Reptiles Magazine Poison Frog Poison Defense Differs Based on Prey Location/Consumption Poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae get their poison from the leaf litter ants and mites that they eat May 27, 2021 Dendrobates sylvaticus Poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae get their poison from the leaf litter ants and mites that they eat. They aren’t born poisonous. Researchers with Stanford University, Harvard University, Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, MA and Centro Jambatu De Investigación Y Conservación De Anfibios, Fundación Jambatu, San Rafael, Quito, Ecuador; Departamento De Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador examined how habitat fragmentation is impacting the capability of poison frogs and other animals generate a chemical defense via the leaf litter ants and mites that they consume.