Variable Poison Frog — Fact Sheet

Ranitomeya variabilis · Variable Poison Frog

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Start with a compatible pair in a densely planted 45 × 45 × 60 cm enclosure, with more room for any larger group.
• Quarantine new arrivals separately and arrange amphibian-veterinary screening.
• Keep species and locality lines separate.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Provide branching cork, fine climbing routes, dense plants, leaf litter and about 5–8 cm of drained soil.
• Fit removable small nursery cups among cover if breeding is intended.
• Screen every cable opening and door gap against frogs and fruit flies.

💡 Lighting

• Use a gentle 12-hour daylight cycle and darkness at night.
• Provide shaded routes through foliage and ensure plant lights do not warm the roof excessively.
• Any optional low-level UVB needs measured exposure and a supplementation plan; small frogs must be able to move completely out of it.

🌡️ Temperature

• A conservative starting range for commonly kept cooler locality lines is 22–25 °C by day and 19–22 °C at night.
• Confirm the line’s origin with the breeder; some lowland populations experience warmer conditions.
• Measure at occupied leaf and branch positions, not just outside the glass.
• Avoid strong basking lamps, direct sun and sudden cooling.

💧 Humidity & water

Air humidity: 80–100%. Working range near the frogs, based on captive guidance for the Southern locality line. Readings should be lower during the drier part of the day and higher after evening misting and overnight; 100% is a possible peak, not a constant target. Check a sheltered resting site as well as the open area, with the probe away from direct spray.

Keep gentle airflow, drainage and permanently moist refuges while exposed leaves partly dry between sprays. Use amphibian-safe, dechlorinated water. Water-holding bromeliads or nursery cups need easy access and regular cleaning; do not flood the enclosure floor. Confirm the locality of your frogs when adapting the conditions.

🪳 Diet

Staple foods — follow the feeding schedule:

• Offer small flightless Drosophila melanogaster as the main cultured prey, with springtails and suitable tiny aphids for variety.
• Feed small portions daily and confirm each frog eats; a background springtail population is not a complete diet.
• Do not combine high-dose products or use wild ants and other unidentified insects.
• Keep several staggered fly cultures.
• Choose prey no wider than the space between the eyes; offer smaller items if swallowing looks difficult.

In moderation:

• Offer measured small meals; check that every frog feeds without becoming overweight.

Avoid:

• Pesticide-contaminated food, spoiled leftovers and unverified wild-collected foods.

Supplements:

• Use a fresh amphibian calcium-vitamin programme that supplies appropriate A and D3 according to its label.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Weight loss can be concealed by a frog’s small size; check body condition and feeding behaviour frequently.
• Red skin, weakness, persistent hiding or bloating need an amphibian veterinarian.
• Transfer by clean container; necessary contact requires new powder-free gloves rinsed with suitable water.
• Captive-bred frogs on conventional diets generally lack wild dietary alkaloids, but never assume unknown-origin animals are toxin-free or allow secretions near the mouth or eyes.