Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

Is there any considerable difference in the care or hardiness of Dendrobates VS Mantella? I'm new here and I'm not sure if Mantella is a dirty word here.

Thank you,

Brian

It basically depends on the type of mantella or dendrobates. I had six WC brown mantellas and 3 died. But they were wild caught. I think in the end they would be about the same. CB are always better than WC of course.

mantellas like it a little cooler than Poison Frogs.

Hi Brian,

Like someone else mentioned in a different reply, mantella frogs generally preffer cool temperatures compared to dart frogs. How cool that is depends on the species. Species from high altitudes do best when kept in the mid 60's to low 70's during the day while species from lower altitudes preffer temperatures a bit higher than those. Mantella frogs will also generally accept larger food than similar sized dart frogs, but there are exceptions. Both mantella frogs and dart frogs are sensitive animals. Most mantella frogs availible are wild caught while most dart frogs availible are captive bred. A captive bred frog will generally give you a lot less trouble than a frog fresh from the wild but once you get wild caught mantella frogs established things generally go smoothly. Good luck,
-----
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
0.1.4 Mantella madagascariensis
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
1.1 Uroplatus ebenaui
0.0.1 Chrysemys picta belli
1.0 Terrapene carolina triunguis

I keep both Mantellas and blue azureus dart frogs. I have all WC adult mantellas (M. baroni and M. viridis)and have had no problems from them what so ever. Different species are more bold than others when it comes to darts and mantellas. Also your terrarium set-up will influence the personality of the frog in my opinion. In a haevily planted tank, they seem to be less shy. It is a matter of personal preference, but CB dart frog are probably less ensitive and easier to deal with over all, but I don't find Mantellas to be as difficult as everyone claims them to be.