Strawberry Poison Frog: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Frogs and Toads · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. Not all strawberry poison frogs are red. This tiny frog comes in about 15 to 30 different colour forms.
2. This frog is not born toxic. Its skin becomes poisonous from certain ants and mites that it eats.
3. Dad's job is to guard the eggs and carry water to them, so they never dry out before hatching.
4. When the eggs hatch, mum gives her tadpoles a piggyback ride to small pools of water.
5. Every few days, mum returns to each tadpole and lays food eggs for it. The tadpoles cannot eat anything else.

The quiz

1. How many colour forms does the strawberry poison frog have?

• Only red
• About 15 to 30 (correct)
• Just two
• More than 500

There are about 15 to 30 colour forms.

2. Where does this frog's poison come from?

• From the plants it sleeps on
• From the sunlight
• From the ants and mites it eats (correct)
• From the water it lives in

Its skin turns toxic when it eats certain ants and mites.

3. What does the father frog do for the eggs?

• Guards them and keeps them wet (correct)
• Carries them in his mouth
• Buries them in the ground
• Nothing at all

Males defend the nests and water them.

4. How does the mother move her tadpoles to water?

• She pushes them along a stream
• She carries them in her mouth
• She lets the rain wash them down
• She carries them on her back (correct)

She carries the tadpoles on her back to small pools of water.

5. What do strawberry poison frog tadpoles eat?

• Small fish
• Mosquito larvae
• Eggs laid by their mother (correct)
• Leaves

Mum lays food eggs for them every few days, and they cannot eat anything else.

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