Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is UV light a requirment for proper dart frog husbandry? I have talked with several dart frog keepers and have received several different answers or idea's concerning the use of UV light for not only adult frogs but for froglets and tadpoles. Does anyone know if their has been any credible scientific research done dealing with this subject? Thanks Russ

Technically if you properly supplement the frogs then you do not need to use UVB for them however there are issues with some frogs because the size of the metamorphs makes dusting thier food items very difficult (such as newly emerged pumilo) and the metamorphs tend to feed on small food items like springtails and mites. In those species, it isn't uncommon for there to be high levels of mortality between the time of metamorphosis and six months of age. In those species, people who have added UVB exposure as an option for the frogs have an increased level of success with those species as the froglets can then get D3 through behavioral exposure.

In the literature it is known that at least some dendrobatids avoid excess exposure to UVB by choosing less exposed calling sites and/or having activity periods when exposure is reduced (for example one popolation of pumilio and auratus, had the highest levels of activity before 10 AM and after 3 PM.

some comments,

Ed