I read a post from one of the orchid yahoo groups I belong to and someone said that dart frogs fed ants and termites could become poisonous again because ants and termites eat poisonous plants and transfer the poison to the dart frogs. If this is right, wouldn't some of the people on this forum who feed termites to their dart frogs, be making them poisonous like they would be in the wild? I read those posts and was thinking about ants and termites but definitely wouldn't want to make my dart frog poisonous again. Also, wouldn't springtails collected from the yard make dart frogs poisonous again if the theory with the ants and termites holds true? I am considering cultured flour beetles and springtails for my frog (right now she only gets pinhead crickets but I think she's getting bored of them). Also, I read some turn any kind of food they eat into poison (they make the poison in their bodies themselves). My frog is Epidendrodates trivattus 'Red'. My frog wouldn't be among the ones that could make their own poison, right?
Hi,
Yes , ants may make your Darts poisonous, just as bacteria can kill you.
There is no chance of your Darts being fed any outside ant or termite and then becoming poisonous once again. None.
There may however (as in almost alll frogs and toads) remain a small (or large in some species?) bit of toxin not caused by ants, termites,springtails, whatever. So it is always advisable to assume the worse, or at least not touch them, molest, disturb, or touch and molest and then put your fingers in your mouth (I read a post by a reputable west coast nut who actually did this with CB terribilis...not good) .
There are only a few species of PDFs that are extremely poisonous. None of these will come back to their WC toxin levels being fed any ant or termite you will be able to buy or cultivate...legally. Also, none of these (most toxic) Darts are being imported legally from their native countries, to my knowledge. They are at least not being imported for the "hobby".
Rich
Quote:I read a post by a reputable west coast nut who actually did this with CB terribilis...not good
I remember that frognet post! I kept shaking my head in disbelief (especialy when others chimed in that they too had done it!). At the same time, I was almost curious enough to try it.
"Honey, dial 9-1 and wait for my signal..."
The stuff that comes out of the cerebral mailing list...........
pastorjosh Wrote:"Honey, dial 9-1 and wait for my signal..."
:lol:
That reminds me of the time I tried to swoosh my dwarf lion fish out of the way, so I could rearrange a fallen rock.
Well, he didn't even flinch, and I guess swooshing at a lion fish means you want to bump heads, cause as soon as I did it, he reared up and dove into three of my fingers, like he was 1000lb bull. :evil:
I'll just say I started felling much better after about a half hour later, the extreme burning, tingling feeling was back down below the elbow. :oops:
(sorry for the hijack :wink: )
I'm pretty sure I read that same post, and the ants were a componet of the frogs diet n the wild- I highly doubt any frogger in their right mind would mail-order those ants for thier frogs... I mean, frogs need variety, but there is a limit on what to give them!
There was a documentary about the poison and they found that it was a beetle that had the poison and when the frogs ate that beetle, the toxins were transmitted to their skin.
I believe there's only 3 extremely poisonous frogs, toxic enough to harm a human and all 3 are Phylobates.
Pretty sure you've got the answer you wanted but I'll throw in my .02 anyways....
Even if your pdfs did become poisionous again....would it really matter? There are only a few *good* reasons to handle them, which include....Moving from tank to tank,and if its obvious there in need of help for what ever reason. You could wear gloves anyways..
Don't take that ^^ the wrong way, it was more just .01 anyways!
I worked with PDF in Costa Rica.
The only way their poison will be released is if they are in a life and death situation.
Certainly not much info in the hobby, relative to ant cultivation and nutrition.