Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im thinking about buying one of these guys.they are really cool and i would like to try breeding them,so i am looking for a pair.i have noticed that only males are ever offered for sale.is there a reason for this? i know that they are wild caught,so is it that males are easy to catch due to their singing?or are there just less females period?.also i have a question about poison arrow frogs.it is said that when they are raised in captivity,they lose their poison(due to not eating a variety or insects,only crickets).has anyone ever read anywhere a study that may have been done where they are feed a special diet(an assortment or wild caught insects)where they actually do produce poison in captivity?im just curious about this.thanks a bunch

With the bicolors if the collectors are getting the animals from the breeding sites (highly likely) then there will be a heavy male biasis as the females are not likely to remain at the site for more than a day or two. In addition, as they come, there are breeders who are willing to purchase mainly females to get large colonies together to try and breed the frogs.
If you want to get cb then check with Mascarino as they have had them cb a couple of times in the past.

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking with the dart frogs. Wild caught frogs fed on ffs and other cultured insects lose their toxicity over time but it takes awhile as the toxins are recycled by consuming thier shed skins.
They have only recently found a couple of arthropod species (I believe one family of little beetle and one ant) that contains the toxins that are consumed by the frogs.
But if you are asking if you feed them meadow plankton or collected termites will they redevelop thier toxins then the answer is no unless you live where those specific beetles and ants are found.
In fact the auratus that were introduced into Hawaii have a different toxin profile than those found in Central America.

Ed

ed i really appreciate the responce.it was a while before anyone responded to my post so i wasnt sure if i was going t find an answer.anyway,you mentioned someone who breeds phylomedusa bicolor but i dont know who that is.is there i was i can contact him?i understand your explaination about dart frogs and why they lose their toxicity,but i also understand that phylomedusa tree frog family also contain poisons in their skin.do these also stop producing their toxic chemicals as well in captivity?or do they also remain poisonous in captiivity like other poisonuse reptiles and amphibians.thanks

http://www.mascarino.com/

The vast majority of other anurans retain their ability to manufacture and secrete toxins including Phyllomedusine frogs.

Hope this helps. I'm real tied up at work right now so it may be a while before I can check back in here.

Ed