Cohabitating different species

[Roman]

Here are some new information about my ongoing “bioactive themed enclosure” project. (If you are not familiar with my Spilotes pullatus enclosure here is a link to the original thread about my enclosure and all details of it. -->https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...lotes-pullatus )

When the bioactive enclosure started to work and the cleanup crew of isopods and springtails started to grow in numbers I started to think that this environment would be ideal for dart frogs. I started to investigate if there was any information about cohabitating colubrids and dart frogs and found – nothing (not really surprisingly).

After more than a year of planning and thinking I decided to give it a try and bought a trio of Dendrobates tinctorius, a species from the same location as my Spilotes pullatus. When I added the first frog I spend several hours watching it and the reaction of the snakes very closely. The snakes where curious and reacted to the movement of the frog, but did never attempt to hunt it, even when it was in easy striking distance (or on top of the snake).

When the first dart frog had “survived” his first week I added the other two as well. They use the whole enclosure, sometimes even hiding under / between /on top of a resting or basking snake. They provide an additional stimulus for the snakes, because they react to the movements of the frogs, watch them but obviously “know” that they should not eat something colored like this. Another positive effect I had not expected was the frogs hunting small prey directly on top of the snakes, I saw several hunting jumps for small prey I couldn’t see, but the frog got something and ate it. I provide some Drosophila as additional food for the frogs.

Three months later this has turned out to be a real Win-Win situation for both cohabitated species. There are definitely enrichment factors for both, frogs and snakes. The obvious enrichment for the frogs are 2 square meter of floor space and 3 cubic meter of volume with numerous branches they can use to climb and several plants covering the ground and providing additional hiding places. They have a steady amount of small prey items (isopods, springtails and Drosophila) and they are not hunted by the snakes. On the other hand they have to hunt for their prey, it is not located on a small place but all over the enclosure, hidden in the dead leaves, the moss or between other plants. The only time they have easy pickings is when I add a new breeding colony of Drosophila. Then the three frogs spend two days right on top of the box and eating any fly trying to get out. But after two or three days most of the surviving Drosophila have spread all over the place and the frogs have to work again.

For the snakes the frogs offer an additional stimulus. They react to the movement of the frogs, they watch them and are really alert. However, they don’t try to hunt them, they don’t strike for them, even if they are in easy range. This was what I was hoping for, but what I had not considered was the fact that the frogs would actually hunt small prey directly from the back of the snakes. So they provide some kind of laundry service to get rid of flies and other small invertebrates resting on the snakes.


Dendrobates tinctorius hunting on the back of the male Spilotes pullatus




Dendrobates tinctorius climbing on the back of the female Spilotes pullatus



Dendrobates tinctorius climbing on the back of the female Spilotes pullatus