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Welcome to Doyle's Dart Den What's New 04/17/2005
NOTE: If you are looking for daves-darts.com, David Smith is no longer doing his web page. If you want Doyle's Dart Den, please Click Here and make sure the address in your browser is doylesdartden.com.
Well if you are a returning visitor you will see I have been playing with the web page (again). Up at the top you will find a new menu that has links to the most popular pages here. If you don't see the menu, Click Here. If you are new to my web page the following may be informative for you and I hope the web page is helpful. What is a Poison Dart Frog? What is Doyle's Dendrobates Den First of all, I'm not a frog expert. (To read more about me, Click Here) There are numerous good web pages available with information about dart frogs; so make sure to check my Link Page. My purpose here is to present information that I have encountered, but have not seen covered on other web pages. First, what is a "Poison Dart Frog"? This term is used to describe the colorful frogs of the family Dendrobatidae. These frogs, like many other amphibians, secrete toxins from their skin. The frog that gave this group of frogs its name is the Golden Poison Dart frog (Phyllobates terribilis). The Choco' Indians of Pacific river areas of Colombia use the secretion from the back of Phyllobates terribilis to coat their darts with poison. This is done by rubbing the tip of the dart along the back of the frog. When the frog is agitated it will secrete a poison from the pores on its back. This toxin is non-protein-based (alkaloids) and one frog may have enough toxin to provide a lethal dose to 10 adult humans. This makes Phyllobates terribilis the most toxic animal in the world that has a non-protein based toxin.
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Now, why would any one want to keep an animal that could potentially kill them? First, most of the frogs of this group are not poisonous enough to be a threat to humans. Only 3 species could cause a serious threat, and they are: Phyllobates terribilis, Phyllobates bicolor, and Phyllobates aurotaenia. Most of the frogs would only cause a serious health risk if ingested. When the frogs are kept in captivity, they lose their toxicity. The reason for this is not completely understood, but it is believed that the frogs obtain the alkaloids from the insects they eat and the insects obtain them from the plants they eat. Being that the frogs do not have a source alkaloids in captivity, they cannot generate the toxins.
But still, why do people keep these frogs? These are some of the most colorful and interesting animals in the world. Not only are they colorful, such as green and black, blue and black, and yellow and black just to name a few, but each species has its own personalities.
