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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Dyeing Dart Frog "Cobalt"
Dendrobates tinctorius "Cobalt"
This striking tinctorius morph features a dark background with bright yellow head markings and solid cobalt blue limbs. It is highly active, terrestrial, and requires high humidity.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Dendrobatidae
Genus:Dendrobates
Species:Dendrobates tinctorius "Cobalt"
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
80 - 100 %
Day temperature
22 - 26 °C
Night temperature
19 - 21 °C
UVB
None
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Endemic to the dense primary rainforests of the Guiana Shield (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil). They live strictly on the forest floor, moving through thick leaf litter, ferns, and rocks near streams where humidity is near saturation and light barely penetrates the canopy.
Taxonomy and Genetics: A large member of the Dendrobatidae family, reaching 5-6 cm in size. The 'Cobalt' morph is highly sought after for its striking contrast of bright yellow markings on the head and back, transitioning into solid cobalt blue on the limbs and lower flanks over a dark background.
Behavior and Habits: Diurnal, terrestrial, and highly active. Despite their bright warning coloration, they are shy and spend the day foraging in the leaf litter. Males defend small territories with a soft buzzing call. Females can be aggressive toward each other, competing for breeding rights.
Morphology: Females are significantly larger and rounder when mature, while males are slimmer and have wider toe pads on their front feet to grip the female during mating.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a horizontal or cubic bioactive terrarium (e.g. 60x45x45 cm for a pair). A thick layer of leaf litter (such as oak or magnolia) is mandatory to provide hiding spots and support micro-fauna like springtails. Provide coconut huts and ground-level wood pieces for shelter.
Lighting and Heating: Prefers cool temperatures: 22-26°C during the day with a slight drop to 20-22°C at night. Temperatures above 28°C can be fatal. Low-intensity LED plant lighting and a weak UVB source (e.g. 2-5% UVB) are recommended for skeletal health.
Humidity and Hydration: Requires constant high humidity of 80-100%. The substrate must remain damp but not swampy. Mist daily, preferably in the morning. They do not use water dishes, absorbing moisture through their skin and drinking from water droplets.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insectivorous. Feed daily or every other day with flightless fruit flies (Drosophila hydei or melanogaster), springtails, and dwarf isopods. Supplement every feeding with pure calcium, and use a complete vitamin/mineral supplement with D3 once or twice a week.
Compatibility: Best kept individually or in a sexed pair. Housing multiple females is not recommended due to high female-female aggression. Do not mix with other species to avoid pathogen transmission, hybridization, and stress.
Health and Common Diseases: Never handle with bare hands, as skin oils and salts can damage their sensitive skin. Prone to nutritional deficiencies (such as spindly leg syndrome in tadpoles and MBD in adults) and chytridiomycosis. Quarantine all new animals.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to the dense primary rainforests of the Guiana Shield (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil). They live strictly on the forest floor, moving through thick leaf litter, ferns, and rocks near streams where humidity is near saturation and light barely penetrates the canopy.
Origin
Selective breeding and cultivarsAmazon, Orinoco, and Guianas
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 5 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 5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 5 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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