Raising Oophaga pumilio tadpoles

In the wild, breeding would occur in the rainy season.

Pair does all the work if eggs are left in the tank

Females will lay eggs on a smooth clean surface in a secluded location. Clutches are typically 3-10 eggs. The male will return to keep the eggs moist and clean. The eggs will take up to 2 weeks to develop into tadpoles. The female will then return to the tadpoles and give them a piggy back ride to the pool of water. An easy pool of water for tadpoles is a bromeliad or film canister set on the floor or hung on the side of the tank with a suction cup. The tadpoles will take 40-50 days to morph into froglets.

Female will lay the eggs, Male will keep moist

Eggs will soon turn into tadpoles

Female will then transport tadpole to water

Rearing tadpoles out of the tank

Unlike most frogs, pumilio are considered an obligate egg-feeder which means that the tadpoles cannot be raised outside of the tank. The mother will lay unfertilized eggs which will provide sole nutrition for the tadpoles. This is why supplementation is so important with the female pumilio’s.

Unfertilized eggs for Salt Creek tadpole photo by Nikki Sigmon

** Pro-tip – Cut your film canisters in half to place inside of another film canister as shown above. This will allow you to remove to clean or keep an eye on the developing tadpole without disturbing it.

Eventually tadpole will color up & grow legs

Salt Creek froglet photo by Nikki Sigmon

Once it gets all 4 legs, it will slowly venture onto land

Transferring froglets to grow-out tank

I recommend that you keep the froglets in the tank with their parents for as long as possible. This will give them the greatest chance of survival. Many hobbyists warn of the 3 month froglet death for pumilio’s.

Transferring froglets

Use a glass test tube (or similar) to catch the frogs while transferring. Test tube is nice because you can put your thumb over the hole to guarantee they cannot escape.

Approximate Timeline

6-7 weeks – tadpoles will complete metamophosis

8 weeks – tadpoles will begin to exploring the tank

6 months – froglets will start to become mature enough that they will need to be removed from parent’s tank

Ultimate Oophaga pumilio Care Guide:

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Cover photo was taken by Andy Kraemer and used with the Creative Commons License. Photo was cropped & text was added to original. See Original photo here.

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