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False Tomato Frog
Dyscophus guineti
The False Tomato Frog is a visually striking, terrestrial amphibian from Madagascar. With care requirements identical to the true Tomato Frog, it is a legally accessible and highly popular alternative.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Microhylidae
Subfamily:Dyscophinae
Genus:Dyscophus
Species:Dyscophus guineti
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
22 - 27 °C
Night temperature
19 - 23 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Endemic to the humid primary rainforests and swampy regions of eastern Madagascar. They live on the forest floor, spending much of their time buried under damp soil and leaf litter.
Taxonomy and Genetics: A member of the Microhylidae family, commonly known as the False Tomato Frog or Sambava Tomato Frog. It is a close relative of the highly protected Dyscophus antongilii (CITES I), from which it differs by having a slightly lighter or more orange-toned coloration.
Behavior and Habits: Terrarium-dwelling, fossorial, and nocturnal. They spend daylight hours buried in the substrate or hiding under bark. At night, they hunt as ambush predators. When threatened, they inflate their bodies to appear larger.
Morphology: Features a stout, rounded body. Females are significantly larger and heavier, reaching 9-10 cm, while males are smaller, growing to about 6-6.5 cm. Coloration ranges from bright orange to tomato red.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a spacious horizontal terrarium (minimum 60x45x30 cm). Provide a deep (7-10 cm) burrowing substrate of damp coconut fiber or peat moss, along with leaf litter. A shallow water dish is required as they are poor swimmers.
Lighting and Heating: Maintain daytime temperatures between 25 and 28°C, dropping to 21-23°C at night. Avoid excessive heat. Provide low-intensity 5% UVB lighting to support skeletal health and prevent metabolic bone disease.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity levels between 75% and 85% with daily misting. Good ventilation is essential to prevent stagnant conditions that can cause bacterial skin infections.
Feeding and Supplementation: Insatiable insectivores. Feed on crickets, roaches, and worms of appropriate size. Dust prey items regularly with calcium and vitamin D3 to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
Compatibility: Can be kept in small groups if the enclosure is large enough. Avoid housing them with smaller frogs that they might consume, or other species with different care requirements.
Health and Common Diseases: When stressed, they secrete a sticky, white skin toxin that can be irritating to human eyes and mucous membranes. Regular substrate cleaning is necessary to prevent Red Leg syndrome caused by waste accumulation.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to the humid primary rainforests and swampy regions of eastern Madagascar. They live on the forest floor, spending much of their time buried under damp soil and leaf litter.
Origin
Africa and Madagascar
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 11.24 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 11.24 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 11.24 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.
Related species
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