Defining Characteristics:

• Intermediate thumbnail
• Bright, variable orange/red coloration
• Bold 
• Easy to breed
• Quiet call
• LARGE thumbnail
• Fast
• Great in pairs

Name: Ranitomeya fantastica ‘Jeberos’. This frog is commonly known as the Red-Headed Poison frog or Crowned Poison Frog due to the vibrant orange/red coloration on the head. Sometimes referred to as “fants'' due to their scientific name. 

Recommended Vivarium Size & Setup: A 10 gallon aquarium is suitable for 2 Ranitomeya fantastica, but Josh's Frogs recommends a 20H or 18x18x18 glass terrarium due to their speed and relatively large size for a thumbnail. ABG mix or Josh's Frogs Dart Frog BioBedding in conjunction with our other bioactive layers (false bottom, substrate barrier, sphagnum moss and leaf litter) are great substrate options for your dart frog setup! Both of these mixes support microfauna populations, which help break down waste and mold within the tank.

Want to spice up your enclosure with live plants? Our experts have curated kits of easy-to-care-for and SAFE plants for your dart frogs. Check them out here!

Not sure how to set up a vivarium? Check out this video: Dart Frog Vivarium Set Up - Start to Finish

Temperature (°F): They can tolerate a temperature range of 65 to 80°F, but prefer temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Temperatures over 85 are dangerous.

Measure temps with a digital thermometer.

Humidity: Like most poison dart frogs, fantastica prefer a humidity range of 80–100%, but can tolerate humidity down to 50% for short periods of time if the frogs have access to water. Low humidity levels, especially without access to water, can quickly be fatal.

Measure humidity with a digital hygrometer.

Size: Ranitomeya fantastica are some of the largest thumbnail dart frogs, reaching up to an inch in length. Adult females will be larger and more pear shaped compared to males.

All of the Ranitomeya fantastica 'Jeberos' froglets Josh's Frogs sells are well started juveniles, and measure approximately 1/2 an inch long. 

Age: Ranitomeya fantastica ‘Jeberos’ is capable of living well over 10 years in captivity under ideal conditions, although a lifespan of 5-8 years is more common. All fantastica for sale at Josh's Frogs are well-started juveniles, and are 2-3 months old.

Feeding: Like most poison dart frogs, fantastica prefer smaller foods. All of the thumbnail dart frogs sold by Josh's Frogs will readily eat Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies. All ages of poison dart frogs will enjoy springtails and dwarf white isopods. All feeder insects should be dusted with a vitamin/mineral supplement.

For more information on what poison dart frogs can eat, please visit our blog: Feeding Dart Frogs: What, How Often, and How Much?

Sexing: Ranitomeya fantastica ‘Jeberos’ are fairly easy to sex as adults. Females are much wider and more pear shaped than males. Females will often be slightly longer than males, as well. Josh's Frogs sells 2-3 month old juveniles that are not sexable unless otherwise noted.

For more information on sexing poison dart frogs, please read this blog: How to Visually Sex Dart Frogs Part II

Color/Pattern: Ranitomeya fantastica ‘Jeberos’ are a very diverse species of dart frog, exhibiting a wide variation of colors and patterns throughout their range. ‘Jeberos’ fantastica will have a bright orange head, often with a few black stripes along with a black body and white stripes/spots, making it an absolutely stunning dart frog.

Josh's Frogs does not recommend, support, or endorse line breeding as we believe this leads to weaker captive animals, and nature has done a wonderful job of creating an amazing variation in color and pattern of poison dart frogs already.

Social Behavior: These frogs tend to do better housed in sexed pairs, although keeping them successfully in groups is not unheard of. Josh's Frogs recommends approximately 5 gallons per frog.

One thing that makes fantastica unique is their speed—they are one of the fastest dart frogs and can seemingly teleport around the vivarium.

Josh's Frogs strongly recommends against housing different species/morphs of dart frogs together - for the health of your pets, please avoid mixing. 

Breeding: Fantastica are a fairly easy poison dart frog to breed. Best bred in pairs, males will call to the female with a buzzing call, similar to R. variabilis. If interested, the female will engage in courtship behavior involving following the male around and touching his back. Then 3-8 light gray eggs are laid once every week or two on a smooth surface (often in a film canister, bromeliad or leaf litter).

The eggs hatch into tadpoles after 10-14 days and the male will carry them on his back to a source of water. We recommend removing the tadpoles and raising them on a diet of pelleted tadpole food/Sera Micron, which takes 60-80 days to complete metamorphosis into miniature versions of the adults.

Josh's Frogs recommends purchasing multiple frogs if you are interested in breeding them – this greatly increases the chances of getting a pair (male and female).

For more information on breeding and raising poison dart frogs, please read our blog: 5 Tips for Breeding Dart Frogs

Natural Range: Ranitomeya fantastica is native to Peru in the San Martin and Loreto regions.

History in the Hobby: Fantastica have been in the hobby for many years with some of the earliest imports by Understory Enterprises and INIBICO project in 2005/2006. 

Links of Interest:

• Ranitomeya fantastica - ranitomeya.com
• Josh's Frogs thumbnail care sheet