That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information
I began working with Poison Frogs and Mantellas in zoos just as the secrets to longevity and breeding were being discovered. Today, captive-bred animals are almost mainstream. This is wonderful, but there is a downside – they are sometimes viewed as “simple to keep”. But while these tiny gems can be surprisingly hardy, they will not thrive long-term if their unique nutritional requirements are not met. Friends of mine who have broken new ground with Poison Frogs – in one case years before most zoos did – have always expended a great deal of effort on providing a varied diet. The following information is drawn from their and my own experiences over several decades, and may also be applied to the care of many other small and newly-transformed amphibians.
General Considerations
Uploaded to Wikipedia Commons by Marcel Burkhard
Although we do not know the exact nutritional needs of any species, certain principles have become evident. Chief among these is that a highly-varied diet is essential. Crickets alone, even if powdered with supplements, are not an adequate diet. There are exceptions, but nearly every study of free-living amphibians reveals that a surprising range of prey species are consumed. Read More »
Springtails are minute, primitive, wingless insects classified in the Order Collembola. Over 6,000 species are found in most temperate and tropical habitats, where they figure importantly in the diets of Poison Frogs (Dendrobates, Phyllobates, Oophaga), small salamanders and newly metamorphosed amphibians of many kinds. Please see 
The diets of captive Poison Frogs (Dendrobates, Phyllobates, Oophaga), Mantellas, small salamanders (i.e. Red-Backed Salamanders) and tiny, newly-transformed amphibians are usually limited to the two readily available foods of appropriate size – pinhead crickets and fruit flies. The minute, wingless insects known as Springtails (Order Collembola) are easy to procure and rear, and offer a convenient means of increasing dietary variety for small amphibians.
Some amphibians are so small that even pinhead crickets prove too large a meal. I’ve run into this situation with Kihansi Spray Toads (Nectophrynoides asperginis), which are a mere ¾ inch long when full grown. These toads, now likely extinct in the wild, give birth to fully formed toadlets that are so small as to be barely visible. A steady supply of Springtails was essential to the successful rearing of these Tanzanian natives, the last of their kind on earth. Folks breeding other tiny amphibians, such as Strawberry Poison Frogs (Oophaga pumilio), will also find Springtail colonies an invaluable resource.