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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Green and Black Dart Frog "El Cope"
Dendrobates auratus "El Cope"
A small, terrestrial dart frog from Panama featuring a dark background with intricate metallic green or bronze-green patterns. It is shy and requires dense planting and leaf litter.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Dendrobatidae
Genus:Dendrobates
Species:Dendrobates auratus "El Cope"
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
80 - 100 %
Day temperature
23 - 26 °C
Night temperature
20 °C
Ambient temperature
23 - 26 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
Basso
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to Central America (specifically Panama) and extending into northern Colombia, this frog is found in lowland wet rainforests, cacao plantations, and humid forest edges, close to streams and temporary pools.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Reaches 3.5 to 4.5 cm in length. The "El Cope" morph is a Panamanian locality characterized by a dark, almost black body with clean, sharp bands or patterns of light green, mint, or cream, creating a high-contrast aesthetic.
Behavior and Habits: Generally shy and active during the day. They spend much of their time searching for food in dense leaf litter or low-growing plants. The male's vocalization is a prolonged buzzing sound.
Morphology: Sexual dimorphism is subtle. Adult females are visibly larger, wider, and more rounded. Males are slimmer and exhibit very small, inconspicuous nuptial pads when breeding.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a well-ventilated terrarium (e.g. 45x45x60 cm) with a mix of floor space and vertical climbing area. The habitat must be densely planted with mosses, ferns, and small bromeliads, and finished with a thick layer of oak or beech leaf litter.
Lighting and Heating: Keep daytime temperatures around 23-26°C and nighttime temperatures dropping to 20°C. Avoid temperatures above 28°C to prevent heat stress. Provide proper lighting for live plants and a low UVB (2-5% UVI) source.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain relative humidity between 80% and 95%. Automated daily misting is highly recommended. Good cross-ventilation is mandatory to keep the air fresh and prevent mold or harmful bacterial growth.
Feeding and Supplementation: Diet consists of flightless fruit flies (Drosophila), springtails, and dwarf isopods fed 4-5 times a week. Dust prey items with high-quality calcium carbonate at every feeding, and a vitamin/D3 supplement once a week.
Compatibility: Mildly territorial but relatively tolerant. They can be housed in small groups or harems (one male, multiple females) in spacious setups with visual barriers to minimize potential wrestling.
Health and Common Diseases: Prone to chytridiomycosis and bacterial skin infections if conditions are unsanitary. Never handle these frogs with bare hands to protect their delicate skin. Always use clean, dechlorinated, or reverse osmosis water.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to Central America (specifically Panama) and extending into northern Colombia, this frog is found in lowland wet rainforests, cacao plantations, and humid forest edges, close to streams and temporary pools.
Origin
Cosmopolitan or introducedExtra-Amazon South AmericaCentral America and CaribbeanNorth AmericaEast AsiaTropical oceans and reefs
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 4.2 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 4.2 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 4.2 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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