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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Strawberry Poison-dart Frog "Cauchero"
Oophaga pumilio "Cauchero"
This Panamanian pumilio morph exhibits varying shades of red, orange, or green with heavy dark spotting. It is territorial, arboreal, and requires a vertical bioactive enclosure.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Dendrobatidae
Subfamily:Dendrobatinae
Genus:Oophaga
Species:Oophaga pumilio "Cauchero"
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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 Cauchero region in the Bocas del Toro province of Panama. They inhabit the humid leaf litter, disturbed forests, and cacao plantations, relying on epiphytic bromeliads for shelter and breeding.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belonging to the family Dendrobatidae. Oophaga pumilio is a highly polymorphic species; the Cauchero locale is distinguished by its unique color combination of a red-orange torso and slate-blue legs.
Behavior and Habits: Diurnal and highly active. Territorial males call from elevated leaves to define their territory. Reproduction is specialized, with females carrying tadpoles to individual water-filled bromeliad axils and feeding them unfertilized trophic eggs.
Morphology: A tiny frog reaching 1.8–2.4 cm in total length. Males and females are similar in size. Males are distinguished by their dark, wrinkled vocal sac on the throat and calling behavior.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: A vertical rainforest terrarium (minimum 45x45x60 cm) is required. Live bromeliads (Neoregelia) are mandatory to provide pools of water for tadpole development. Furnish with branches, moss, and a thick layer of leaf litter.
Lighting and Heating: Keep daytime temperatures at 24–27°C, with a night drop to 21–23°C. Avoid temperatures above 28°C. Provide bright light for plants and low-output (2–5%) UVB.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity levels of 80–100%. Daily misting is required, and bromeliad cups must remain filled with water.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strictly feed micro-prey, such as springtails and small fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Dust food with a high-quality calcium, vitamin A, and D3 supplement three times a week.
Compatibility: High intraspecific aggression, particularly among males. Best kept in single compatible pairs (1.1). Do not mix different morphs or species of poison frogs.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly sensitive to starvation and dehydration; their rapid metabolism requires daily feeding. Handle only when strictly necessary, using wet, powder-free gloves.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to the Cauchero region in the Bocas del Toro province of Panama. They inhabit the humid leaf litter, disturbed forests, and cacao plantations, relying on epiphytic bromeliads for shelter and breeding.
Origin
Selective breeding and cultivarsCentral America and Caribbean
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 2.5 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 2.5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 2.5 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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