Poison Dart Frogs

[Pict]

Here's a question nobody has been able to answer for me yet.

On a high ridge near here there is no water except for what condenses from fog and collects in bromeliads, about 100 ml per plant. I was harvestign this water fro purification one time when I spotted a bright little frog floating in the bottom of a plant. I called my Brazilian friend over to look at it and he recoiled in horror. His reaction was extreme, it was a poison dart frog. Them'll kill'ya!

Now here's the question. Did that frog make that trapped plant water a toxic tea by his mere presence or does he need to be rubbed the wrong way to release his poison?

The nearest answer I've been able to find is that TOADS will poison a dogs water dish if they are left to soak in it. The dog will react to the water as if he had picked up the toad in his mouth, foaming etc. TOADS however are dry land creatures. A poison frog spends 24/7 in water. I find it hard to accept that he constantly replaces his poison as it would be constantly washed off. My guess is that it's not so easily washed away as a toads poison.

Either way we took a new view of the local plants and check them for frogs. Mac

 

[RovingArcher]

According to this site, the toxins are released through the skin like most other frogs and toads. With that in mind, I think that I'd have second thoughts on drinking the water.

 

[Tantalus]

http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/poison-dart-frogs.cfm

 

[Paganwolf]

Any chance of a picture of it? Ive kept a few Dendrobatids in the past, it would be interesting to see which one it is...

 

[Pict]

“Natives have been known to have lost dogs and even children when they took a drink of water that a leaf Terribilis crossed over fell into a bowl or cup of water. Needless to say, this is one Toxic Frog!”

That’s enough answer for me to avoid “hallucinogenic frog water”. I have read that dart frogs often lay eggs in water trapped in plants. Apparently their highly complex poison is concentrated from things in their diet. As long as they keep eating certain things they remain poisonous. It makes sense then that it could be constantly secreting from the skin.

The above quote is enough to give pause when taking water from plants in the rainforest. In my situation it was high on a mountain to with no trees around. It really was the last place you would think to find a poison frog.

On the other hand “stories related by natives” can be real eye openers. A very experienced native hunter once told me that lead shotgun pellets are highly toxic, they kill birds almost instantly, and it only takes two or three. He had heard of lead poisoning and figured that was the pathology behind a shotgun blast! It didn’t stop him from getting lead on target. In the same light I have no real understanding of how a computer works but I use it every day. Mac

Paganwolf, sorry no photo. He was red with yellow spots and about 1.5 inches long. To get him out of the plant we would have had to tip it over and this is a very fragile ecosystem on these mountains. I don't mess with it.
My friend, former Brazilian Mountain Infantry, would have nothing to do with this frog.

 

[Realgar]

One of the Phyllomedusa is used as a drug - a patch of skin ( on the human ) is burnt away with a smouldering twig ( on the labia if you're female! ) and the vemon applied to the wound. Apparently the negative effects - vomiting, violent purging and collapse happen first with the boosts to stamina and confidence occuring when you come round.
Realgar