Description
Bumblebee Toad – Melanophryniscus stelzneri
A small South American terrestrial toad with distinctive black-and-yellow/orange warning colouration and an unusual walking gait.
Housing
Provide a species-appropriate terrestrial enclosure with cover, refuge sites, suitable substrate and access to shallow clean water. Environmental requirements should be based on the particular animals and their source population rather than a single fixed 60–70% humidity target.
Temperature
This species is not a warm tropical dart frog. Avoid persistent high temperatures and provide a monitored temperature range appropriate to the animals. Frogfather previously quoted 18.5–23.5°C as a general care range; treat that as a practical starting range rather than a scientifically established optimum.
Feeding
Offer appropriately sized live invertebrates and use a suitable supplementation programme. Monitor body condition rather than assuming a fixed feeding volume.
Mixed-species correction
Earlier copy promoted these toads as potential “dart frog cohabitants (with caution)”. That recommendation has been removed. Their ecology, environmental requirements, skin secretions, feeding behaviour and disease risks differ from dart frogs, and there is no husbandry advantage to combining them. Frogfather recommends species-specific housing.
Beginner wording
We also no longer describe them as automatically simple-care or “perfect” pets. They can be rewarding captives, but successful keeping still requires species-specific environmental management and live-food provision.
Live-Animal Husbandry Review
Last reviewed: 5 September 2026
Species suitability depends on adult size, behaviour, social structure, enclosure design, temperature, moisture, ventilation and the individual animals. Frogfather does not treat a fixed humidity percentage, enclosure size or group formula as a universal rule.
Mixed-species housing introduces additional risks including competition, predation, incompatible environmental needs, pathogen transfer and difficulty monitoring individual food intake. It is therefore not recommended merely because two species appear to use similar temperature or humidity ranges.
