Can poison dart frogs be kept as pets in Australia?
Hello guys!!!
Im interested in getting some Poison dart frogs as pets or maybe to breed but im not sure if
they are legal...
So, thanks guys! I want people with experience, not people that copy the answers before.
Update:BTW, for those who think they are poisonous, they aren't. There only poisonous while in the wild because there is something they eat that gives em the venom. So, that takes away the dangerous part.
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Unfortunately, no, they're not legal.
No offense to Yvette, but her comments, while completely wrong, are also very typical of the uneducated. Too many people believe that dart frogs are poisonous and will kill natural wildlife or the people who handle them. This is incorrect, of course. As you pointed out yourself, darts are only poisonous in their native habitats, and then only because their diet makes them so. The insects that are believed to cause the toxin do not exist in Australia or even outside Central or South America. It's not possible for a dart frog in Australia to be poisonous.
And even if the frog was toxic, the climate is completely unsuited for survival. Australia's fear is that non-native wildlife would escape and take over, but any dart frog that escaped into the wild would be dead in a matter of hours. Even in a temperature controlled home, most darts would only last about four hours. Outside in Australia? I'd give them one. Tops. Darts are not a threat to anything.
The problem is that those who make the laws never get past the "poison" portion of the name. They don't do any research and react ignorantly. This is still the case in parts of America, Canada, ect. I'm fortunate that there are enough amphibian enthusiasts in America willing to fight stupid laws, or I wouldn't have any darts myself. As it is, though, Australia still bans them. You might be able to get a license permitting you to own them, but I don't know anything about that. If you ever figure it out, I'll find a way to ship some to you from this end (though I can't imagine how much that would cost). I'm sorry that the ignorance of others will keep you from getting into these remarkable frogs.
If you ever decide to start any legal work to get them removed from the banned list, let me know what I can do to help.
Poison Dart Frog
Dart Frog
I'm going to take a wild stab and say NO.
They are not native to australia and are poisonous. If they escaped they would kill off our natural wild life who have no resistance to them.
As a general rule in australia. You can't have any exotic pets. I'm always looking stuff up to see if I can keep it as a pet and not once yet have I found something I could.
If the ones you are talking about are native to australia then it may be a different story, but a lot of frogs are protected species, and you need a licence for keeping them as pets and breeding them.
I just found a link http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/4790_8263.htm
prohibited animals in australia "poison arrow (dart) frogs - all types"
no.