We’re eating breakfast on the back patio, and I see this little frog hop out from under some stuff behind my neighbors house. Isn’t it a cool looking little frog! A bit of internet research told me he’s a poison dart frog.
From what I understand the bright colors are a warning to predators to stay away, and they come in a number of bright colors. I showed the picture to one neighbor who said they are very dangerous and was upset that I saw one next to her yard (but she tends to freak out about everything!). Other neighbors said they are fine and they have never had a problem with them. They said that red and yellow ones are seen around here as well.
I will plan to keep my hands off these frogs, but I am very happy to have seen one. There is no end to the interesting things around here!
The Panama Adventure 
We had one last wet season. Eric grabbed the gloves and took him to the campo. Dos Gatos were smart enough to sit and watch him but not touch. 🙂 They are very pretty aren’t they?
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Oh that’s right! Now I remember seeing your blog post about that. Yes, they are very pretty, and glad your cats didn’t play with yours.
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Beautiful. We saw some tiny golden frogs in Panama. I guess they are pretty rare.
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It would be cool to see them. We’re right next to the woods so now that it’s raining again, maybe we’ll see more interesting critters.
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Fantastic photo op! How colorful!
Re: the neighbor who freaked: You took a picture…you didn’t invite the thing in to play with! Geez! people fear what they don’t know and some people don’t know much of anything! 😉
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This lady is known all around the neighborhood for being always upset about something and afraid of something so no one takes her too seriously. Other neighbors weren’t at all concerned and told me there are other colors too, so with any luck I’ll be seeing more of them. They are really colorful and so interesting!
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I have visited El Vale and there you can find a Zoo with an enclosure that hosts number of these frogs. They keep them in some fish tanks with vegetation. Some are so small you can bearly find them in the tank. Worth the trip
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Thanks for the info! I hope to visit this area sometime soon so I will definitely keep this in mind.
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They eat poison ants which causes basically fuels them to excrete a poison from their skin. The poison can only harm you if you touch the frog. If the frog was unable to eat the poisoned ants (if their was none in the environment) it wouldn’t even be able to excrete this poison. They arent as harmful as their names suggest but if you did touch one, make sure you wash your hands! Anywho, i reek with envy, wish i could see one of these, but they aren’t native to England. Though many reptile keepers have them as a pet, they are very popular.
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Thanks for the info, and thanks for stopping by my blog. I figure it’s better not to touch the wildlife, and especially if it’s bright colored since that can be a warning. I did some reading and learned they are often kept as pets and fed fruit flies. Here though, there are plenty of ants to keep them stocked up on poisons, so I will continue my hands off approach.
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