The captive management and breeding of poison-dart frogs, family dendrobatidae, at Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust

The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (JWPT) started work with the green a nd black poison-dart frog Dendrobates auratus in 1994. The acquisition of t his species of dendrobatid, for use as a model species, was in direct respo nse to the initiation by Edinburgh Zoo of a Federation of Zoological Garden s of Great Britain and Ireland Joint Management of Species Programme for th e threatened blue poison-dart frog, D. azureus. Dendrobates auratus, a rela tively common and widely kept poison-dart frog, was used as a model species as staff in the JWPT Gaherty Reptile and Amphibian Conservation Centre had no prior experience in the management of dendrobatid frogs. Following cons iderable success and experience with the model species, the target species D. azureus was added to the collection in 1995. This rare species proved re latively straightforward to maintain and breed, building on the knowledge a nd skills gained during the previous year with D. auratus. The expertise de veloped in maintaining and managing these two species of poison-dart frog h as equipped us for future management of other members of the family Dendrob atidae and similar species.