Dendrobates Auratus at www.poison-frogs.com

Poison Frogs - Species - Dendrobates Auratus

Discovery	C. N. Girard (1855)
Classification	Dendrobates Auratus, belongs to the Dendrobates leucornelas group ( also dendrobates leucomelas and D. truncatus ), genus : dendrobates, Family : dendrobatidae, Order : Anurans, Class : Amphibians
Geography	Costa Rica, Nicaragua ( green with black versions ) Panama ( blue with black and other colour morphs )
Morph guide	D. Auratus is found in many colour forms, usually reffered to as morphs, but interbreeds of different other morphs.The best available Morph guide for d. Auratus is found here
Biotope	Low land forest, even cultivated plantations, leave covered soils, altitude 50 - 800 m above sea level
Care and conditions	Required space is at least 25 liter per specimen, they are best kept in groups of 5 or more. The temperature should be high, around 26 degrees Celcius during the day. During the night the temperature can drop up to 20 degrees Celsius. Humidity should be high more than 90%.
personal experience	Unlike the latin name my frogs do not have a gold like colour ( only the toboga species have this ) but have generally almost mettallic green band all accors their body ( also their bellies are banded unlike the leucomelas. The colour is really amazing, since it looks very unnatural. The colour of these specimens can vary between green, blue but also grey and brown. The green form is the more common version from Panama. The Auratus are quicker and more slender formed than the leucomelas and move more agile. They are fast eaters and tend to have a almost endless appetite. The leucomelas's use the higher levels of the vivarium better, although the auratus's also climb to the top level of the vivarium, but not so often as the leucomelas. In the natural habitat for the auratus the temperatures are generally lower as for the leucomelas ( Panama vs Venezuela ). And Auratus do not require an extremely high humidity to survive. When it is feeding time the auratus's are faster to the food than the leucomelas's. It is written that both species can mix to provide off-spring. However i have not seen this yet, nor would it be preferable.
Film	dendrobates auratus film, 500 KB, 24/4/01 Start Dendrobates Auratus film
More Info	The article The Green Poison Arrow Frog A Comparison of Tadpole Rearing Techniques is written by Tim Skelton Reptile Keeper of the Edinburgh Zoo and is linked here with permission of the BDG. Another excellent article : The captive management and breeding of poison-dart frogs, family dendrobatidae, at jersey wildlife preservation trust, using a pilot species was written by Donna J. Preece. Dealing mainly with D. Auratus.

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