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IntermediateCITES IIIUCN EN
Frog (poison dart frog)

Golden Poison Dart Frog

Phyllobates terribilisกบลูกศรพิษทองคำ

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. joshsfrogs.com

Photograph: Brian Gratwicke · CC BY

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.

Terrestrial · temperate · humidFrom the sheet: 23–27°C, humidity 80–100%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

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/phyllobates-terribilis

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature23–27 °C
Humidity80–100 %
Enclosure45×45×45

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
23–27°Ambient

One ambient band, 23–27°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 states23-27 °C; tolerance 21-28 °C

Humidity

80–100%Target RH

The sheet states80-100%; misting 1-2×/day RO water

UVB

2%beneficial

The sheet statesPhotoperiod 12 h; UVB 2% beneficial

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m4.5–5.5 cm
1520100400 cm
4.5–5.5 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
4.5–5.5 cm SVL; juvenile ~1 cm
Lifespan
8–15 years in captivity
Legal status
CITES II (CB + permit; WC individuals dangerous)
Difficulty
Intermediate (CB non-toxic)
Origin / habitat
Cohabitation
Groups possible (10 L/individual); keep in pairs for breeding; monitor egg consumption among ♀

How common this animal is

606Live 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 statesBioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm for a group of 3; 60 cm side for 5-6 individuals

Terrarium / aquarium
Bioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm for a group of 3; 60 cm side for 5–6 individuals
Temperature
23–27 °C; tolerance 21–28 °C
Humidity / water
80–100%; misting 1–2×/day RO water
Lighting / UVB
Photoperiod 12 h; UVB 2% beneficial
Substrate / setup
Bioactive + leaf litter + low bromeliads + hides; terrestrial species — little climbing
Feeding
D. hydei (larger size than leucomelas) + mini crickets; calcium without D3 × 4–5/week, vitamins × 1/week; larger eater than other dart frogs of the same size

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
8–15 yrLifespan in care
8 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, very characteristic call; ♀ very distended abdomen before spawning; subtle dimorphism
Maturity
12–18 months
Triggering
Extended misting; film canisters or palm leaves as spawning sites; mixed-sex group
Spawning
5–20 eggs on a large leaf or film canister; hatching 14–18 days; ♂ transports tadpoles
Tadpoles / metamorphosis
Individual rearing in deli cup; accept spirulina + vegetable tablets; metamorphosis 60–80 days; froglets capable of eating D. hydei from water exit
Juvenile rearing
Froglets among the most robust of the genus: relatively easy to wean; juvenile box + D. hydei from day 1

Common health problems

Health
SignsObesity if overfed (greedy frog) — ration to 2–3×/week for adults; avoid excess mealworms
Chytridiomycosis (Bd)
Signsidentical risk to other Dendrobates — quarantine and PCR recommended
Health
SignsObesity if overfed (greedy frog) — ration to 2–3×/week for adults; avoid excess mealworms
Quarantine
Signs30 days; humid 20×20×20 cm box; D. hydei available; observe hunting activity (good health indicator); Bd PCR if CB not certified

Good to know

  • Only species where batrachotoxin (BTX) is present in WC specimens. CB are completely harmless as BTX is of dietary origin (Choresine insects)
  • Among the easiest dart frogs to breed and wean: good froglets for beginners in advanced dartkeeping
  • ♂ is the main caregiver for eggs and transports tadpoles: same pattern as D. leucomelas
  • Only species where batrachotoxin (BTX) is present in WC specimens — CB are completely harmless as BTX is of dietary origin (Choresine insects)
  • Among the easiest dart frogs to breed and wean — good froglets for beginners in advanced dartkeeping
  • ♂ is the main caregiver for eggs and transports tadpoles — same pattern as D. leucomelas

Common questions

Is this really the most poisonous frog in the world?

In the wild, yes, it is famously toxic. In captivity the toxin comes entirely from wild diet, so captive-bred frogs like these are not toxic.

Is it safe in a house with children?

Captive-bred ones are safe, but we still tell every customer the same thing: keep the lid closed, do not let children handle the frogs, and wash hands after touching anything in the tank.

How big does it get and what does it eat?

One of the larger dart frogs, roughly the size of a large coin at maturity, and it has a big appetite for fruit flies and small crickets dusted with supplement.

Can they live in a group?

Yes, this species is quite tolerant and a small group in a large planted vivarium usually works well.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 45 × 45 × 45 cmbecause enclosure — Bioactive vivarium 45×45×45 cm for a group of 3; 60 cm side for 5–6 individuals
A thermometerbecause temp — 23-27 °C; tolerance 21-28 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 80–100%; misting 1–2×/day RO water
UVB 2-2%, stated as beneficial rather than requiredbecause uvb — Photoperiod 12 h; UVB 2% beneficial

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

Sources

Josh's Frogs — P. terribilis YellowReptiles Magazine — Care Tips for the Golden Dart FrogCitizen Conservation — Breeding Guidelines P. terribilis 2024 (PDF)Frog Forum — Care & Breeding P. terribilis

Others in this group

AxolotlAmbystoma mexicanumYellow-banded Poison Dart FrogDendrobates leucomelasMimic Poison FrogRanitomeya imitatorDyeing Poison Dart FrogDendrobates tinctoriusGreen-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.