Giant Poison Frog

Another case of a small creature grown large, the Giant Poison Frog can be found in the swamp near Dundee. Perhaps the frog’s growth was due to runoff from a magical experiment gone awry; perhaps the entire swamp was once the site of a magical experiment. Whatever the reason, the swamp is home to several creatures of unusual size.

Mostly living alone, the Giant Poison Frog secretes toxins through its skin, enabling it to survive next to larger and hungrier predators. The secretions only occur when the frog feeds on prey that contains the toxins. Toxins pass from the prey to the frog when eaten, and then collect in glands in the skin. This can be the insects which feed on the swamp’s crop of Killer Swamp Ivy or perhaps even the Ivy itself. An adult frog is able to eat food items much larger in relation to its size than most other amphibians.

The frogs meet for breeding purposes and often stay together for some time after, although generally only one is visible at a time. The females lay their eggs in moist ground (which is just about anywhere in the swamp) and the male stands watch over the eggs. As soon as they hatch, both parents allow the tadpoles to wriggle onto their backs. The tadpoles are then carried to a standing body of water, where they remain until they emerge later as adult frogs. The tadpoles fall prey to a large variety of swamp creatures, including other tadpoles.

The Giant Poison Frog’s bright hues make it startlingly visible against the normal swamp colors. Once it reaches adult form, the frog has very few predators. The swamp viper alone seems willing to eat it. Whether it is immune to the frog’s poison or just resistant is not known. Adventurous seems to be the adult frog’s main enemy.