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Atlas / Library / Frog (poison dart frog) / Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog
IntermediateCITES IIIUCN LC
Frog (poison dart frog)

Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog

Dendrobates leucomelasกบลูกศรพิษแถบเหลือง

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. dendroboard.com

Photograph: w_endo · CC0

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/dendrobates-leucomelas

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature22–26 °C
Humidity80–100 %
Enclosure45×45×45

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
22–26°Ambient

One ambient band, 22–26°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states22-26 °C; NO hot spot; never >28 °C; slight day/night gradient beneficial

Humidity

80–100%Target RH

The sheet states80-100%; misting 1-2×/day with RO or rainwater; shallow soaking dish

UVB

2%beneficial

The sheet statesPhotoperiod 12 h; very low UVB (2%) optional but beneficial for D3 metabolism; full-spectrum plant lamp for vegetation

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m3–4 cm
1520100400 cm
3–4 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Adult size
3–4 cm SVL; juvenile ~0.8 cm
Lifespan
10–15 years in captivity
Legal status
CITES II (CB + export permit required)
Difficulty
Intermediate
Origin / habitat
Cohabitation
Pair or group 2♂ / 1♀; avoid several ♀ together (stress, egg consumption)

How common this animal is

1,796Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

water80–100 % RHUVB tube45 cm45 cm
waterUVB tube
50100150200 cm
45 × 45 × 45 cmWidth × depth × height
20dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWarm side: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesPlanted bioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm minimum for a pair; vertically oriented; LECA drainage + ABG substrate + leaf litter

Terrarium / aquarium
Planted bioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm minimum for a pair; vertically oriented; LECA drainage + ABG substrate + leaf litter
Temperature
22–26 °C; NO hot spot; never >28 °C; slight day/night gradient beneficial
Humidity / water
80–100%; misting 1–2×/day with RO or rainwater; shallow soaking dish
Lighting / UVB
Photoperiod 12 h; very low UVB (2%) optional but beneficial for D3 metabolism; full-spectrum plant lamp for vegetation
Substrate / setup
Draining bioactive: LECA, separation mesh, peat/topsoil/sand/activated charcoal mix + live mosses (Ficus pumila, Pothos, Bromeliads); dried oak leaves on the floor
Feeding
Fruit flies (D. melanogaster for juveniles, D. hydei for adults), springtails, dwarf isopods; calcium (without D3) dusting 3–4×/week, vitamins (with D3) 1×/week

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
10–15 yrLifespan in care
10 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Sexing
♂ slightly smaller and slimmer; ♀ more robust and rotund; ♂ calls and courts by tapping toes
Maturity
12–18 months depending on rearing conditions
Triggering
Longer misting sessions simulating seasonal rains; presence of bromeliads or small hidden water containers; stable temperature
Spawning
2–6 eggs on a flat leaf or film canister; ♂ moistens and guards eggs; hatching 10–14 days
Tadpoles / metamorphosis
♂ transports tadpoles on his back to a water source (phytotelm or water dish); tadpoles reared individually in small containers; feeding: spirulina, algae; metamorphosis 60–80 days
Juvenile rearing
Out of water at 0.8–1 cm; humid juvenile boxes with D. melanogaster fruit flies + springtails; do not mix different locales

Common health problems

Chytridiomycosis (Bd)
Signsskin ulcerations, lethargy, abnormal posture (on back) — itraconazole 0.01% bath × 11 days; strict quarantine
Hiding disease syndrome
Signsanimal permanently hidden, weight loss — often stress or parasitism; check temp, humidity, competition
Reversed cutaneous toxicity in captivity
SignsCB specimens are non-toxic (no alkaloids without source prey) — danger with WC only; do not handle without hand-washing
Quarantine
Signs30–45 days in a separate quarantine vivarium; RO water misting; Bd PCR check if unknown origin; observe appetite (fruit fly consumption) and surface behaviour (sign of health)

Good to know

  • Non-toxic in captivity (rearing diet without alkaloid-carrying arthropods): handle with clean, unsoaped hands, but zero poisoning risk for CB
  • Tadpole transport on ♂ back is characteristic of leucomelas and many Dendrobates: presence of bromeliads or film canisters facilitates this behaviour in captivity
  • Never mix morphs from different locales (genetic integrity; standard practice in dendrobatid herpetology)
  • Non-toxic in captivity (rearing diet without alkaloid-carrying arthropods) — handle with clean, unsoaped hands, but zero poisoning risk for CB
  • Tadpole transport on ♂ back is characteristic of leucomelas and many Dendrobates — presence of bromeliads or film canisters facilitates this behaviour in captivity

Common questions

Is it poisonous? Is it safe to have in the house?

Captive-bred dart frogs are not toxic, because the toxin comes from wild ants and mites they never eat here. Still wash your hands after any contact and keep the lid closed.

Can I take it out and handle it?

No, this is a look-at frog. Their skin absorbs everything from your hands, so we only move them with a cup when we need to.

What does it eat? It is so small.

Flightless fruit flies and springtails, dusted with vitamin and calcium powder, offered most days. You will need to culture the flies at home.

Can I keep several together?

Yes, this species is one of the easier ones to keep as a small group in a planted vivarium, as long as there is space and plenty of hiding spots.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 45 × 45 × 45 cmbecause enclosure — Planted bioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm minimum for a pair; vertically oriented; LECA drainage + ABG substrate + leaf litter
A thermometerbecause temp — 22-26 °C; NO hot spot; never >28 °C; slight day/night gradient beneficial
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 80–100%; misting 1–2×/day with RO or rainwater; shallow soaking dish
UVB 2-2%, stated as beneficial rather than requiredbecause uvb — Photoperiod 12 h; very low UVB (2%) optional but beneficial for D3 metabolism; full-spectrum plant lamp for vegetation

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

The Frog Lady — Breeding Dendrobates leucomelasDendroboard — Ranitomeya imitator thread (comparative methods)Josh's Frogs — Dendrobates auratus care sheet (comparative reference)NAHF — Dendrobates leucomelas Care

Others in this group

AxolotlAmbystoma mexicanumMimic Poison FrogRanitomeya imitatorDyeing Poison Dart FrogDendrobates tinctoriusGolden Poison Dart FrogPhyllobates terribilisGreen-and-black Poison Dart FrogDendrobates auratusStrawberry Poison Dart FrogOophaga pumilioAfrican Clawed FrogXenopus laevisAfrican Dwarf FrogHymenochirus boettgeri

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.