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Tomato Frog
Dyscophus antongilii
The Tomato Frog is a robust, terrestrial amphibian endemic to Madagascar, famous for its bright red-orange warning colors. Burrowing and inactive, it needs a damp, loamy substrate to ambush prey.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Microhylidae
Subfamily:Dyscophinae
Genus:Dyscophus
Species:Dyscophus antongilii
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 80 %
Day temperature
24 - 28 °C
Night temperature
20 - 22 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Endemic to the humid, swampy forest lowlands, agricultural marshes, irrigated fields, and slow-moving rivers around Antongil Bay in northeastern Madagascar. They are fossorial frogs that spend dry seasons burrowed in loose soil, emerging in large numbers during tropical summer rains.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belongs to the Microhylidae family (narrow-mouthed frogs). Known globally as the Tomato Frog due to its round, smooth, bright red body resembling a ripe tomato. True D. antongilii is listed under CITES Appendix I, and is represented in the pet trade mostly by the non-threatened, captive-bred D. guineti (False Tomato Frog).
Behavior and Habits: Strictly terrestrial, slow-moving burrowers. They dig backward into soft soil using their hind feet, remaining buried with only their eyes and nostrils exposed. When threatened, they inflate their bodies and secrete a thick, sticky white skin secretion that can temporarily glue a predator's mouth shut.
Morphology: Display strong sexual dimorphism. Mature females are much larger, reaching up to 10–11 cm and exhibiting a brilliant, saturated tomato-red or orange-red dorsum. Males are significantly smaller, slender, and show a duller yellow-orange or brownish coloration.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a horizontal enclosure with a large floor plan (minimum 60x40 cm for a small group). Provide a deep layer (15–20 cm) of loose, damp substrate consisting of peat moss and coconut fiber to allow digging. Include dry oak leaves, cork bark pieces, and a very shallow water dish for hydration.
Lighting and Heating: Prefer a temperature gradient of 25–27°C on the warm side during the day, with access to cooler, burrowed zones of 21–23°C. Provide a night drop to 20–22°C. A low-intensity UVB light (5%) is recommended to prevent Metabolic Bone Disease and support general health.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain substrate moisture and ambient humidity at 70–80%. Good ventilation is essential to prevent stagnant air, build-up of ammonia, and bacterial skin infections like Red Leg disease. Clean the water bowl daily and rotate the substrate regularly.
Feeding and Supplementation: Voracious eaters. Feed a variety of size-appropriate live insects including crickets, roaches, and earthworms. Dust all prey items with high-quality calcium and vitamin D3 supplements to support their fast-growing skeletal structure. Avoid feeding pinky mice frequently to prevent fatty liver disease.
Compatibility: Can be kept in groups. Ensure all individuals are of similar size, as their non-selective feeding habits and poor vision can lead to accidental cannibalism if smaller frogs are housed with large adult females.
Health and Common Diseases: The skin secretions can be mildly irritating to human skin and eyes; wash hands thoroughly after maintenance and do not handle with bare hands. Susceptible to respiratory issues in stagnant air, and bone deformities if calcium supplementation is lacking.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to the humid, swampy forest lowlands, agricultural marshes, irrigated fields, and slow-moving rivers around Antongil Bay in northeastern Madagascar. They are fossorial frogs that spend dry seasons burrowed in loose soil, emerging in large numbers during tropical summer rains.
Origin
North AmericaAfrica and MadagascarEast Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 11 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 11 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 11 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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