Different Imitators kept together ?

[Samantha R. Imitator]

Hey Everyone,

Im new to the forum and herping, but I fallen for these beautiful little frogs. <3 Im sorry if this is not the correct place for this thread but hear is my question. I have done lots of research and picked the Ranitomeya Imitator because I read on mulitple site they are good for beginers even though they are fairly small. I have seen that having mutiple specIes in one viv is harmful to the frogs. But i have not found any info on different colors of the same species in one viv, or would that be considered ifferent species. With the imitators they have the striped and spotted varieties that come in color ranges of green to orange and Im wondeing if the different morphs would work together in one viv?

Thanks!

[Philsuma]

Hi Samantha and welcome to Dart Den and the wonderful world of Dart Frog keeping,

Ranitomeya imitator is a commonly available species and not very expensive to purchase. There are quite a few 'morphs' / populations - colours and patterns in the U.S hobby to choose from, like you say.

imitators belong to a hobby classification referred to as "thumbnails" due to their small size. Because of their small size, they are prone to get lost, escape and possibly become underweight...all much more quickly than a stockier and larger species like tinctorius, leucomelas and auratus. If you have some additional experience with small herps - lizards, geckos, possibly insects with high metabolisms and quick movement, then you may have a heads up here. I personally would recommend a full grown adult pair or trio of one of those other three species to any brand spanking new dart enthusiast.

The problem is not so much aggression and compatibly, but rather the chance of interbreeding and the resultant issue of dealing with possible eggs, especially when a lot of different species are cryptic with raising progeny and it's rather common to not notice a 'new' frog until it's already hopping around as a juvenile or even sub adult.

Finally, the dart frog hobby is markedly different from, say, the tropical or marine fish hobby, where a vibrant, multi-species or community tank is much more common. Most froggers that I've know over the years, keep single species enclosures or one's where there is no chance of interbreeding.

Hope that helps somewhat. Please continue to read, research and don't hesitate to ask any other questions.

[Samantha R. Imitator]

Thanks! I will keep on reading untill im fully ready to make my purchase.