possibly dumb question about housing frogs...

[Crazy Frog]

How about mixing dart frog ?

i have mix them before..

[Kurt]

Its commonly done, even in zoos, but it still isn't a good idea even with dart frogs or mantellas. The dart frog community even frowns on mixing different colour morphs of the same species. They just don't want any "mutt" dart frogs out there.

[justin shockey]

i think it OK to have mutts and make new kinds of darts

[Kurt]

Well, the dart frog community dosen't think so. I kind of agree with them. I am totally against cross breeding.

[justin shockey]

OK i see you point but if you are going to keep the mutts and breed non mutts at the same time how Du's it hurt I'm not saying don't help to breed the ones how need saving just saying that if were loosing so many wy cant we make some new breeds and still work harder to save the ones we have i just don't see the threat if they are kept in captivity

[Kurt]

Well, what most of us that do (or would like to) breed frogs want is to breed frogs that are as you would find them in the wild, just as nature made them. I, personally, want to keep species and subspecies pure and untainted. Mother nature got it right the first time.

[justin shockey]

i did not say he did but ant you the lest bit cures what we can create and how do you now it Wood be a bad thing im not trying to play god but you never now what you can create if you dont try

[Bigassfrog]

Well, what most of us that do (or would like to) breed frogs want is to breed frogs that are as you would find them in the wild, just as nature made them. I, personally, want to keep species and subspecies pure and untainted. Mother nature got it right the first time.

I think mixing different colored frogs from the same region is ok. It seems natural enough to me. Not all frogs/colors of frogs existed since the dawn of time. They changed and evolved and even cross bred in the wild. Taking 2 frogs that would have absolutely no contact in nature and then breeding them would be a bit unnatural. Still Im not sure I see an obvious downside to Jdogs proposal besides personal preference.

[Kurt]

I think mixing different colored frogs from the same region is ok. Still Im not sure I see an obvious downside to Jdogs proposal besides personal preference.

The original question was in regards to keeping White's treefrogs, Litoria caerulea and red-eyed leaf frogs, Agalychnis callidryas. The White's are Australasian, while the red-eyes are neotropical. Both frogs are from two different ends of the earth, so they are definitely not from the same region. The White's does have skin toxins and does get big, possibly big enough to eat the red-eyes.

Now for keeping frogs together from the same region. Its still not a good idea and here is a good example why. Pickerel frogs, Lithobates palustris and bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus are closely related species and they are often found in the same pond, keeping them together would be disastrous. One thing the pickerel is seriously toxic and would poison the bullfrog, thus killing it. The bullfrog is large enough to eat the pickerel frog, which thanks to the pickerel's toxicity, would end up killing them both.

I think the only species I would keep together are green treefrogs, Hyla cinerea and barking treefrogs, Hyla gratiosa. They are known to cross-breed in the wild.

I do not mix amphibian species with any reptile species either.

I currently have 17 different amphibian species in my collection, none are mixed together and that includes the dart frogs.