Paprika Supplements for Poisonous Dart Frogs

"Hi! My name is Richard Reavis. I am co-owner of Black Jungle Terrarium Supply and I am here today on behalf of expertvillage.com discussing the proper feeding and supplementation of poison dart frogs. We’ve gone over the different vitamins supplements and calcium supplements and now I would like to discuss another supplement that is not really nutrional at all but is more of an esthetic in coloring agent. Paprika is just one of the different types of supplements that you can use to help restore and maintain the natural red coloration of several dark frog species. We use it on all our dark frogs simply that it is easier than just supplementing the ones that typically use it and there is no ill effects from doing this. It is not going to turn your azureus purple or your lucomelus orange. However, any species that does normally use this type of coloring agent in its natural diet in the wild to maintain his color will benefit from this. One of the classic species that it is used for are some of the forms of the dendrobates promelio, especially the forms from bastimentos. Over time without any type of coloring agent supplmenetation, the animals will fade from a deep cherry red to a more pale yellow orange. By dusting the food items with the paprika, you can help to avoid this even though you would think that it is very spicy and the animals would refuse to eat the insects; they actually don’t seem to be affected by the taste at all and we find it to be very effective. We actually use it with every feeding that we use on all those animals."