Pet poison dart frogs

[jody]

thats the idea I had, that the frogs made the toxins out of the bugs they ate. Manufactured their own potent thing from toxic compouns in their food. rather than reusing poison made by the bugs.

[Kurt]

thats the idea I had, that the frogs made the toxins out of the bugs they ate. Manufactured their own potent thing from toxic compouns in their food.

That's not true for all frogs. Some are toxic period. Bufonids come to mind.

[Ron]

Actually, ALL amphibians could be considered toxic. Given their damp skin, it's a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, etc...so they all excrete some level of toxicity as a defense, regardless of what species. Can you handle Dendrobatids in captivity? Yes, and the vast majority of them could be handled in the wild as well. However, my worry would be less about what harm could come to the handler and more about what harm could come to the frog.

But you're right: their toxins are sequestered from the insect they eat that contain toxins, such as oribatid mites, ants, etc. which obtained them through the plants that contained them.

[Tom Highum]

Actually I think they now believe that they get the poison from beetles. And about the ground for breeding bacteria thing. I believe some frogs have skin secretions that actually fight bacteria and parasites. I believe white's do this.

[Ron]

Actually I think they now believe that they get the poison from beetles.

That's interesting, Tom...I had not heard this. Do you have any references to studies or literature regarding beetles as a source?

[Tom Highum]

I will try to find it.

[John]

I have a vague recollection of reading a journal article that surveyed the arthropods in the habitat and found low levels of the the toxins in question in ants (and perhaps something else). That's going back through my memory about 8 years though.

[Tom Highum]

Melyrid beetles (Choresine): A putative source for the batrachotoxin alkaloids found in poison-dart frogs and toxic passerine birds — PNAS John what do you think about this? I think (didn't read the whole thing and most of it was over my head) it is mainly about Phyllobates terribilis