Dart frogs leave toxicity in the wild

But now some blue poison dart frogs have a more benign role – being reared as live exhibits at The Deep aquarium in Hull – but captive breeding means they're not harmful to humans.

Staff have hatched the tiny froglets from spawn laid in one of the displays, and they measure less than two centimetres long.

Aquarist Emma Burdon said: "We have successfully bred these stunning frogs by mimicking their natural habitat, lowland rainforest. In the wild frogs naturally breed in the rainy season when pools fill up. We can recreate this here by spraying their vivarium to mimic rainfall.

"The eggs were laid on New Year's Day this year. These hatched into 10mm long tadpoles in mid-January.

"The tadpoles metamorphosed into froglets over several weeks, finally climbing out of the water as fully formed miniature replicas of their parents.

"I have been keeping a watchful eye over them in their mini vivariums and they are growing fast. When fully grown, they will have more than doubled in size."