# Do Dendrobates tinctorius go with auratus?



## Phyllobates azureus (Aug 18, 2010)

In July, i purchased two mint poison dart frogs (auratus). They were beautiful frogs, and seemed like they would live long and healthy lives. 
It also seemed that the male was interested in the female, if you know what i meen.
But last night, something tragic occured.
While giving the frogs their evening mist, i found the dead body of the male frog. It is a mystery as to how he died. He seems to have fallen, perhaps off of one of the branches in his cage or off the glass. His body was oddly shaped from when i bought him, so he may have had fatal birth defects. Another possibility is that the female ate all the crickets, leaving him without food. 
Today i will bury him out in the garden and put a rock over his spot to mark his grave (I always bury all of my pets).
Pehaps i will even draw an auratus on the rock as a tribute to him.
For the next few weeks, i will watch the female to make sure she is OK, and then i will purchase a new, younger, and healthier male frog. I may also purchase one from another species, and this is why i have come to Dendroboard for help. A reptile store not far from me sells D. tinctorius, and i was wondering if they (tinctorius) overlap with auratus, or if i should not put a tinctorius with the female auratus. I'm not sure, please help me!


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## jeffr (May 15, 2009)

Are you sure you have Auratus and not a Terribilis? There is no such thing as a mint Auratus. Is it a solid color? Auratus and Tincs really shouldn't be mixed


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## BOOSHIFIED (Jun 23, 2009)

Two things:
1. You really should avoid mixing of species
2. You should look into culturing fruit flies. Once you do this you will never want to see crickets ever again


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Also you should wait and make sure it's really dead, frogs can have seizures where they stretch out and only look dead


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## srrrio (May 12, 2007)

The good news is you have found an information source on this board that will help prevent future deaths and it would be a good idea to wait on getting an additional frog. The bad news is that you must read, and read! Here is one to start :

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/11865-good-threads-read-beginners.html

There are sticky threads at the start of each section in the forum that should answer most important care issues.Also, you did not mention if your were dusting crickets with vitamin supplements which is REALLY important. You can find more info on that as well as culturing fruit flies in the food and feeding section. 
Feel free to ask questions here as well  as somtimes the info can be confusing at first.

Saly


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## DCreptiles (Jan 26, 2009)

im sorry to hear about the death of your frog. i have a few helpful tips for you to follow befor purchasing your next frog, and can possibly prevent future deaths.

A) research the animal you are interested in. research their envirement they come from their behavior and their diet. try to find examples such as photos and step by step build journals.

B) try to locate a reputable breeder wether they be a vendor or someone breeding for fun as a hobbyist but try to find someone that can provide you with backround info and possibly a care sheet for them. Remeber when purchasing animals at shows a lot of the time vendors take animals in as trades and dont know much about the animal that is now on their table for sale. So always ask questions befor purchasing.

C) It is almost NEVER a good idea to mix species of any kind from snakes to lizards to frogs. we as hobbyist appriciate the purity in the bloodline and take great pride in creating natural envirements to our animals and try our best to keep their stress levels down. mixing animals can create interspecie aggression and can raise a stress level to dangerous peaks.

D) when it comes to designing and feeding make sure the moss, plants, hurts, wood, bark and other tanks decore comes from a reputable person and make sure you wash and rinse everything that goes into your tanks so you know its safe and clean.

these are just a few healthy things that we here on the board try to practice and spread.

hope this is helpful!


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## JimO (May 14, 2010)

I would most definitely not mix species or even different morphs of the same species. They can produce hybrids, which are not good for the hobby. Could you send a photo of the female? It could be that they were both the same sex and the dominant frog so intimidated the other, that it died from stress-induced sickness or malnutrician. Tinctorius morphs are all very territorial and rarely will two adults of the same sex get along together. Auratus aren't quite as bad, but there will be conflicts there as well.

I've never heard of a dart frog dying from a fall in the limited space of a vivarium.

As Jeff pointed out, there is a Mint Terribilis morph, but although many Auratus morphs have green in their pattern, there is no Mint Auratus. Make sure you know what it is, so you can get a companion of the same species, same morph and opposite sex. This is the best situation for most dart frogs. Some do well in groups, but a pair is always a safe arrangement.


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## Phyllobates azureus (Aug 18, 2010)

I have determined that this is an El Cope morph auratus. I confused that with mint terribilis. It's definately auratus, as they are both blue-green with dark brown/black splotches.

I will post an image soon...she's hiding right now.


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## Phyllobates azureus (Aug 18, 2010)

Here is the image of her.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Looks like Auratus to me! She's a beauty


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## billschwinn (Dec 17, 2008)

That looks like Bronze Auratus.


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## JimO (May 14, 2010)

It's hard to see in the photo, but that could be a he rather than a she.


Phyllobates azureus said:


> Here is the image of her.


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## ab1502 (Jun 27, 2007)

be careful disposing of anything vivarium or pdf related in the natural environment. You could be introducing pathogens that did not exist in the environment previously.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

billschwinn said:


> That looks like Bronze Auratus.


Yep, that's what I thought too.


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## MA70Snowman (May 18, 2010)

gtclipse01 said:


> Yep, that's what I thought too.


ditto, looks exactly like the trio I just bought off Dblock


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