Late to the thread.


I'm not an expert on Mantellas (others are more qualified), but I have experience with them and am constantly learning more.


Paul and Bill have given excellent advice / comments. I have similar reasons for choosing Mantellas.


First, I have always been interested in Madagascar, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius as a starter.


I first became interested in Mantellas in the early 1990's...picked some up at a local non-chain pet store. Bought a couple golden ones (aurantiaca) and a couple of red ones that had more bumpy skin and black ear spots.
They thought that all of them were the same type, but now we know that the red ones were milotypanum. Beautiful and unique frogs at the time….friends commented that the goldens looked like little men in orange suits that would pose all day.


Not much information was available in the pre-internet days !
The wild caught Mantellas back then were unfortunately cheap and little was known about taking care of them and as a result, multitudes were sold and subsequently perished…..this was ghastly in retrospect.


The only dart frog I remember being sold back then were tincs.


I had the mantellas about a year before they died. The goldens layed eggs once but the eggs weren't fertile (which we now know is common for goldens). From there I concentrated on breeding endangered day geckos for several years, but eventually didn't have as much time to devote and got out of the hobby altogether and transferred my collection to friends.


Jump forward several years and I wanted to get back into frogs....and I definitely no longer wanted to be constantly buying crickets (cost, and smell, etc.)


So it was either dart frogs or mantellas (your question).


I chose mantellas because
- They are from Madagascar
- I knew they they were great frogs from having them before
- I knew they did great in groups
- I can raise their food (fruit flies, isopods, etc) and only periodically buy crickets to supplement.
- They are daytime frogs and aren’t calling at night.
- Not that many people raise them
- Even though they are more tricky to get to breed...I liked the challenge and this fills a void from the day gecko days of figuring it out.


Last year, I decided to jump in and have acquired/ set up breeding groups for seven species so far. (No where near what Joshua (mantellaguy) has in the UK):
- aurantiaca
- baroni
- betsileo (copper/reddish back)
- bernhardi
- nigricans
- pulchra
- viridis


The aurantiaca were cb from Understory. The viridis were cb from Josh's Frogs and Understory.


The rest unfortunately were wc.
I tried to get cb as much as possible, but with so few cb available in the US and the need for additional bloodlines I bit the bullet when they became available from the last import.


I have successfully taken them through quarantine and acclimated them. I lost very few frogs during this experience, with the biggest hit being from the betsileo. I’m happy to say that they are doing great after 10 months and so much so that I recently started cycling them. We’ll see what happens this year.




As I mentioned, I'm no expert but I can give you my insight with the behavior of the ones that I have and my experiences thus far.


There are a lot of differences in reported behavior, etc. Mantellas and part of this, I feel may be due to different bloodlines (different import populations). I suspect that this also happens comparing different bloodlines / sourcing of dart frogs as well. I also know from my experience that individual differences exist within my groups….some individual frogs seem to be more curious. Also this behavior may change once they are in breeding mode.


BTW Devin Edmond's site is a great one for Mantella info and pictures: Mantella Frogs


aurantica - These are the most active ones I have. Both males and females are out and active during the day. They cannot climb the glass very well and also have problems with water that is too deep….I unfortunately lost one this way even though I had a way for them to climb out. Now the water available is only deep enough for them to stand in with their heads out of the water. I don’t have this worry with the others I have. They don’t seem to dig much into the moss under the hides, but sometimes one of the males will. They have a low jump.


berhardhi - These are my second boldest / active….and the smallest mantella. They call often (only mantilla with a trill call) even when it’s not mating season! They are intermediate climbers and like to periodically go into the water and out. They don’t seem to dig much into the moss under the hides. They have a low jump.


nigricans - These are a great color of green similar to the laevigata. These are next in the boldness scale. They stand their ground when I reach into the cage. These also are the escape artists. They jump the highest and can climb the best of the ones I have. They are the only ones that have temporarily escaped. They also are very fond of the water and periodically go into the water and out. They were constantly splashing out the water in the bowl in the quarantine tank and doing their business there. They don’t seem to dig much into the moss under the hides.


baroni - These are next on the boldness scale. They are also the largest mantellas I have.They have phenomenal colors and bright orange legs. They can climb fairly well. Not as interested in the water. They don’t seem to dig much into the moss under the hides. They have a medium jump.


betsileo - The ones I have are copper/reddish on their backs rather than brown. These are intermediate in boldness for me. They also have some ability to climb glass but less than others. They don’t seem to enter the water much. They dig a little into the moss under the hides. They have a low jump.


viridis - The males periodically come out during the day, but the females hide. Interestingly they are most active at dusk and for a while after the lights go out. They can climb and jump very well, just under the nigricans’ skill. They don’t seem to go into the water on purpose, but have no problem with it if they happen to misjudge their jump. They like to dig into the moss under the hides.


pulchra - These are the most secretive I have, but are really beautiful…including a bright red leg flash, metallic heads, and blue/green side patches. Even though they are secretive, they don’t seem to panic if the hide they are under is lifted up, etc. ...they just cringe a little. They don’t climb the glass as well as others and also do not jump too high. They love to dig a lot into the moss under the hides.






cb Commercial Sources:
Josh’s frogs sells cb viridis. (they have some right now)
Understory sells cb aurantica, cb viridis and a few others.


Both of these sources are great. Otherwise check the boards for hobby breeders....do your homework.


Most Mantellas listed for sale commercially are wild caught. I think the last import from Madagascar was late 2013/early 2014 and this was the first one in a few years. That’s the shipment that my WC came from to put together my breeding groups.
As Bill alluded to, it can be painful seeing frogs not make it during quarantine / acclimatization. You need to know what you are doing and not take it lightly.
That’s why I also recommend cb when possible.


These are my observations so far….as you can see they are all great but different.
It comes down to personal choice (and availability unfortunately)


My top personal favs from what I have are the aurantica, bernhardi, nigricans, pulchra….but they are all great and no regrets.


(Choosing Mantellas doesn’t preclude one from having darts as well


Cheers!


James