So I'm in the process of doing a fully planted terrarium for my ambilobe and I got thinking........would it be a bad idea to put a few dart frogs in there with him to live in the lower portions of the terrarium ? Let me know your thoughts thanks!

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1.1 blue bar ambilobe
10+ years saltwater reef aquarium experience

Most dart frog species have poisonous secretions... if your chameleon were to try and eat them - in spite of the frogs' bright aposematic (warning) coloration - it could end up badly for both animals!

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2.1 Pardalis 2.1 Jackson’s 1.0 Graceful 1.0 Quad 1.0 Veiled

Correct me if I'm wrong but my friend that has a lot of dart frogs says they don't secrete the toxins anymore do to being captive bred and the lack of natural prey that helps them build the toxins?

That's true as long as they come from a long line of cb frogs they lose all poison

Darts need a constant high humidity which would not be too good for the Cham. I think one animal would not be able to have its needs met if you kept them together. I have both and think it would be cool, but I don't think both animals would thrive.

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Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

Darts would not thrive in a chameleon environment and a chameleon would not thrive in a dart environment. The humidity is the biggest problem there. Darts needs a practically completely enclosed glass cage to keep humidity near 100% and they can't handle heat. A cham needs air flow and heat. And toxic or not, your cham will eat every frog they see! They don't differentiate between small moving things. Small and moving = food. That's an expensive snack that's not very good for your cham.

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Mixing animals is generally frowned upon because it is an incredibly difficult and ADVANCED thing to do.


The poison issue, as you pointed out, is true if the frogs come from a long enough line. You still have the issue of your cham eating your valueable darts.


i was about to make a lengthier post but I see ferretinmyshoes has already nailed most of the basics...


even if you were to find two species that have the same care requirements, you must then consider their territory within the enclosure and also make sure that none of their defensive territory overlaps.

Even if those are considered, care must be considered for cross-species infections and contaminations; something that is harmless or even beneficial to one species can on occasion be deadly to another.

Yea, as a student on a limited budget I just cringe thinking about a $50 frog ending up as lunch! lol Poor things, they're so pretty, I'd hate to risk it. An like others have said they wouldn't do well together.

If you had the space for something more closely resembling a zoo exhibit, like a room-sized cage fully planted and naturalistic you could perhaps research mixing species that belong to the same ecosystem, say panthers and giant day geckos, like grandis, who are more humid-loving. Perhaps, it's the first combo that pops into my head but I'd have to look into it.

But it would have to be considering the environment of each species, trying to combine only those that would live in the same niche together in the wild. Otherwise one will suffer while one does well.

Obviously zoos do it successfully, if the day ever comes to try something like this in enough space it wouldn't hurt to get a hold of the people in change of those exhibits and e-mail/call them to get their tips and experiences. Most people are more than happy to share info, so it's worth a try to see what they have together and how they do it.

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While I wouldn't recommend it, it is possible to house dart frogs and pygmy chameleons together with enough space. However, if you have to ask if the general concept is okay, you shouldn't be trying it. Even incredibly experienced keepers can have troubles with housing multiple animals together, so as a newer keeper, it is likely to end in failure with one or more of the animals dying or becoming ill.

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Great thanks guys!