Every month, we will be featuring a different frog with expanded information and special prices. Please check back monthly to find out what will be the next Frog of the Month.

The frog for October is a Green form D. pumilio. There are several green forms of D. pumilio, so it can be a little confusing. This form is believed to originate from Shepard Island lies off the Caribbean Coast of Panama, in the Laguna de Chiriqui. The D. pumilio found here are olive green with rusty brown legs. The colors can vary between individual animals with the most outstanding animals having bright, yellow green on the flanks. They are a smaller form of D. pumilio when compared to other forms such as those from Bastimentos.

Green D. pumilio can be maintained like most other forms of D. pumilio. To encourage breeding, bromeliads should be used in their terrariums. All D. pumilio are egg-feeders. This means that after breeding, the female frog takes the tadpole and deposits it in a water source. Normally the deposit sites would be in bromeliads, or some other plant that hold water, but D. pumilio have been found to utilize other water sources, such as discarded coconut shells, and even seashells. Tadpoles must be raised on a diet of infertile eggs from its parent, which will return throughout the tadpole’s development to lay the eggs for it to feed on. Care must be given at this point not to disturb the enclosure too much, as the female may stop feeding if she becomes distressed. It should take approximately 6-8 weeks for the tadpole to metamorphose. Though it is possible to raise the tadpoles without having the female feed them, most methods are lengthy, and have a lower success rate.

Clucth from Green D. pumilio

Size comparison of newly morphed froglets

D. pumilio are usually considered difficult to keep and breed, but if provided with proper care and housing, this form should breed readily in captivity. As with most egg-feeders, one should only expect 1-3 froglets to appear on each breeding cycle. On occasion we have had as many as five successfully morph out from one cycle. The froglets that emerge are extremely small, even compared to other D. pumilio forms, so anyone who works with this form should be prepared with some very tiny food items for the newly morphed froglets. While they should not be considered easy by any standard, and might be better suited for the more advanced hobbyist, as far as egg-feeders go, we would consider this form as one of the less difficult to breed.