species. We at least owe it to them, the frogs, to at least preserve a small part of their vanishing paradise, even if it is within the confines of a "glass box." They deserve to be bred with frogs from their own part of the jungle, and with members of their own species. Our greed and contempt for nature will inevitably rob them of their existence. Must this contempt continue unimpeded in the hobby that we regard so precious, whose backbone is an effort to keep a small part of our world alive even if it is only in captivity?
Double J

Very well written...
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Thank you for putting into words what I think everytime I feed my panther chameleon or peer into any of my enclosures. I appreciate your look on things and you sharing it with us.
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http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dubaliscous/lst?.dir=/Pablo(Picasso panther chameleon)&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/
1.0 Picasso panther chameleon (Pablo)
2.1 Rhampholean Brevicaudatus
0.1 Bearder Dragons (Mic Dundee)
1.1 Red-eyed tree frogs
1.0 African side-necked mud turtle (Wrinkles Jr.)
0.1 Fire bellied toads
Emperor Scorpion (not sexed)

Double J -

I've been reading all of the recent messages regarding keeping different species together and breeding different color varients. I've thought about replying to them but everytime I start I don't finish because I feel like I'm not making my point strong enough. You just wrote exactly what I've been wanting to write for a few weeks. I agree with everything that you said, thanks for taking the time to write it.
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Devin
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com
4.1 Dendrobates tinctorius 'Dwarf French Guiana'
1.1 Dendrobates tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
5.1 Mantella aurantiaca
2.1 Mantella crocea
1.0 Ceratophrys cranwelli
1.0 Bufo americanus
0.0.1 Salamandra salamandra
1.0 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.1 Chamaeleo calyptratus
0.1 Phelsuma dubia
1.0 Uroplatus ebenaui
0.0.1 Chrysemys picta belli
1.0 Terrapene carolina triunguis

That was actually a beautiful verballization of what I feel, only could never succesfully write. I feel the same about looking out into the real world, the world without humans. When I look into a tarantula tank or my dart tanks, I am amazed at how different they are from anything here in NC and how almost everbody that has seen my tanks cant beleive how beautiful these animals are or that animals like that actually exist! It is a very peaceful feeling to look into my tanks and see these beautiful creatures thriving.

One advantage the dart frog hobby has as it relates to producing "hybrid" same species color morphs and mixing species, there is little or NO commercial value to these animals. Unlike the snake hobby, producing new color variants in captivity in the dart frog hobby invites scorn rather than waiting lists. As an example a friend of mine here in Sarasota bred what he thought was Giant Orange Tincs, turns out they were identified as a Citronella/Giant Orange cross which were inadvertantly released by a midwestern zoo and given by me to a high profile commercial breeder. 6 years later a few of these hybrids are still floating around, everyone that bought them were notified and almost all immediately ceased breeding them. My above friend did not know what he had but once ID donated them for diplay at a local botanical garden, he was unable to sell ANY of the offspring due to the fact he was honest with people about what he was selling. I do not foresee any future market for this type of animal and hope we can rely on the integrity of those in the hobby to honestly represent what they offer for sale.

This is the type of anwser I was hoping people would post to my question below. An anwser from the heart!

Benjamin Green